News & Events » News
GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon 10/10/10
Join us in this year’s Victoria Marathon!! Run, walk or sponsor our eight year old team champion, Oscar Allen, in this year’s marathon!! Oscar will be running the 8 K and CHOICES staff, Marie Lapointe, with be running the half marathon.
There are over 30,000 children registered and waiting to be adopted in Canada according to the Adoption Council of Canada. CHOICES is committed to finding families for these waiting children. By running, sponsoring or partnering in this year’s marathon with CHOICES, you can make the difference in the life of a child.
Here's how you can help:
- Become part of the CHOICES Champion team by calling Kathy at CHOICES today!
- Register with GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon at http://www.runvictoriamarathon.com/ and choose CHOICES Adoption from the drop down box. Print out your pledge form here and you are ready to go!!
- Become a partner with CHOICES Adoption in the 10/10/10 Victoria Marathon. If you are a local business, organization or individual that would like to assist CHOICES in this year’s marathon call 1 888 479 9811.
Reasons to partner
- Help a children’s charity
- Great exposure for your business
- Promoting health and community
- Be a part of finding forever families for children
Last year with the help of our sponsors and families we raised $8000.00 for children who need families.
This year our goal is to raise $16,000. All funds raised will go to finding families for children in foster care.
Top three pledge collectors will win great prizes!
View our 2009 champion Oscar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWZ3HnFrKY4 and click here to sponsor Oscar on his 2010 race!
Posted: July 16th, 2010
CHOICES blog now available - check it out today!
http://www.choicesadoption.blogspot.com/
Posted: July 16th, 2010
Moratorium imposed on adoptions from Nepal
Ottawa, June 4, 2010 - Canadian adoptions from Nepal have been suspended due to concerns about fraud and child trafficking.
A recent report by the Hague Conference on Private International Law revealed that there is strong evidence that documents are being falsified on a regular basis and false statements are regularly made about a child's origins, age and status - and whether they have been abandoned.
Based on this evidence, and the recommendations of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and with the support of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the provinces and territories have agreed to suspend adoptions from Nepal.
Provinces and territories are responsible for approving adoptions. CIC is responsible for granting the adopted child citizenship or allowing them to immigrate as a permanent resident. HRSDC's role is to encourage communications and co-operation with provincial and territorial, federal, and foreign government counterparts in the adoption community.
"We know how disheartening this must be for the parents concerned, but several authoritative sources, such as The Hague Conference and UNICEF, have raised serious concerns about the use of fraudulent documents and the prevalence of child trafficking in Nepal," said Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. "It is important to get a reformed system in place in Nepal before proceeding with adoptions."
Proceeding with adoption cases from Nepal could violate Canada's obligations under The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoptions. Both CIC and HRSDC work in close coordination with provincial and territorial adoption authorities and are monitoring the situation in Nepal.
"There are a number of Canadian parents seeking to adopt children from Nepal who are understandably anxious but our priorities remain the best interests of the child and the prevention of child trafficking," added Minister Kenney.
Original published on news.gc.ca
Posted: June 9th, 2010
CHOICES Raffle
Support CHOICES Adoption and enter to win great prizes, including two nights accommodation in Parksville, dinner and overnight at Chateau Victoria, and more! Contact Kathy at the office for tickets today! Draw date July 30, 2010.
Posted: June 8th, 2010
Thanks
CHOICES wishes to thank the students and staff of the Pacific Film & New Media Academy for their professional production of our documentary, "Adoption Matters". You can view the documentary at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moqHN9mnrZs. Please check out the website for the Pacific Film & New Media Academy www.vicfilm.com and check out their upcoming on-line series, Discovery Street, beginning April 1st.
CHOICES is also pleased to announce that we have received a grant from the BC Gaming Commission to help cover some of the costs for our Women Unable to Parent Program. Thank you to the Gaming Commission for their support!
