In Process Update

Dear Adoptive Family,
I (Merrily) was in Ethiopia two weeks ago where I caught a terrible cold. My work was primarily to meet with our legal staff and social workers so I avoided the babies and children and hope I didn’t pass the cold along. I spent most of last week in bed but am now back in the office and hoping that is all behind me.

The courts have reopened in Ethiopia. AAI had cases originally scheduled for the first days after the reopening, but the court staff was sent to training during the first two weeks after reopening so all cases were delayed. We now have 10 cases or so scheduled to be heard in the next 10 days. Fifteen new cases were filed the week that the court reopened and we expect more to be filed soon.In order to keep the amount of time between referral and court filing shorter, we will not be referring children until Temesgen has told us that the child’s legal documents are complete and that all relinquishment or abandonment paperwork has been obtained. During the past few months, many families have felt in limbo while our staff had to go back and get new relinquishment or abandonment paperwork due to changes in adoption rules. We are working to avoid this, though it may mean that the wait for referrals will be longer for awhile.

On the other hand, we have already begun to see that the numbers of babies and young children arriving at AAI is increasing. Historically this has been the pattern; many babies are received at Layla during the period after the rainy season. We are now working with some additional orphanages as well and some of these are sending us toddlers. In the past we have not had many toddlers available for placement and we are reorganizing space a bit at Wanna to provide well for them. In the upcoming newsletter you will see pictures of the toddlers learning and playing.

Last month you were sent information on keeping your I-600a file current. From now on, before making a referral to a family, we will be checking the status of their visa application. It is important that children not be delayed in travel because the family’s visa file is not current and we will be more attentive to those who are behind on this.There have been a few referrals lately but not much movement on the list as we are waiting for the go ahead from the legal department before making new referrals. There are lots of babies and young children in the nursery and we hope to begin calling families very soon.

Sincerely,
Merrily and Susan H.