Six-year waiting list to adopt children at home and abroad
Monday, October 23, 2017 @ 3:46 PM
ADOPTION processes in Spain are so slow that many would-be parents wait years for a child, and some have given up trying, says inter-regional federation FIDECAI.
The problem, which tends to be bureaucratic, largely involves international adoptions due to a lack of bilateral agreements between Spain and other countries. Spain's lack of progress leads to the other nations backing out, complains Susana Morales of the international adoption society Familias de Colores. “There are some 45 countries outside the EU with whom Spain shares adoption legislation,” she says, “so it doesn't make sense.”
Families hoping to adopt overseas sign a contract with an ECAI, or International Adoption Cooperation Agency, then join a waiting list of up to three years on average, but often as much as six years. The contract states how much the parents have to pay to cover the notary's, translator's and interpreter's fees and other costs; typically around €12,000 until recently but now at least €20,000, depending upon the country. This does not include travel or accommodation expenses for the parents, and in some nations, such as the Dominican Republic, they are required to stay there for up to four months; impossible where one or both parents work.
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