Agreement on reform of adoption from other countries

The majority parties in the Flemish Parliament (N-VA, CD&V and Open VLD) have developed a new framework for the so-called intercountry adoption, the adoption of children from abroad. The aim is to avoid as many uncertainties and abuses as possible and to better assist prospective parents.

he rules on intercountry adoption were only renewed five years ago. "But the theme is evolving so quickly that new regulations are required," says Flemish MP Katrien Schryvers (CD&V).

"Not only has the number of intercountry adoptions fallen sharply (from 122 in 2012 to 62 in 2016), which strongly influences the organization of the adoptions. We were also repeatedly confronted with questions and ambiguities in existing channels," says Schryvers, who now proposes a number of reforms together with Lorin Parys (N-VA) and Emmily Talpe (Open VLD).

Amendments

It happens that an adoption service or the Flemish Center for Adoption suspends or terminates cooperation with an adoption channel or service abroad, for example in the event of doubts about the integrity or when the legislation in the country concerned changes.

"In the latter case, prospective adoptive parents should be given the opportunity to switch to another adoption channel, without having to end up all the way at the back of the waiting list," says Lorin Parys (N-VA).

Aftercare

The majority parties also want prospective adoptive parents to receive psychosocial support throughout the adoption process. There should also be aftercare after the adoption, if necessary, "because the uncertainty weighs heavily on people", says Katrien Schryvers in "The morning" on Radio 1.

"Some adoptive parents or adoptees prefer not to knock on the door of the adoption service itself," says Emmily Talpe (Open VLD). "After-care must therefore also be a task of the Support Center for Adoption. Adopters and adoptees therefore have the choice of whom to turn to".

Tuning

The majority parties also ask in a resolution for better coordination between the Flemish and the federal level. They also ask for guarantees on the resources that the adoptive parents pay for project support.

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