Several families who received referrals from Vietnam before the September 1, 2008, deadline later found that those referrals fell through due to a NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny), a birth parent returning for the child, etc. It has come to our attention that some agencies continue to tell those families that they have been “grandfathered in” and are still eligible for another referral. However, the Department of Adoption, Ministry of Justice in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, recently determined that second referrals would only be offered in cases where the first child referred passed away. JCICS (Joint Council on Children’s Services) released the following statement last week:
March 3, 2009
The Department of Adoption, Ministry of Justice in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, confirms that it has carefully reviewed the US Government’s request to permit second referrals in cases where the referral was lost for reasons beyond the control of the prospective adopting parents. The Ministry of Justice has determined that for humanitarian reasons, in cases where prospective adopting parents received official referrals before the Memorandum of Understanding expired on September 1, 2008, but where these children then passed away, the parents will receive a second referral. For all other cases, the Ministry of Justice cannot process a second referral.
The statement can be accessed in its entirety here.
5 Responses
What is motivating these agencies who continue to mislead PAPs? Is it money- the hope of keeping these poor suckers on the hook just a little longer? Or is it a legitimate misunderstanding of the facts? It’s appalling that any agency would be giving false hope, but I know that happens.
Michelle,
Up until the “Official” statement from the Vietnam Gov. came out 2 weeks ago, the DOS was in talks with the VN Gov. trying to get these families approved for a second referral. I was one of those families. After the INS interview, my child’s birth mother decided to take her 6 yr old SN daughter home. I was in contact with the DOS, not my agency, about my case from Nov. until now. When we all received our original referrals, the policy in Vietnam was to grant a 2nd referral for families that lost their original referral. We had just received the medical report for our second Special Needs child, our 2nd referral, on Oct. 30th, the exact day the Gov. of VN halted all 2nd referrals. Our SN child is still sitting in her orphanage waiting.
Thanks for posting this, Tracy. Unfortunately I know of a case that appears to fall into this category. What is worse, I can no longer vouch for the agency in question (our agency) due to some serious allegations that I have learned of.
Sandy, while the DOS and agencies may have originally believed second referrals would be possible, the problem is that agencies (at least 2 that I’ve heard of) are STILL telling families they will be able to get another referral, even after this announcement.
I was also one of the families that received my referral in June and received word in November that my baby was not eligible for adoption because her “origin” could not be determined. How unfair this is to all of these families and our poor babies who have to suffer due to political conflicts. Please if you happen to be one of these families I have a lawyer that wants us to come together to form a group and try and fight for our children. Please email me at KYFLGirl@aol.com and in comments put 2nd referral.