DOS Notice: U.S. Department of State Continues to Recommend Against Adopting from Nepal

Nepal

December 31, 2012

Notice: U.S. Department of State Continues to Recommend Against Adopting from Nepal

The Nepali Ministry of Women and Child Social Welfare (MWCSW) informed the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu that as of December 2012, there are seven U.S. adoption service providers authorized to facilitate adoptions in Nepal at this time, and another ten U.S. adoption service providers whose authorization is pending payment of a $5000 fee to the Nepal Child Right Fund.  According to the MWCSW, the authorization of all adoption service providers, including those currently authorized and those with pending authorization requests, expires on December 31, 2012.  The MWCSW is currently soliciting new or renewed accreditation by international adoption service providers for dossiers submitted during a two-year period beginning on January 1, 2013.

Before embarking on an adoption in Nepal, prospective adoptive parents are strongly urged to confirm with the MWCSW that their adoption service provider is authorized to facilitate adoptions in Nepal.  Contact information for the MWCSW may be found on the Country Information Sheet for Nepal.  A copy of the MWCSW’s current list of Nepali authorized foreign adoption service providers may be obtained by writing to the U.S. Embassy at adoptionsnepal@state.gov.

By way of background, on August 6, 2010, the U. S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suspended processing of new adoption cases from Nepal involving children claimed to have been found abandoned because documents presented in support of the abandonment of these children in Nepal were unreliable.  Cases involving relinquishment by known birth parent(s) were not affected by the suspension.  In December 2011, the Government of Nepal informed the U.S. Department of State that there may be a small number of children who will be found eligible for intercountry adoption by the Government of Nepal as relinquishment cases.  The U.S. Department of State continues to strongly recommend that prospective adoptive parents refrain from adopting children from Nepal due to grave concerns about the reliability of Nepal’s adoption system and credible reports that children have been stolen from birth parents, who did not intend to irrevocably relinquish parental rights as required by INA 101(b)(1)(F).  We also strongly urge adoption service providers not to accept new applications for adoption from Nepal.

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu continues to encourage the Government of Nepal to work with the international community, including the Hague Permanent Bureau, to implement the Hague Adoption Convention and reform its adoption process to protect children and families.

We will continue to keep you updated through adoption.state.gov as additional information is received.  This link will also provide additional information and past adoption notices and alerts on the detailed concerns found in Nepal adoptions.  Please refer to USCIS.gov for Special Instructions for How and When to File Adoption Petitions on Behalf of Nepali Children.

http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=nepal_5

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Nepal: Children for sale (Al Jazeera)

Nepal: Children for sale (Al Jazeera)

With weak law enforcement, can foreigners adopting children from Nepal be sure that they are really orphans?

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/101east/2011/09/2011920125119853524.html

Video:

http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/winners/2012/pieces.php?iid=429797&pid=1

Orphaned, abandoned or trafficked? That is the question facing foreigners who wish to adopt Nepali children.

International adoption services have provided a lucrative business to poverty-stricken Nepal. But in 2007, Nepal stopped adoptions for two years as it investigated claims of child trafficking.

After adoptions resumed, law enforcement remained weak.

By the end of 2010, many countries including the US, stopped granting visas to children from Nepal. This was in response to unscrupulous agents falsifying children's status as orphans so they could be adopted overseas.

Today, loopholes remain in Nepal's adoption processes and the government has been slow to formulate new policies, creating more problems for children in orphanages.

101 East investigates the scam behind an industry borne from the desire to love a child.

Al Jazeera -- 101 East

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

The Children Left Behind (The Pulitzer Center)

The Children Left Behind

LISA DESAI AND HABIBA NOSHEEN, FOR THE PULITZER CENTER, KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Published on June 29, 2011

Nepal became an important source of children for international adoption in part because adoption is not widely practiced or accepted among the Nepalese, an attitude that is prevalent across South Asia.

