As agency goes bust, families organize to try to get kids to Canada

As agency goes bust, families organize to try to get kids to Canada

Jul 19, 2009 04:30 AM

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Dale Anne Freed

STAFF REPORTER

More than 25 prospective families left in the lurch after Imagine Adoption declared bankruptcy last week are scheduled to meet in a downtown Toronto condo today to get their kids and their money, said Ingrid Phaneuf, one of the organizers.

Would-be parents have paid tens of thousands of dollars in adoption fees for children in Ethiopia, Ghana and Ecuador they have not yet been able to adopt from the six-year-old non-profit agency, said Phaneuf. So far, some $800,000 has been collected from families. The estimate is expected to increase as more families come forward, she said.

"We want to develop an action plan," said Phaneuf. "Our first priority, everybody agrees, is the kids who are already matched up with parents. We want to bring them home to Canada."

Phaneuf and her husband, Edward Barth, paid the agency $14,000 in trust for a baby girl they have not been matched with yet.

"We're trying to make sure the kids remaining in the transition home (in Ethiopia) receive the money they need to keep operating for that time. We also want to get the files that were started completed," said Phaneuf. "The majority of parents who have paid the agency have not been matched with a child."

The prospective parents plan to appoint a steering committee to represent some of the 400 families to deal with the government and bankruptcy officials. They plan to meet with Deb Matthews, the Minister of Children and Youth Services, in the near future.

"We want to make sure we can keep track of fundraising efforts. We've already sent $1,000 to Ethiopia with one parent this week to help provide food for them," Phaneuf said.

Along with families from Toronto, Sudbury and Milton, officials from the Adoption Council of Ontario and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services are expected to attend the meeting.

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