Five years ago Trish Maskew accepted the position of Adoption Division Chief at the Office of Children’s Issues under the Department of State. It is a highly visible position in the international adoption world. We have often communicated with the Adoption Chief and her office as we work to protect vulnerable children, birth parents, and prospective adoptive families from corrupt practices and unscrupulous agents. This past week Maskew announced that she is stepping down as Adoption Chief and has accepted a new position with another federal agency.
Maskew brought to the position a long and diversified history working and advocating for ethical adoptions. A foster and transracial adoptive parent, she previously worked as a program coordinator at an adoption agency, was a board member of JCICS, authored a book about older child adoption and parenting, founded Ethica, an organization that worked for ethical adoptions and focused on assisting families in crisis, worked as an expert consultant to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and is a professor of adoption law at American University’s College of Law. The adoption reform community could not have asked for a more qualified Chief.
During the five years Maskew served as Chief of the Adoption Division, she increased oversight, strengthened infrastructure and monitoring, and increased guidance and transparency. A colleague recently called Trish a walking encyclopedia of adoption law. She was instrumental in the Accrediting Entity transition from COA to IAAME. Under IAAME oversight, regulations that were so carefully created are now being enforced. Agencies that the reform community has long had concerns about are being held accountable. This is a welcome turn of events after years of seeming apathy and an apparent turning of a blind eye. It is a system that we believe Americans and sending countries can have confidence in.
Maskew’s swan song, so to speak, was the success of the Department of State’s Symposium, “Strengthening Practice for the Future of Intercountry Adoption, which brought together stakeholders, including all members of the adoption triad, for the first time ever. Long overdue, the voices of adoptees were prominent throughout the two days of panels, discussions and brainstorming solutions. The symposium allowed agencies who are working hard to do good to share ideas and feedback with triad members, most importantly adoptees. I believe the open forum set the tone for a real meeting of the minds ”“ or at least the minds who truly wanted to meet (and that was most!) I was relieved and inspired to hear so many similar thoughts on real reform coming from so many different voices in the room. The reform advocates left feeling heard, inspired and motivated and, consequently, are working hard behind the scenes to ride the wave of inclusion and enthusiasm the symposium ushered back in as we work to provide citizenship for all intercountry adoptees, work to expand trauma-focused education and post-adoption services for adoptees and adoptive families and ensure that all adoptions are truly the LAST best option for birth families and adoptees so those in need will continue to have this option available for years to come.
When I started advocating for ethics and reform 14 years ago, I did so because I knew as an adoptive parent that my voice carried weight to those who stood to gain financially from adoption. I, and all adoptive parents, were the bankroll. If we threatened to speak out and draw attention to the corruption and unethical practices, maybe the corrupt players would be forced to act more ethically. And most of all, who else would speak up? Birth parents weren’t taken seriously. Adoptees had little to no voice. Social media wasn’t a thing. And, as an adoptive parent, I simply felt I had no choice. I owed it to my child, her first family and every single vulnerable party that came before or might come after her to educate, advocate and work for reform. But when I returned home from the symposium, I tearfully shared photos with my daughter of all the amazing, inspirational, brilliant adult adoptees who fiercely and bravely spoke and advocated and educated and worked for reform and were finally, FINALLY, given a seat at the table and knew that the landscape under which we have these discussions will never be the same. Their voices, my child’s voice some day if she chooses to use it in this way, will have a seat at the table. The very people for whom we say we are advocating for will be heard. And let’s face it: the reason we haven’t invited them sooner is that their truth is impossible to ignore! THEY are the most powerful voices in the room now! And I feel such a wave of gratitude and emotion toward these adoptees and toward Trish Maskew for making this happen. It’s a big deal. I can’t imagine a better way for Ms. Maskew to end her time as Chief of the Adoption Division.
Latina Marsh will step into her shoes as acting Chief. We look forward to working with her and have full faith that she will continue doing the hard but necessary work to ensure the continued goal that adoptions are ethical, transparent and only completed when necessary. We wish Ms. Maskew well as she moves on to her new position.
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