July 5: Dear Families,
CHSFS Ethiopia has informed us that Mussie Child Care Center in Hosana has had its license to operate revoked by the government of Ethiopia. We were told that the reason for this revocation is related to leadership issues and community development work, and does not reflect on child care or adoption processing. CHSFS is currently calling the families that will be impacted by this news.
While the news is troubling, it involves a very small group of CHSFS child referrals. It does not affect the adoption process for families with children at other orphanages.
Our primary concern is for the children and how this will impact the completion of your adoption process. We have learned that children whose court decisions have been made have been moved to Addis. For cases where no court decision has been made, Ethiopian authorities have moved children to an orphanage in Wolayta. CHSFS staff in Ethiopia have gone to the orphanage in Wolayta and report that it is a fine facility.
CHSFS Ethiopia staff have contacted MOWA and regional authorities to advocate for smooth processing of these cases. We now must wait for the Ethiopian government to make a decision. We have staff monitoring the situation closely on your behalf. We regret that this announcement may cause additional stress and anxiety for your family. We will follow-up as soon as we have additional information. Please contact your CHSFS program specialist or social worker directly if you have further questions.
Sincerly,
The Ethiopia Team
| July 15, 2011 |
Dear Families,
At the beginning of July, 2011, one of our partners, Mussie Orphanage, had its license to operate revoked by the Ethiopian Charities and Societies Administration (CSA), the government office which oversees all Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) including adoption service providers and orphanages. The revocation is being blamed on organizational leadership and community development shortcomings and does not indicate a problem with child care or adoption processing. In speaking to government officials, Children's Home has been assured this licensing issue that is separate and unrelated to CHSFS.
As parents who have adopted from Ethiopia and in particular through Mussie Orphanage, we recognize that this information may cause stress, sadness or fear. We have more questions than answers at this time, as well, so we feel similar stress and concern. At the same time we want you to know that we have been assured on numerous occasions that our adoption work in Ethiopia is not under scrutiny, and we believe that our practices are revered as best practices by agencies and governments in numerous countries, including the USA and ET. The focus of this case does not seem to be related to the manner in which children came into care. We continue to push for information and disclosure, and we will share reliable information as soon as it is known.
Mussie Orphanage is reported to be acting in cooperation with authorities, but is appealing the revocation of its license at the regional and federal level, as well. It will likely take some time before an outcome of the appeal is known, and so the long-term implications for post placement reports and post placement services is uncertain. However, at this time, Mussie Orphanage is maintaining its administrative functions which include processing post-placement reports and post-placement service requests. We take our obligations to birth families seriously. In the short-term, if Mussie Orphanage becomes unable to process post-placement reports and service requests, we will make use of our established relationships with social workers in the area to ensure that we fulfill our obligations. We will create a longer-term solution when and if that becomes needed.
For the next couple of weeks, we will be focusing our advocacy and outreach toward the in process children and families in Ethiopia. But we will stay on top of this developing news and keep placed families informed with updates and impacts in a timely manner. If you have a service request at this time, we ask that you contact our Ethiopia post adoption services area.
Sincerely,
Kjersti Olson
Director of International Programs
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