But the United States and several other countries have recently stopped adoption of abandoned children from Nepal because of allegations of fraud.

Some critics opposed to the U.S.’s decision say it only punishes the children left behind and sentences them to a life stuck in an institution. It’s a position that Elizabeth Bartholet, director of the Child Advocacy Program at Harvard, strongly agrees with.

“The easy thing to do is what our regulators do, which to say let’s punish the children. Let’s just imprison the children who have done nothing wrong,” Bartholet said. “It destroys a lot to keep kids in these institutions.”

The State Department’s Susan Jacobs defends the decision to clamp down on adoptions from Nepal. She says the sole goal is to ensure international adoptions are ethical—the U.S. had no choice but to stop adoptions of abandoned children after finding that documentation provided by the Nepalese government was often fraudulent and unreliable.

“Our goal has always been to protect the child, the birth parents and the adoptive parents because I can’t think of anything worse than completing an adoption and then finding out a week or month or a year later that there is a parent out there looking for their child,” said Jacobs.

One orphanage tucked away in the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, however, is seeing the effect of this policy change first hand.

Sapna Ekta Rana runs the Sagarmatha Children Home. She says as international adoption has dried up, so too have the funds needed by the orphanage to sustain its regular operations. And in the Sagarmatha Children Home, that means providing food, education and shelter for children is getting harder and harder.

“The main source of funding is from adoption parents...there is no government support,” said Rana.

Before the recent policy change, when parents adopted a child from Nepal through the international adoption program, they were required to pay the child’s orphanage a fee or “donation” of $5,000. That money, Rana says, was used to fund the rest of the children at the orphanage who hadn’t been adopted or could never be adopted.

And without that regular income coming in, Rana says they have no choice but to shut their doors. “Right now we are not able to take in any children because the home is full,” said Rana.

Rana notes that without the ability to adopt out children from her orphanage internationally, the future of many Nepalese orphans is grim. Once a child turns 16, the orphanage no longer is able to support him or her. That’s when many Nepalese orphans might find themselves abandoned with nowhere to turn.

Many international organizations, including UNICEF, have urged the Nepalese government to finds ways to increase domestic adoptions. They argue that international adoption should be considered a last resort, and countries such as Nepal must first try everything they can to take care of orphans within the country.

The State Department’s Jacobs urged the Nepalese government to implement stricter oversight of its adoption program.

“There are countries, and not just in the west, but all over the world, that can do this properly. And there is no reason that Nepal can’t. All it takes is a little bit of political will,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs says the political turmoil that Nepal has faced over the last decade cannot be used as justification to ignore the need for better adoption oversight.

“I know there is a lot of political chaos there. It’s a difficult place to be right now, but they could do this. They need to do this for their children. The children are the most important thing in a country and they are just letting these things happened to them and there is no excuse for it,” said Jacobs.

http://pulitzercenter.org/articles/nepal-trafficking-kathmandu-orphans-children-adoption

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Left in limbo: Nepalese adoptions halted (PBS)

Left in limbo: Nepalese adoptions halted (PBS)

On Mother’s Day weekend, adoptive parents on the verge of bringing home a child find themselves caught between two governments.

By Habiba Nosheen and Lisa Desai

May 6, 2011

The U.S. State Department has suspended adoption of abandoned Nepalese children, citing numerous examples of unreliable and possibly fraudulent documents.

For Dee Dee Milton and 70 other American families who were in the midst of finalizing adoptions from Nepal, the new U.S. policy left them in limbo. The onus was now on those families to prove that the child they wanted to adopt is a legitimate orphan.

