Agency folds, puts couple's adoption plans on hold
Agency folds, puts couple's adoption plans on hold
Bankruptcy trustees take over company conducting arrangements for two children
By Sarah Mclellan, Edmonton Journal, with files from the Calgary HeraldJuly 16, 2009
Tammy Campbell and her family have been planning for the arrival of two adopted children from Ethiopia for months.
She and her husband, Scott, have been collecting Ethiopian art, tasting Ethiopian food and gathering children's books about African folklore.
The couple's two daughters have even moved into the same bedroom to free up a room for their new siblings, and Tammy has started to stash baby clothes, blankets and teddy bears in her closet.
But all the plans are on hold now, after the agency the family used for their adoption was seized this week by bankruptcy trustees.
On Monday, business was halted at Cambridge, Ont.-based Kids Link International, leaving about 400 Canadian families and their adoptions in limbo.
Bankruptcy trustee BDO Dunwoody has been assigned to go through the agency's accounts and will update the families on Friday.
Alberta Children and Youth Services, the ministry responsible for overseeing international adoptions in the province, learned through local adoption agencies Monday that something was amiss.
The province has since e-mailed all the Alberta families dealing with the agency, promising to help facilitate their adoptions and track down more information.
"I really feel like we're making progress," said Cathy Ducharme, spokeswoman for Alberta Children and Youth Services.
In Alberta, six families using the agency have been matched with Ethiopian children but have not yet legally adopted the youngsters, Ducharme said.
About three or four additional families in the province have legally adopted their children via Kid's Link and its affiliate, Imagine Adoption, but were waiting for the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi to issue travel visas or passports, she said.
The province has asked that office to expedite the documents, Ducharme said.
In Tammy Campbell's case, she was waiting to be matched with two children under five years old.
Her family applied to the company in August 2008, and all their paperwork arrived in Ethiopia in December.
The Campbells, who live in Beaumont, have invested about $15,000 in the process, but Tammy said she doesn't care about the money.
"For us, the money isn't the point," she said.
"We want to complete this adoption. My heart is wrapped around these two kids in Ethiopia who I don't know, yet who are supposed to be a part of our family."
The family was caught off-guard by the bankruptcy announcement, having communicated with the agency just last week.
Tammy said she's trying to remain hopeful.
smclellan@thejournal.canwest.com
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