Update on Tu Du, Ho Chi Minh

JSICIS posted this announcement on their site today.  If you have a referral, and the child originated from Tu Du Hospital, this is a must read for you.

On a personal note, my son was born in this hospital in 2001.  I do not know how I can ever share this information with him.  I also know I cannot keep it from him.

JCICS Asks for Help!

Joint Council (on international children’s services) is asking all families currently in the adoption process with Vietnam to complete the Vietnam survey by Friday, August 22, 2008.   Please pass this on to others you know who are waiting families.

You can see the entire announcement by clicking on “Joint Council” above.

Do You Know?

Courtesy the blog stats provided by word press it seems that there are some other Vietnam waiting parents stopping into my blog on a some-what regular basis.  So, after reading what Tad has been saying at Adoption Buzz about how there is a lot of information out there we just have to share and organize it, I thought I would share this.

First a disclaimer: PLEASE remember what is written here applies to one adoption service provider, mine.  Even if you know you are using my provider, check with them.  You should know that every province and each orphanage has different procedures, regulations and so on.  DO NOT THINK THAT THIS WILL APPLY TO YOU.

Last week we got a contract addendum from our provider.   It got me thinking about the new things in the process, specifically where do DNA testing and I-600 fit into the process. Things I once understood now seemed as clear as mud.  I sent these questions to our adoption service provider.

 

. . .  the things that are not clear to me is how the process works when we get a referral now that the I-600 and DNA testing are a part of the process.  

1. For instance, IF DNA testing is required, do we accept the referral and then do the the testing, or can we wait  for the DNA test results and then accept?  It would make no sense to me (but who am I) to accept a referral before the child has been proven to be an orphan.

2. AND, at what point in the the process are the Foreign Fees Due?  Before or after the I-600 approval?  If we pay those fees before and approval is NOT gained, and the program is now closed because the MOU has expired, are the fees lost even though the child was not available.  

The refund policy of the contract states the funds MIGHT be transferable to another child from that same country.  But if the program has closed what happens; lost fees?

A day and a half later, there was a general announcement sent via list serve that told us the the DNA testing is initiated by the filing of the I-600. And that I-600 approval process and the DNA test happen at the same time.  Naturally I-600 approval would not be given until the DNA test results were in, but not expected to delay the process.

It is now three days after the request for information and I have heard nothing answering the rest of my questions.  My concern is not with lost fees, just the stress reduction of knowing what to expect.  After more than a year of quiet patient and trusting waiting, I’m ready for some dialogue!

MY POINT IS THIS.  Do you know the finer points of how your contract works; how the new procedures will mesh with your particular agreement?  If you don’t, please start asking questions.  It seems one of the most wide spread problems with agencies is their ability to educate and keep clients informed of what exactly they have singed on for. One of the advocate organizations (forgive me, I’ve forgotten which one) felt that real changes in the international adoption world would need to come via the service providers (agencies) not through governments.  I agree.  However, I think that further motivation could be supplied to both government and agencies by clients who are educated about international adoption and demand detailed information about how their adoption will proceed.  We have already had to swallow the fact that there are commercial factors that drive adoption.  (Yuck!)  If that is the case, be a consumer.  Ask questions, and when you don’t get answers, ask again.

I’m not suggesting that everyone get on the phone and start yelling.  That would hardly be productive.  Just ask calmly, and wait.  If you hear nothing in a week or so, then ask again.