Posted: April 13th, 2010
A message from the Executive Director
It is with great excitement and honour that I take on the role of Executive Director while Cheryl Fix takes parental leave for a year. Having worked with CHOICES the past 7 years, I have seen a small adoption agency grow into the organization we are today, with many new country programs and exciting adoption initiatives being offered. It is my goal to keep this growth in our agency moving forward as we continue serving families all across British Columbia and Canada, facilitating adoptions and ensuring excellence in our services, always with children's best interests in mind. CHOICES has facilitated the adoption placement of well over 1000 children since its inception in 1989, and we offer a wide range of adoption services to include home study, in-country facilitation, post placement support and reunion counselling. We are available to assist you with a full range of adoption services and our professional, helpful staff are available to take enquiries Monday to Friday, from 9-4:30. We also have a 24 hour emergency line to assist families who need support outside of business hours. We offer Russia, Bulgaria and Nepal in-house adoption facilitation, and a number of other countries which are listed here on our website. As international adoption becomes increasingly complex and lengthy, adoptive families often require extra support and assistance to reach their dreams of bringing a child home. We are here to help you at each stage of your adoption and to celebrate with you as your family grows through adoption.
Thank you for visiting CHOICES website and we look forward to assisting you with your adoption journey!
Rachel Warren, Executive Director
Russia Update - March 15, 2010
Last week's news of the tragic death of seven-year old Nathaniel Craver, who allegedly died at the hands of his adoptive parents in Carrol Township, Pennsylvania, has raised many questions regarding the future of international adoptions from the country.
Unfortunately, this is not the first case of a former Russian child dying after being adopted to foreign parents. Russian authorities are understandably outraged at this news, and are calling for a tightening of international adoption rules. Complicating matters is the fact that US authorities failed to report the boy's death within the time period as required by Russian law. This situation has put further strain on an already delicate US-Russia relationship, and will likely lead to investigations into US agency practice, and into the preparation and screening of adoptive families.
Nathaniel's death marks the 15th case of Russian children dying following adoption to the US, allegedly all at the hands or due to negligence by their adoptive parents.
This case reminds us of the importance of proper adoptive parent screening, preparation and support needed before and following the adoption. It also brings to light how important it is for families to be realistic about the needs that children often come with when adopted from institutional care, and the importance of seeking help early on to address those needs.
CHOICES is known in each of our regions and in Moscow as a reputable agency, and we are diligent in forwarding post placement reports and Consular registrations of children following placement within the time period as required by law. We are also an agency which follows the legal procedure for proposals in all of our regions, which as a result, can lead to longer wait times for referrals. Families should be assured that we are operating our program in Russia according to the laws and rules of the country.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the recent events in Russia, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Our hearts and thoughts go to Nathaniel's twin sister, Elizabeth, and the extended family on their loss.
Posted: March 15th, 2010
Nepal Closure
We received official notice on March 10, 2010, by the BC Central Authority on Adoption regarding the decision to suspend adoptions from Nepal following February 2010 report issued by the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Convention. As a result, no matches will be forwarded to BC families registered with our Nepal Program. Fortunately, we do not currently have any families who are matched with children from Nepal. However, we recognize this news will be devastating to those families who are in the process and have made the financial and emotional commitment to adopt from this country. At this point, Germany, Sweden and British Columbia have officially closed adoptions from Nepal.
CHOICES wants to ensure that all of our adoption programs and facilitators representing us in other countries are operating in an ethical, transparent manner. We have not received any specific concerns pertaining to the activities of our facilitator or our adoption program in Nepal, or concerning the adoptions completed in the past by Canadian families. We will be exploring the terms and conditions required by the BC and Canadian Government to consider resuming adoptions from Nepal, and will place updates on our website as we receive them. At this point, those families who are currently registered to adopt from Nepal should contact CHOICES to discuss their options.
At this point, the suspension is temporary until Nepal can meet the recommendations outlined in the Hague report; however, there is also a risk that this could be a permanent country closure.
Posted: March 10th, 2010
The Situation in Haiti
Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti during this most difficult and challenging time. All of us at CHOICES are grateful to learn that the children from the Faith and Love Orphanage and Rivers of Hope Orphanage are ok. We pray and hope that their birth families, extended families, caregivers, the IBESR staff and the Canadian Embassy staff are also all ok. We will be sending a donation to Faith and Love and if anyone wishes to donate and have their donation sent as well, we can arrange that.