Need to Know traveled to Nepal to meet American adoptive parents who are fighting to bring their adopted children home, as well as Nepalese biological parents whose children were put up for adoption without their consent.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/video/video-left-in-limbo-nepalese-adoptions-halted/9158/


Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

US Embassy Kathmandu Biometrics Fee Clarification

From DOS to adopting families, on behalf of the US Embassy in Kathmandu:

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu has been receiving requests from prospective adoptive parents currently residing in Kathmandu to retake their fingerprints at the Embassy because their fingerprint clearances have expired. The Departments of State and Homeland Security strongly urge all prospective adoptive parents to ensure that their fingerprint clearances are valid and not soon to expire before traveling abroad. However, when necessary, U.S. Embassies abroad can provide this service. When the Embassy fingerprints prospective adoptive parents, they are doing so on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Effective November 23, 2010, individuals residing outside of the United States are no longer exempt from paying the DHS Biometrics Fee, where it applies. Prospective adoptive parents who have already paid a biometrics fee during the filing of their I-600A may request a one-time, no-fee re-fingerprinting. Effective immediately, the U.S. Embassy Kathmandu will charge the $85 DHS Biometrics Fee, where it applies, meaning after the prospective adoptive parents have already received their one-time, no-fee re-fingerprinting, whether in the US or abroad, each time fingerprints are collected from prospective adoptive parents on behalf of DHS.

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

USDOS: Response to Petition2Congress Nepal Adoption

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues
Response to Petition2Congress on Behalf of the American Families Pursuing Adoptions from Nepal

November 5, 2010

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The Department of State appreciates the interest of the American public and Members of Congress in the status of intercountry adoptions in Nepal and the concerns of U.S. citizens who are pursuing the adoption of a Nepali child.

The decision to suspend adoptions in Nepal of children “found abandoned" was taken jointly with the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after extensive investigations in which U.S. Embassy staff observed pervasive problems with the reliability of documentation in Nepal’s adoption system. The level of these problems has made it difficult, if not impossible, to determine whether the children being placed for adoption have, in fact, been abandoned and could be considered orphans under U.S. law. The United States was the last country to suspend adoptions in Nepal.

Starting in February 2010, the Office of Children’s Issues began to warn prospective adoptive parents about potential problems they might encounter when attempting to complete an intercountry adoption in Nepal.

The publication of an independent technical analysis of Nepal’s adoption procedures by the Hague Conference on Private International Law’s Intercountry Technical Assistance Program (ICATAP) in February 2010 solidified our concerns. This report detailed a number of weaknesses in Nepal’s adoption system, including ongoing concern about the falsification of documents, improper financial gain, and lack of a child protection system.

In early August 2010, a joint assessment team from the Department of State and USCIS travelled to Nepal and performed a detailed analysis of the evidence being presented to document the abandonment of children in Nepal. The team found that information presented in support of orphan petitions included vague and self-contradictory testimony and documents. Local officials were often uncooperative or appeared to be attempting to purposefully mislead or deter investigations.

Embassy Kathmandu is working as quickly as possible to investigate the pending adoption cases. Embassy Kathmandu and USCIS are mindful of the effects that any delay might have on children. However, the unreliable documentation, vague information provided in the documents, and lack of cooperation by some parts of the Government of Nepal is slowing down investigations. Most of the pending cases for which the Embassy has completed investigations have been referred to USCIS New Delhi as “not clearly approvable.” USCIS conducts a review of the cases referred to it in order to make a final determination as to whether a petition is approvable or not. In many cases, USCIS asks for additional information from the petitioner before making a determination.

The U.S. government, in cooperation with other countries that are active in intercountry adoptions, has consistently over the past several years encouraged the Government of Nepal to ratify and implement the Hague Adoption Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention), to which Nepal is a signatory. We have also urged the Government of Nepal to implement the recommendations made by ICATAP. The Convention incorporates the best practices in intercountry adoption, which are intended to protect the rights of children and families.

U.S. Embassy officials first met with Nepali officials in early August to request an extension of the 60-day completion requirement when we announced the suspension of new adoption cases for children found abandoned. At that time, the Ministry gave the Embassy a verbal commitment to extend the deadline. After many meetings and official requests going up to the highest levels of the Government of Nepal, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare agreed in writing to extend the 60-day timeline by an additional 60 days, for a total of 120 days. The Ministry also indicated that it would favorably consider additional requests for extensions.

