Oregon Legislative Assembly Office of the Senate President Office of the House Speaker

News Release

 

Contact:  Robin Maxey                        Geoff Sugerman                 March 16, 2009

            (503) 986-1605                           (503) 986-1210

robin.maxey@state.or.us         geoff.sugerman@state.or.us

 

Lawmakers Will Seek Better Protections

For Oregon Children in Adoption Cases

(SALEM) – Legislative leaders said Monday they have asked key legislators to craft legislation that will better protect Oregon children placed for adoption with family members in foreign countries. Two pieces of legislation will be considered – one to bring Oregon into compliance with a new international treaty concerning adoptions and the other to require more complete home studies both prior to and after children are sent overseas for adoption.

 

Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Dave Hunt said weekend news reports about the 2005 death of an Oregon-born child placed with an aunt and uncle in Mexico highlight the need for the state to take every possible precaution before placing children for adoption outside the state.

 

“Oregon must do everything within its power to protect those among us who can’t protect themselves. We can no longer count on authorities in other countries to take care of Oregon’s children. Lives are at stake,” said Courtney (D-Salem/Gervais/Woodburn) “As a state we have a legal obligation to make use of all the resources available to protect the children in our care. But beyond that, as human beings, we have a moral obligation to prevent this type of tragedy from happening again.”

 

“This case clearly proves we cannot rely on host countries to perform the due diligence and conduct the necessary assessments prior to the placement of a child,” said Hunt. “We simply cannot risk the life of a single child who is in the care and custody of Oregon. We will act this session to protect foster children who are adopted internationally.”

 

Legislative leaders asked Senator Floyd Prozanski, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Jeff Barker and Rep. Judy Stiegler, the chair and vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to consider legislation that will ensure that Oregon is in compliance with the provisions of the The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.

 

The treaty regulates adoptions between the United States and nearly 75 other countries around the world, providing greater oversight of adoptions, and making the United States State Department the central authority over international adoptions in the U.S.

 

“Compliance with the Hague treaty will give the state another tool to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all Oregon children, regardless of where the child is placed for adoption,” said Prozanski.

 

“We clearly need to solve this issue on two fronts. First, we need to ensure we are working closely with the federal government and other nations on the adoption treaty. But we also need to make sure we do more to protect these children, both before placing them and after they have been sent to their new family abroad,” said Stiegler (D-Bend), a former CASA director.

 

Rep. Carolyn Tomei, chair of the Health and Wellness Committee, and Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson have been charged with  putting together legislation that would increase home visit requirements in all adoption cases, including those when children are placed with family members in foreign countries.

 

“The difficulties these young people face so early in life must not be compounded by our state’s inability to assure their safety, especially when they are sent abroad to live with members of their own family,” said Tomei. “We must protect these children.”

 

“It is our moral obligation to ensure that Oregon’s children in the foster care system are protected and cared for,” said Monnes Anderson.

 

DHS officials report that in the last decade, the state has placed 27 children with adoptive families, usually with relatives, in other five foreign countries: Mexico, England, Canada, New Zealand and Germany.