Verdens bedste adoptionssystem bliver til verdens dyreste kontrolsystem!
The world's best adoption system becomes the world's most expensive control system!
Chairman Michael Paaske has written the following chronicle for Jyllandsposten: https://jyllands-posten.dk/debat/kronik/ECE11800889/world-best-adoptionsystem- becoming-to-world-pricest-controlsystem/
Read the full article here:
From the world's best adoption system to the world's most expensive control system
By Michael Paaske, President of Adoption & Society
Danish International Adoption (DIA) announced on Thursday that the end of the year will cease to include new applicants on a waiting list, because there is a lack of financial certainty that the cases can be completed. We find this extremely worrying.
There was a time when Denmark was among the best in the world for adoption. Today, in Denmark, we pay more than 5 million annually for extraordinary checks of approx. 40-50 adoption cases per year. The total amount for the supervision goes up to more than DKK 20 million without a single adoption case being stopped. It's unheard of.
The number of adoptions has decreased by 61 percent from 174 children in 2013 to just 68 children in 2018, and the decline continues this year to approx. 45 children. Many people who want adoption are not approved, partly because the requirements for adopters are tightened to the limit. We mean too much in Adoption and Society. Another part of the reason is that many people opt out of adoption because it is too expensive, between DKK 165,000 and DKK 293,000 today. Finally, it is of course also much easier nowadays, with medical treatment to achieve pregnancy.
in 2016, a broad majority in the Folketing decided that international adoption should continue to be a good opportunity to start a family in Denmark. But in light of developments in the field of adoption, the parties agreed in 2018 that work should be done to find a more sustainable model in the field of adoption and the National Board of Appeal, which oversees, embarked on this work.
A closed circle of officials
As an interest organization for approx. 2,500 member families, we were dismayed to see that this crucial analysis and development work took place in a canned closed circle of officials in the National Board of Appeal, and was carried out by officials who are exclusively supervised. To our great surprise, the National Board of Appeal chose not to involve the most important adoption experts, neither the intermediary organization Danish International Adoption (DIA) nor us in the Adoption and Society, which represent the adopted and the adoptors in Denmark.
Instead of opting for openness and involvement, the National Board of Appeal denied us insight into the first part of the hearing and the report that the Board has ordered from the International Social Service (ISS). We regarded this as completely unnecessary secrecy and therefore we complained on 26 June 2019 to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
Fortunately, the complaint was heard and has resulted in a partial opening, but now we must not see the second part of the hearing and the final ISS report. That is why we have again complained to the Ombudsman.
We do not believe in a state model
As far as we understand, there may be talk of introducing a state mediation model. At the risk of firing cannon with cannons, we feel compelled to make our views known here in full. Should the recommendation of the National Board of Appeal fall into a state model, we will give the following warning:
First, there is no evidence that a government model can work. There is not a single country in the world that we can compare ourselves to that model. Therefore, should a government model come up, we would say that we find it irresponsible to introduce a new model that is not documented to work. We must also point out that a large number of countries do not want to cooperate directly with a governmental authority, but on the contrary require cooperation with an NGO, such as the current Danish organization DIA.
If we had been invited to provide input, we would also have emphasized that international adoption requires the right cultural, social and professional competences. We would have said that these competences are not present in the National Board of Appeal. As the name implies, the National Board of Appeal primarily works with appeal cases, but has been assigned to the supervision in the field of adoption for unexplained reasons. A management oversight, which has also been criticized by some of our partner countries, because Danish officials interfere in the countries' internal processes, rules and customs. We can safely call it the elephant in a glass shop.
Finally, if asked, we would have recommended that adoption be moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where you have exactly the experience and knowledge that matches the special needs needed in the field of adoption. That is, insight into cultural differences and good / deep relations between countries.
We believe in the Icelandic model
We want to maintain the current model, where it is an independent NGO, which is responsible for mediating adoptions in Denmark.
We suggest making it cheaper for applicants and also creating greater transparency for applicants. Give back to the intermediary organization a financial framework that includes all the fixed costs for the adoptions. Applicants should bear only the direct and variable costs, ie. typical travel and accommodation, etc. in the country of origin.
We are inspired by the Icelandic model that works extremely well. The cooperation between the Icelandic intermediary organization and the Ministry of Justice in Iceland is based on mutual trust and not zeal and superfluous control. This was documented, among other things, at an adoption conference in Reykjavik in September.
The more than DKK 5 million that we pay annually to the National Board of Appeal's extraordinary control of approx. 40-50 adoption cases correspond to almost approx. half of DIA's annual revenue. It is crazy and must be stopped now.
For us, only the best interests of the child count, and here in Denmark we should be able to give even more children who do not have better alternatives the opportunity to have a good family.
Danish
Verdens bedste adoptionssystem bliver til verdens dyreste kontrolsystem!
Formand Michael Paaske har skrevet følgende kronik til Jyllandsposten: https://jyllands-posten.dk/debat/kronik/ECE11800889/verdens-bedste-adoptionssystem-bliver-til-verdens-dyreste-kontrolsystem/
Læs hele kronikken her:
Fra verdens bedste adoptionssystem til verdens dyreste kontrolsystem
Af Michael Paaske, formand for Adoption & Samfund
Danish International Adoption (DIA) meddelte torsdag, at man fra årsskiftet ophører med at optage nye ansøgere på venteliste, fordi der mangler økonomisk sikkerhed for, at sagerne kan gennemføres. Det finder vi stærkt bekymrende.