The Department has been engaged with Congress. On October 5, 2010, U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Scott DeLisi personally briefed staffers from both Houses. Ambassador Susan Jacobs provided a similar update a week earlier to interested Senate staff. We will continue to work closely with Congress and with interested offices whose constituents are affected by the decision to suspend adoptions in Nepal.

Our Office of Children’s Issues is engaged in daily outreach to prospective adopting parents, adoption service providers, Congressional staffers, and adoption advocacy and stakeholder groups. The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is in frequent and direct contact with many of the prospective adopting parents and has made itself readily available to all of the prospective adoptive parents. This outreach includes conference calls, briefings, group emails, and updates on individual cases. Our officers respond promptly to letters, calls, and emails from staffers, Members of Congress, prospective adoptive parents and their advocates. We also post regular updates on adoptions in Nepal through our website, http://adoption.state.gov/.

http://adoption.state.gov/news/nepal_upcoming_embassy_closure.html

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Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

MOWCSW Grants Additional 60 Days to Pipeline Families

On October 21, 2010, Secretary Shrestha of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MOWCSW) provided Ambassador Scott DeLisi with written confirmation that the Ministry is granting 60 day extensions (for a total of 120 days) to prospective adoptive parents in the Nepal pipeline for whom the Embassy had sent a letter requesting an extension. The Embassy will provide each family affected by this decision with both a copy of the Nepali version of the Secretary’s letter and an English translation. Additionally, the Ministry has agreed to consider further extensions, and the Embassy will request further extensions as needed.

This announcement was forwarded to waiting families by email from the US DOS Office of Children's Issues on October 22, 2010 and announced by Senator Amy Klobuchar on October 21, 2010.

http://klobuchar.senate.gov/newsreleases_detail.cfm?id=328364&


Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Recent Communications from DOS concerning in process adoptions

The US DOS has released a series of emails directed to prospective parents, adoption service providers and interested stakeholder NGOs. PEAR has decided to post the communications on our blog for the benefit of prospective parents who did not register with DOS, families in independent process, and organizations and individuals following adoptions from Nepal and/or assisting families adopting from Nepal. The communications are printed here in the order of most recent to oldest:
__________________________________________________________________
Friday, September 17, 2010 7:15 AM
From:"Lincoln, Ruth A"
To:"Lincoln, Ruth A"
RE: Update Concerning 60 Day Extension Requests

Dear Prospective Adoptive Parents,

We would like to share some information with you regarding the 60-day travel authorization and the extension requests that have been made on behalf of many families.

The Government of Nepal is currently in “caretaker” status, and is working with no constitution and no elected leader. They continue to work to resolve a host of issues that are critical to maintaining peace and stability. The Prime Minister has resigned and he and all of the ministers that head the various government offices, including the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, remain in office only until a new government can be installed. It is difficult for officials to make decisions or new policies under these conditions.

Several weeks ago, Government of Nepal officials issued a verbal promise that they would consider all extension requests filed by the U.S. Embassy on behalf of prospective parents. They were never willing to commit to these extensions in writing. It is impossible at this point to provide more definitive information on the extension requests. Our hope is that families can use this information to make the choices that work best for each family.

We will continue to provide any and all updates that we have as soon as we learn of them.

Sincerely,

Ruth Lincoln
Adoption Division, Office of Children's Issues
Overseas Citizens Services
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.

