[lisainatlanta]

Hey guys don’t post much anymore. Things are going great for Will and I. He’s almost 2 and has been home now for almost 18 months. However I had a question posted to me regarding a FC situation with a family who just visited their son.... They were told not to expect there child until Feb. or March and that there paperwork would not even be submitted to PGN until Dec. The social worker is sitting on their paperwork - everything is completed and this family is going through this. Any other exp. out there or have you guys heard of this before? I’ve read before about Adoption Supervisors – not sure what that is. I sent her an email and sent her this web address - I hope she's reading so if any of you know anything post it please. THANKS AGAIN GUYS, THIS WEB SITE IS GREAT!

[diver345]

Do you know what family court number she is in? I've heard that one of them is very slow-I think it's family court number 3. I think the attorney has the right to withdraw the papers from FC and resubmit them to try again for another social worker who might be quicker.
HTH
Vicki

[lisainatlanta]

Thanks. Has anyone heard of Adoption Supervisors? What do they do?

[brink]

Yes indeed. It happens when someone is hoping for a bribe. And because some do pay bribes, it jims up the works for the rest of us. That is the part of international adoptions that needs to definitely be addressed. It really does depend on which social worker, judge, etc that your case is assigned to as to how quickly it goes through.

[lexiesmom]

I have heard of this also. I have heard of attorneys removing the case from FC and resubmitting. It means starting over, but it maybe faster than waiting for the SW to release the report.

Donna

[lisainatlanta]

Originally Posted by brink

Yes indeed. It happens when someone is hoping for a bribe. And because some do pay bribes, it jims up the works for the rest of us. That is the part of international adoptions that needs to definitely be addressed. It really does depend on which social worker, judge, etc that your case is assigned to as to how quickly it goes through.

Brink - I dont understand. Could you explain this....are you saying that adoption sup. are acting out of line?

[brink]

To be honest, I don't even know what an adoption supervisor is. Our kids all came from a private orphanage. I just know that bribes are paid, not sure by whom or at what stages, but it happens for certain. Some of this is just how "business" is done in some countries, as I know business men who include that "gratuity" in their business expenses, since it is expected and almost considered a way of showing gratitude for someone doing business with them. It's almost like paying a "tip" to get the work done more quickly. Since it is done, some will "hold out" for it. I don't agree with the policy, and especially when it involves adoption...but it is done and that's one reason why some cases move thru the system quickly and others take longer. I believe this is also one reason why the process is not "uniform" across the board. If only all people involved in the process were in it for the children's best interests...and not for lining their own pockets.

[becky716]

From someone who is working with Adoption Supervisors, I can tell you that under no circumstances are they taking bribes. That's ridiculous. They are simply attorneys that are hired by an adoptive family to supervise their adoption process. They make sure that your case keeps moving and doesn't end up sitting for weeks on someone's desk. They have been very beneficial to me.

I'm sorry Lisa, I don't have an answer for your friend. But, I did want to make it known that Adoption Supervisors is on the up and up.

[lisainatlanta]

Thanks, that stunned me a little. I've heard positive things about them and was curious if my friends needed to use them or not. This social worker is really dragging her feet on this.

[brink]

How, do you suppose, do they make certain that cases keep moving? And why should that be needed? What motives would anyone have to "sit" on a case? Some very serious questions to consider, before we use the word "ridiculous" loosely.

I said I have no knowledge of adoption supervisors. But I do have knowledge of nationals who do NOT pay bribes and what they have seen in the system over the course of many, many years of placing children through legal adoptions. Is anyone using your money to pay someone else to keep the paperwork moving? I believe the use of adoption supervisors is one of the concerns being addressed in that proposed new law. Perhaps there is a legitimate reason, not that they are taking bribes, but are they paying others to "motivate" them, with your money?

[becky716]

Brink,
I disagree with you. I do believe that there may be people down in Guatemala that get paid to keep some cases moving, but Adoption Supervisors is not them. Maybe you should educate yourself with Adoption Supervisors before making judgements on them. I researched AS for many weeks before deciding to use them and not once did I ever hear of a story such as this.
Maybe you're getting wrong information?

[becky716]

I would be happy to take this discussion offline because this discussion has nothing to do with the posters original question. Feel free to PM me.

[laburton3]

It is funny that bribes came up. I had someone on my agencies adoption board say that there case went through so quickly because there lawyer knew the correct palms to grease. Is that why some cases go through in 21/2 3 months and others take 7 or longer?

[jal_morris]

Somewhere along this thread, someone mentioned Adoption Supervisors as a possible option for the poster's friends who are stuck in FC. Someone ELSE mentioned that people get stuck in FC b/c the social worker is hoping for a bribe. Then somehow the two got confused.

Cases can and do get stuck in family court b/c the social worker not just hopes for, but demands, money in order to process the case at all. And yes, that is certainly one reason (but no doubt not the only reason) why some peoples' cases get through so much more quickly than others. Which is not to say that the families working with those agencies/attys/facilitators know that is what's happening. Of course, everytime someone takes a case out of order b/c they got paid (or got paid more, or got paid more recently - who knows?), the case of everyone else who didn't pay (or whose agency paid less) gets delayed.

Adoption Supervisors was raised by one poster as a possible solution to the problem b/c they offer services to families whose cases are seriously stuck, for various reasons. Although I haven't used their services, my understanding is that a case stuck essentially waiting for a payoff is probably NOT something they would agree to handle, since I think they focus on trying to get to the bottom of WHY a case is stuck - exactly what information is missing, etc., in order to facilitate getting the case moving again.

Alison (what else? stuck in FC)

[tam_nojm]

This happened to us with our first adoption. The SW refused to schedule the birthmother interview. At this point, the attorney should pull the file and resubmit it. It's ridiculous to have to wait. FC #3 is the bad one.