New Information on Two Trip Policy

We finished putting together T-man's care package. We included: 1 blanket, 1 photo album, a "Thank You" for the nannies, a letter from us, a colored picture from B, and one of the nano toys with extra batteries from the Jansons. Scott mailed it to CHS yesterday and they should get it today. Then, when the next group of families go over to Ethiopia they will bring the care package with them. Hopefully, he will get it soon.

We received new information on the "Two Trip" policy. Here is the lastest from our agency:

As most of you are aware, there is a lot of change waiting in the wings of the Ethiopia program. Early last month, the Ethiopian courts announced that they would like to see adoptive families face-to-face as part of the adoptive process. The Court stated that it would like to see this new requirement go into effect for families with court dates in April. On April 1, we received an update on this new travel requirement indicating that the new requirement will go into effect for those families whose court hearings occur after May 9, 2010. As we currently understand, beginning on May 10, there will be two separate court hearings; one for the birth families and one for the adoptive families. After the adoptive family hearing, the courts will complete the case. Then documents will be prepared and finalized for the final Embassy appointment. We cannot yet predict how much time will take place between the adoptive family hearing and the final Embassy appointment. Our in-country representative and his staff are putting together a blueprint for what the new two trip process will look like, and as soon as we know more about the requirements and possibilities for these two trips, we will let you know the specifics. Some possible scenarios we envision include the two trips combined into one longer trip (of possibly 4 to 6 weeks) or the option of an escort for the 2nd trip. We understand that the additional trip to Ethiopia represents a barrier to adoption for some families. An additional trip would require extra money, extra time away from work, time away from families, etc. We have reason to believe that in extraordinary circumstances one parent may be able to get an exception to the requirement to appear in court, but we do not yet know what would constitute "extraordinary" and it will be up for the Court to decide. As most international adoption programs mature, restrictions and requirements increase, and Ethiopia has again shown us that it is not an exception. We will continue to keep you up to date as we learn how recent changes will impact all of you.

So . . . we are waiting to hear about our court day. We are likely right on the boarder of this date. Other forum members that received a referral within just days of ours have gotten their court dates - and most of them have received a court date of April 28th. We haven't heard anything yet - but are really hoping that we will sneek in before the May 10th deadline. Otherwise, we will be making two trips, and the court trip will likely be over B's birthday :(

At least, that is the current information - however things seem to change often. You just never know.

I will post as soon as we find out our court date - maybe even today.

Peace

K