Carrie Craft who writes a blog on the About.com Guide to Adoption articulated the state of adoption in Haiti particularly well.
After the earthquake, rated a 7.0 on the Richter scale, rocked Haiti I have been seeking information on how this will impact adoptions.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and was already suffering before the earthquake hit early morning on January 12th. Some of the issues that may delay adoptions, or getting word on the welfare of your child or their birth family include:
- UN building collapsed
- power is down
- communication systems are down, except for satellite phones
- adoption paperwork may be lost in the destruction
- some orphanages have been destroyed and the children relocated to nearby churches
Keep in mind that at this time the focus will be on search and recovery of survivors and then on to basic survival. The toughest will be waiting to hear, be patient and lean on your faith and the support people in your life.
It's easy to feel helpless, but there are ways you can help. One way is by donating to different agencies that are sending aid –
- SOS Children's Villages International
- The Salvation Army
- Canadian Red Cross
- Doctors without borders
Embassies push for transparency in adoptions
KIRAN CHAPAGAIN
KATHMANDU, Dec 7: Embassies of 12 countries entertaining inter-country adoptions from Nepal have jointly asked the government to ensure transparency and meet international standards while processing inter-country adoption cases.
The embassies passed their concerns in the form of a note verbale (a diplomatic memorandum) to the government via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 24 after they found that the "inter-country adoptions from Nepal were not meeting international standards and practices determined by the Hague Convention". The convention says that adoption should take place in the best interest of the children.
"The group offers its support and urges the Government of Nepal to strengthen the beneficial cooperation with the Hague Conference [Hague Convention], e.g. to ensure that internationally recognized standards and practices," reads the note verbale possessed by myrepublica.com from its sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Submitted by the German Embassy on behalf of the countries on inter-country adoption, the note verbale was initially issued by Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Later, France, Italy and Spain also signed on it. Australia, Canada and the US have also supported it.
A diplomatic source told myrepublica.com that the embassies are particularly concerned over lack of a central authority with responsibility to ensure that inter-country adoptions met international standards and the lack of laws on a par with the convention.
"We also agree [with the countries] that the inter-country adoptions are not taking place as per the international standards. There should be a central authority to see the inter-country adoption," said advocate Upendra Keshari Neupane, who is also an executive committee member of Child NGO Federation.
The embassies have also asked the government to make public the number of adoptable children, their age and sex and the organizations they are staying in. They have also sought information on the status of adoptable children -- voluntarily waived or orphans.
The countries entertaining inter-country adoption from Nepal, diplomatic sources said, are concerned over the rise in the number of adoptable children after the resumption of the inter-country adoption in 2009.
"The number of adoptable children dropped when adoption was suspended in 2007. But we have noticed a sudden rise in the number of such children in child homes and orphanages after the inter-country adoption was resumed in January 2009. How such children´s homes and orphanages see decrease in the number of children when the adoption was stopped and rise when the adoption was resumed?" the source asked.
The countries are also concerned over the representation of the Child NGO Federation in the Recommendation, Investigation and Monitoring Committee at the Ministry of Social Affairs that is responsible for investigating the facts about any children before granting approval for adoption.
"International standards require that there should be no representation of a federation of child NGO that also represents children´s homes and orphanages involved in inter-country adoption," said another diplomatic source.
But advocate Neupane, who represents the federation in the committee, said, "Only the individual who is not involved in inter-country adoption is sent to represent the Child NGO Federation in the committee."
In the note verbale, the embassies have also questioned the existence of two different committees to match a foreign family for any adoptable child. Advocate Neupane agreed that the works of the matching committee have not been transparent.
Similarly, the countries are also doubtful that the paper works on the situation of adoptable children might be fake. They have also expressed concern over deprival of foster care, kinship and domestic adoption to children at child homes and orphanages. "To encourage domestic adoption, the existing laws should be amended," said Neupane, who is also the President of Democratic Lawyers´ Association.
Original published at MyRepublica.com
Posted: December 20th, 2009