Compensation for adopted children possible but government not responsible

Adopted children are allowed to search for their parents and there is a lot of understanding that they want to do this, but the State is not responsible for paying for this search. This is apparent from the vast majority of responses to a Radar poll about compensation for the search for biological parents. Of the 852 responses, 691 are against financial compensation from the State. 128 of the respondents do think that compensation should be made and 33 people do not know or have certain conditions under which this compensation must take place.

The NOS recently reported that the Dutch government does not intend to offer financial compensation to adoptees who want to look for their biological parents. This is apparent from the rejection of a liability claim by lawyer Dewi Deijle. She argues that the Dutch State is legally liable for abuses in adoptions from abroad.

Ban on intercountry adoptions

Intercountry adoptions have been in the news a lot lately. These were banned after the Joustra Committee ruled that too many abuses had taken place. 'The Dutch government has failed to act by looking away for years', said outgoing Minister of Legal Protection Dekker when the new ban was announced.

Juris Dewi Deijle believes that there should therefore be a compensation fund for adoptees who want to find or have sought their biological family. However, Minister Dekker did not agree. 'Extremely disappointing', says Deijle.

Dutch State is not responsible

The vast majority of responses from the 81 percent of people who answered no to the poll indicate that the responsibility for compensation does not lie with the state. Many feel that taxpayers become the victims of abuses that they can do nothing about.

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The Dutch state is not responsible, let alone the taxpayers.

- Poll participant

According to these respondents, the blame lies elsewhere and not with the government. This would not have to support adopted children in the search for their parents.

Right to know origin

About 15 percent of all respondents think it is justified to provide financial assistance for adopted children. 'Even if the state did not steal the child itself, it is a kind of healing and buying stolen goods. And if that is not allowed, then the state has remained in serious flaws," says a poll participant.

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Everyone has the right to know where you come from

- Poll participant

Knowing where you come from is important to everyone, let a respondent know who is the mother of five adopted children. 'Financial support in this process will be many times cheaper for the government than the costs of mental health care that may be necessary because children continue to struggle with their origins.' Another commented that it may be medically important to be aware of your ancestry because of any genetically transmitted health conditions.

Adoptive parents must fund search

A number of reactions from people who do not think that the state should offer compensation indicate that compensation should be provided, but that it should come from the adoptive parents. One respondent wondered whether the adoptive parents had not played a greater role in the abuses than the government. 'Because they were so eager to adopt a child, they may have overlooked a lot. In fact, you then abuse the situation in a country, and later you can also financially support the children and biological parents for the mistakes.'

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Parents could also pay for their adoption, so they can do this too. Adoption is very expensive!

- Poll participant

Another person proposes to make some sort of surety bond obligatory upon adoption. An adoptee could claim this if things are poorly arranged during the adoption process.

Abuses by adoption agencies or country of origin

Some of the respondents also state that the responsible authorities should offer compensation. For example, someone says that the Dutch state cannot be held responsible for adopted children through private adoption agencies.

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If things did not go well, this is also due to the country from which the adoption took place.

- Poll participant

Part of the problem lies in the country of origin, as can be read in a number of answers. However, it would be difficult to arrange financial compensation from these countries, someone notes.

Proven proof of guilt required

It is remarkable that for all three answers, yes, no and perhaps, the same explanation can be found. The financial compensation is only necessary if it can be proven that the Dutch State was actually responsible for the abuses. According to these respondents, it is important that the state could have done something to prevent the abuses.

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Whether the state is responsible must be determined by an independent commission.

- Poll participant

Financing subject to conditions

However, many who are positive about the compensation indicate that conditions must be attached to the amount that the adopted children receive. For example, one respondent stated that the costs must be justified and that the compensation may only be used to search for the parents. 'Any travel, stay there or bringing parents over here should not be part of this; this is no different from properly executed adoptions.'

This is also the main motivation of the 4 percent who answer 'maybe'. For example, someone proposes to reimburse half of the costs up to a predetermined maximum. In addition, an adopted respondent wondered whether financial support is the solution if an adoptive country does not want to participate in the search.

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