__________________________________________________________________
Thursday, September 16, 2010 7:29 AM
From:"Lincoln, Ruth A"
To:"Lincoln, Ruth A"
RE: Clarification Regarding Embassy Kathmandu's Scheduling of I-604 Investigations

Dear Prospective Adoptive Parents and Adoption Service Providers,

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu will first investigate cases of prospective adoptive parents who have received travel authorization from the Government of Nepal. Please send a scanned copy of your travel authorization letter to the Embassy by email to AdoptionsNepal@state.gov as soon as it is received. Prospective adoptive parents may still file their Form I-600 petition with the Embassy through their local agency representative, although cases with travel authorization letters are considered complete and ready for investigation and will be investigated first. if there are issues that can be resolved in one investigative visit that relate to cases that are received but do not include travel authorization letters (for example if the investigators are visiting a n orphanage or police station that is part of the investigation for multiple cases), the investigators will resolve these issues for as many received cases as possible, regardless of whether the cases include the travel authorization letter.

I hope this information is of assistance.



Sincerely,

Ruth Lincoln
Adoption Division, Office of Children's Issues
Overseas Citizens Services
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.
__________________________________________________________________

From: Lincoln, Ruth A

Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 11:01 AM

To: Lincoln, Ruth A
Cc: Nepal Pipeline PAPs
Subject: Note to Pipeline PAPs Regarding Prioritizing I-604
Investigations
Importance: High

Dear Prospective Adoptive Parents,

Please be aware that prospective adoptive parents in the pipeline who have received travel authorization from the Government of Nepal will generally have their I-604 investigations processed first. While the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is requesting extensions for the travel authorization from the Government of Nepal, the Embassy only has verbal agreement that the Government of Nepal will extend the 60 days in which prospective adoptive parents are required to travel to Nepal. Therefore, the Embassy will give priority to cases for families who have already received their travel authorization. When you receive your travel authorization letter, please forward a scanned copy by email to the U.S. Embassy (addressed to AdoptionsNepal@state.gov) and your case will be prioritized over those waiting for travel authorization. In the meantime, you may still have your local agency representative deliver your Form I-600 petition and supporting documents (except for the adoption order) to the Embassy’s American Citizen Services (ACS) Unit, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 1:30 and 4:00 p.m.

I hope this information is of assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions or concerns.



Sincerely,

Ruth Lincoln
Adoption Division, Office of Children's Issues
Overseas Citizens Services
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.
__________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 11:13 AM
From:"Lincoln, Ruth A"
To:"Lincoln, Ruth A"
RE:List of Official Holidays Observed by U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu

Dear prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers with Nepal programs,

Some of you have asked about the upcoming Nepali holidays. Attached, for your information, is the link to the list of official American and Nepali holidays observed by the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu.

http://nepal.usembassy.gov/holidays.html

Sincerely,

Ruth Lincoln
Adoption Division, Office of Children's Issues
Overseas Citizens Services
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.

__________________________________________________________________
Thursday, September 2, 2010 7:52 AM
From:"Lincoln, Ruth A"
To:"Lincoln, Ruth A"

The following is provided for your information. This notice was sent yesterday to adoption service providers with Nepal programs.

Dear Adoption Service Providers With Nepal Programs,

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu understands that local agency representatives may have questions about the new orphan processing procedures. If your local agency representative wishes to meet with a member of the Embassy’s Adoption Unit, they may request an appointment by sending an email to AdoptionsNepal@state.gov with the following information:
-Name
-Agency representing
-Prospective adoptive parents name(s)
-Purpose of visit

The Adoption Unit will advise your local agency representative of the date/time of the appointment by return email.

The Adoption Unit staff will not/not have the opportunity to answer general processing questions when local agency representatives drop off prospective adoptive parents’ Form I-600 petitions and supporting documents to the American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit Monday through Friday between the hours of 1:30 and 4:00 p.m.

We hope this appointment system helpful and will enable your local agency representative to get any processing questions they might have answered in a timely manner.

Thank you,
Ruth Lincoln
Adoption Division, Office of Children's Issues
Overseas Citizens Services
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C.

