Official yet Unofficial

There was a letter posted on a website Tuesday stating that the USCIS (INS) was now going to do DNA tests on children who are abandoned effective immediately. No agency had even heard of this "new" policy until it was plastered on this site. My agency contacted the USCIS in Vietnam and spoke with the officer in charge who confirmed it was true however, they have yet to make an official statement regarding it. The "new" policy only applies to children who have been relinquished by their parent(s) to the custody of the government and are available for international adoption. In other words, if a child is found on the steps of an orphanage the DNA testing would not apply unless in the course of the police investigation they find the parent(s) and the proper papers signed. The government has to prove that the people giving up the child are in fact the true birth parents. OK, I understand that and I kind of agree with it. The part that I do not agree with is the INSTANT change in policies effective immediately. That's just crap in my opinion. Phase these changes in! It's only prolonging the amount of time a child remains in an orphanage instead of in the care of his/her forever family where their development will be much better and not further delayed.

I also do not agree with this site and their apparent disregard for the welfare of the children of Vietnam and the families currently in the process of adopting those children. The people who run this site are APs (adoptive parents) or PAPs (prospective adoptive parents) who were or have been issued NOIDs (US denied their child entry in US) and have either completed or are in process of turning over the NOID. They are out for themselves doing anything they can to get these children home. Hey, I can understand their need to do this, but I don't think they realize the ramifications of what they are doing. There are hurting the adoption process and the relations between the US and VN.

I wrote them an email telling them how I thought they were being selfish and unethical. I sympathized with their plight, but didn't agree with the tactics they were using and urged them to think before they leap and that they should only post 100% confirmed and official statements. OK, it wasn't very diplomatic, but it wasn't a bitch out email either. I didn't get a response from them, however they posted this on their site:

Update 4/2/08
-A bit about BringOurChildrenHome.org
We serve as a source of factual information for the PAP community. We only post information which has been verified, comes from trusted sources, and have permission to post. We do not speculate, we do not assume, nor will we try to interpret something. Should USCIS and ASPs begin to provide timely and detailed information to this community, then there will no longer be a pressing need for our website. We encourage all changes in that direction.
-We encourage each of you to continue to contact your senators on a regular basis so that these issues remain on the front burner in Washington DC and solutions can be created.

NOTE: ASP (Adoption Service Provider)