Ethiopia Update

It has certainly been an emotional few weeks for the FTIA Ethiopia Program.  I appreciate every one's patience as I endeavored to answer your questions and address your concerns regarding the changes in FTIA's program and the most recent announcement that Shalom is under investigation.  I have copied below the text of an announcement that Bethany sent to their adoptive families earlier this week. 

Please know that to this point FTIA has not had any cases investigated prior to the visa being issued for a child.  We hope and expect that trend to continue.  As you are likely hearing from other adoptive parents, the US embassy is taking longer to issue visa interview appointments so we do not yet know how long it will take for interview appointments to be scheduled once all of the paperwork has been submitted to the embassy.

We will have our regularly scheduled conference call on Monday, January 10th at 7:00 pm central time.  To join the call dial 1-800-944-8766 and enter code 67982.

Bethany's Post:  During the family conference call yesterday regarding Ethiopia adoptions, we discussed Bethany’s current relationships with partner orphanages.  I would like to make sure that everyone is informed that Bethany is phasing out of its relationship with Shalom. Bethany has reached this decision because of constant difficulties obtaining reliable documentation from Shalom for some time.  Bethany’s own field investigations have recently confirmed inconsistencies or/and unreliable data provided by Shalom. Almost all cases under investigation by the Embassy in Addis Ababa are from Shalom.

What does this mean?

1.        Bethany will continue to process the adoptions of all children currently referred from Shalom and make every effort to ensure their smooth completion.

2.        Bethany will completely terminate the working relationship with Shalom once all the children in the adoption process are placed with families.

3.        Bethany will continue to share post adoption reports with Shalom as always

4.        This decision will not affect the volume of referrals Bethany gets. Bethany's Country Director is currently finalizing other working relationships with two child-welfare agencies in Ethiopia who will make referrals to Bethany.

There is no reason for families to panic regarding this decision by Bethany. We expect placements to move forward with cases already referred/accepted. Thank you for your partnership in serving children and families through the Ethiopia program.

The Ethiopia Team