Der var engang, hvor Danmark var blandt de bedste i verden til adoption. I dag er det sådan, at vi i Danmark betaler mere end 5 millioner årligt til ekstraordinær kontrol af ca. 40-50 adoptionssager om året. Det samlede beløb til tilsynet løber op i mere end 20 millioner kr. uden at en eneste adoptionssag er blevet stoppet. Det er uhørt.
Antallet af adoptioner er faldet med 61 procent fra 174 børn i 2013 til kun 68 børn i 2018, og faldet fortsætter i år til ca. 45 børn. Mange, som ønsker adoption, bliver ikke godkendt, blandt andet fordi kravene til adoptanter er skærpede til det yderste. For meget mener vi i Adoption og Samfund. En anden del af årsagen er, at mange fravælger adoption, fordi det er for dyrt, mellem 165.000 kr. og 293.000 kr. koster det i dag. Endelig er det naturligvis også langt nemmere i dag, med medicinsk behandling at opnå graviditet.
i 2016 vedtog et bredt flertal i Folketinget at international adoption fortsat skulle være en god mulighed for at stifte familie i Danmark. Men på baggrund af udviklingen på adoptionsområdet aftalte partierne i 2018, at der skulle arbejdes på at finde en mere bæredygtig model på adoptionsområdet og Ankestyrelsen, som har tilsynet, gik i gang med dette arbejde.
En lukket kreds af embedsfolk
Som interesseorganisation for ca. 2.500 medlemsfamilier måtte vi bestyrtede se på, at dette afgørende analyse- og udviklingsarbejde foregik i en hermetisk lukket embedsmandskreds i Ankestyrelsen, og blev udført af embedsfolk, der udelukkende er beskæftiget med at føre tilsyn. Ankestyrelsen valgte, til vores store overraskelse, ikke at inddrage de vigtigste adoptionseksperter, hverken den formidlende organisation Danish International Adoption (DIA) eller os i Adoption og Samfund, som repræsenterer de adopterede og adoptanter i Danmark.
Frem for at vælge åbenhed og inddragelse nægtede Ankestyrelsen os indsigt i høringens første del og i den rapport, som styrelsen har bestilt hos International Social Service (ISS). Dette betragtede vi som helt unødvendig hemmeligholdelse og derfor klagede vi den 26. juni 2019 til Folketingets Ombudsmand.
Klagen blev heldigvis hørt og har medført en delvis åbning, men nu må vi ikke se den anden del af høringen og den endelige ISS-rapport. Derfor har vi igen klaget til Ombudsmanden.
Vi tror ikke på en statslig model
Så vidt vi forstår, kan der blive tale om at indføre en statslig formidlingsmodel. Med fare for at skyde gråspurve med kanoner føler vi os nødsaget til her, i fuld offentlighed, at give vores holdning til kende. Skulle anbefalingen fra Ankestyrelsen falde ud til en statslig model, vil vi give følgende advarsel:
For det første er der ikke er dokumentation for, at en statslig model kan fungere. Der findes ikke et eneste land i verden, som vi kan sammenligne os med, der har en sådan model. Skulle en statslig model komme på tale vil vi derfor sige, at vi finder det uansvarligt at indføre en ny model, der ikke er dokumentation for, kan fungere. Vi må også påpege, at en lang række lande ikke ønsker at samarbejde direkte med en statslig myndighed, men tværtimod kræver at samarbejdet sker med en NGO, som den nuværende danske organisation DIA.
Hvis vi var blevet inviteret til at give input, ville vi også have understreget at international adoption kræver de helt rette kulturelle, sociale og faglige kompetencer. Vi ville have sagt, at disse kompetencer ikke er tilstede i Ankestyrelsen. Som navnet antyder arbejder Ankestyrelsen primært med ankesager, men er af uforklarlige årsager blevet tildelt tilsynet på adoptionsområdet. En forvaltning af tilsyn, som i øvrigt er blevet kritiseret af nogle af vores samarbejdslande, fordi danske embedsmænd blander sig i landenes interne processer, regler og sædvaner. Vi kan roligt kalde det elefanten i en glasbutik.
Endelig ville vi, hvis vi blevet spurgt, have anbefalet at adoption blev flyttet til Udenrigsministeriet, hvor man har lige præcis den erfaring og viden, der matcher de særlige behov, der er brug for på adoptionsområdet. Det vil sige indsigt i kulturforskelle og gode/dybe relationer mellem lande.
Vi tror på den islandske model
Vi ønsker at fastholde den nuværende model, hvor det er en uafhængig NGO, som står for formidling af adoptioner i Danmark.
Vi foreslår at gøre det billigere for ansøgerne og også at skabe større gennemsigtighed for ansøgerne. Giv den formidlende organisation tilliden tilbage med en økonomisk ramme, der rummer samtlige faste omkostninger til adoptionerne. Ansøgerne bør kun bære de direkte og variable omkostninger, dvs. typisk rejse- og ophold mv. i oprindelseslandet.
Vi er inspirerede af den islandske model, der fungerer særdeles godt. Samarbejdet mellem den islandske formidlende organisation og Justitsministeriet i Island er baseret på gensidig tillid og ikke nidkærhed og overflødig kontrol. Dette blev blandt andet dokumenteret ved en adoptionskonference i Reykjavik i september måned.
De mere end 5 millioner kr. som vi årligt betaler til Ankestyrelsens ekstraordinære kontrol af ca. 40-50 adoptionssager svarer til næsten ca. halvdelen af DIA’s årlige omsætning. Det er vanvittigt og må stoppes nu.
For os er det kun barnets tarv der tæller, og her i Danmark bør vi kunne give endnu flere børn, der ikke har bedre alternativer, muligheden for at få en god familie.