__________________________________________________________________

From: Lincoln, Ruth A 

Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2010 12:19 PM

To: Lincoln, Ruth A

Subject: Question Re Travel to Nepal

Q: I understand that we are strongly advised not to travel to Nepal and to wait for the new program to be implemented, but what are we to do about our travel approval expiring? Is an extension being negotiated with the Ministry in Nepal? I want to comply with the USCIS and Department of State recommendations but the Government of Nepal has clearly stated that we must travel within 60 days of receiving approval.

A: The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is working with the Government of Nepal to determine whether the 60 day period in which prospective adoptive parents are required to travel to Nepal to finalize their adoptions can be extended. We will provide more information once a decision has been reached.

Sincerely,
Ruth Lincoln
Adoption Division, Office of Children's Issues
Overseas Citizens Services
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C
__________________________________________________________________
From: Lincoln, Ruth A 

Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 4:07 PM

To: Lincoln, Ruth A

Subject: Status of Pre-I-604 Program for Nepal

Dear Prospective Adoptive Parents and Adoption Service Providers,

We are sending this message to answer your questions about the status of the program that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of State are currently setting up that will enable the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu to complete the required I-604 Determination of Child for Adoption (sometimes referred to as the “orphan investigation”) in your case before you travel to Nepal to finalize your adoption.

As of this date, the program is not yet finalized. Every effort is being made to finalize and implement the program in the immediate future. The Office of Children’s Issues will inform you when the program is implemented and will post a notice on adoption.state.gov with information and instructions. Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information.

At this time we do not recommend that prospective adoptive parents travel to Nepal to finalize their adoptions. We are concerned that problems identified in our public announcement will affect the processing of all adoption cases in Nepal. Prospective adoptive parents who do elect to travel to Nepal to finalize their adoptions should be prepared for an extended stay. If the I-600 petition is determined to be not clearly approvable, it will be forwarded to USCIS/New Delhi for further processing, per standard procedure.

We wish to caution prospective adoptive parents that even with a pre-approval program in place, it may take the U.S. government several months to process adoption cases to completion. Questions concerning adoptions in Nepal may be sent to either AskCI@state.gov or AdoptionsNepal@state.gov.

Sincerely,

Ruth Lincoln
Adoption Division
Office of Children's Issues
U.S. Department of State
Washington D.C.

__________________________________________________________________


Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

UPDATE to DOS Request for Contact Information

On Tuesday, July 20 PEAR published the following notice with permission of the DOS: http://pear-now.blogspot.com/2010/07/dos-requests-contact-information-for.html
Ms. Ruth Lincoln of the DOS Office of Children's Issues has requested that all further contacts from adopting families be sent directly to her via the following email address:
LincolnRA@state.gov


Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

New DOS Appointment in Office of Children's Issues

MEDIA NOTE
Tuesday, May 25

Secretary Clinton Designates Special Advisor for International Children’s Issues

Secretary Clinton is pleased to announce the appointment of Ambassador Susan S. Jacobs as Special Advisor to the Office of Children’s Issues. A long time child advocate, Secretary Clinton has created the new foreign policy position to address intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction. In her work on these important issues, Ambassador Jacobs will actively engage with foreign government officials to protect the welfare and interests of children.

Ambassador Jacobs most recently served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. A former United States Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, she also served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Issues in the State Department's Bureau of Legislative Affairs. Her distinguished Foreign Service career has also included tours in Caracas, Tel Aviv, New Delhi, Bucharest, and San Salvador.

Ambassador Jacobs graduated from the University of Michigan and later studied at Georgetown University Law School and the George Washington University. She has received numerous awards, including the Department of State's Meritorious Honor Award, its Superior Honor Award, and the Community Achievement Award in New Delhi.

The Office of Children’s Issues in the State Department provides services to parents, children, and families in intercountry adoption and international family abductions. It serves as the U.S. Central Authority for both the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

For more information about the Office of Children’s Issues at the State Department, please visit:
www.adoption.state.gov
www.travel.state.gov/childabductionEthics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/