I know agencies are not going to admit to the behavior that has led to the mess we are currently in or that Holt or Pearl S. Buck aren’t putting the money they get to good use. My point was that it should not take $25,000 (not including travel) to complete an adoption in a country where the per capita income for 2006 was under $800. I am sure the “bad” agencies are using the excess money to grease the wheels and bring in more babies. While agencies such as Holt are puting those funds to humanitarain projects. But wouldn’t it better for an agency such as Holt to scale back their projects, charge $10,000-12,000 (forcing other agencies to follow suit to stay competitive) which would not leave any agency $8,000 excess dollars to pay for a referral of a child. I think the agency fees for Holt (per their web site) are under $6,000 (for dossier and homestudy). That would leave an excess $4,000-6,000 to go toward in country fees and humanitarian needs. Sure it’s no $5,000-17,000 but hasn’t that higher number gotten us where we are today? Four thousand dollars (per family) could really add up and would go a long way in a country where most people don’t make a quarter of that a year.

Maybe I am being too simplistic in my thought process. But AP are willing to pay the huge fees because we know we have to if we want to adopt a child. It’s not like you can bargain down the prices. But all that excess money in the wrong hands can be disasterous. Wouldn’t it be better to run those agencies out of business that rely on those huge sums to pay people off than for every agency to just keep going with the status quo…..seems to me having large scale projects (which require way more money) are great, but no if the whole country shuts down and that money is no longer coming in.

As Linh stated, “You want a child that needs a home. You do NOT want a child at all costs especially when there’s some likelihood that the child already has a family.” Yes, that’s what we want, and it’s well worth the wait.

This could happen but having connections and being informed doesn’t make up for being short staffed. I am trying my best to keep on top of crisis calls and I mean, serious crises in the U.S. and around the world. I’m hoping someone will donate a cloning device.

Your proposal is interesting. Even though agency fees might be mostly comparable, what you might not be seeing is how your foreign fee is being distributed, how your agency’s MOU with the orphanage is structured, and how other agency donations are being used. No one is going to outright admit that your fees and other misc. donations are paying for trips to resorts or to maternity hospital physicians. If those receipts exist then we’d be halfway to the transparency we all dream of.

What is a good indication of how the fees might be used to solicit children is how much in country facilitators are paid. If one agency is openly admitting to paying their facilitator $8,000 per child then think how that compares to another paying their entire office staff less than $300/month. This was a big discussion topic at the JCICS Vietnam Summit in October. The President encouraged agencies to pay their facilitators salaries and what’s reasonable for their services, NOT contingency fees. The problem is that some agencies think that that contingency fees ARE reasonable. Then we get into a position where adoption is really is a business and not a humanitarian or non-profit venture. We can’t expect standardized fees when agencies have different objectives, operational expenses (legitimate and questionable), etc. But we can expect Vietnam to publish its fee schedule so that we can evaluate just how much is actually going towards the process and how much is going towards the provincial authorities, orphanage directors, and facilitators.

Pearl Buck and Holt have excellent reputations in Vietnam and in other countries. They publish amazing annual reports and because of their reputations, are transparent about their programs and transactions in country. They also engage locals and ensure informed consent when birthfamilies are identified. These agencies obviously didn’t need a standards of practice when they’re pretty much the gold standard in accountability and ethics. This is based on what I’ve seen and heard of in Vietnam.

Linh Song, MSW
Executive Director
Ethica, Inc.

Why has Ethica not done a study to determine what appropriate fees for international adoption are? THey are obviously well connected and informed on all angles of this issue. They must be able to advise what would be appropriate fees to complete an adoption that will still lend enough money to not only cover the expenses but fund humanitarian projects but not so much that it will lead to wide spread corruption.

It seems to me that somehow the price was fixed (since all of the agencies charge approx the same amount) and no one has wanted to cut into their bottom line by lowering the fees. Even the best of agencies are charging the same fees, even if they are putting that money towards valid programs it is still allowing the unethical agencies to bring in tens of thousands of dollars to use for bribes or whatever. If an agency such as Holt or Pearl S. Buck (which I think are considered ethical??) would lower their prices then that would force the other agencies to do the same to keep in business. Plus more people would sign with those agencies (most probably from price alone) which would give them more money (more clients=more money) to put toward their projects. They could limit the number of families (because even the best agency won’t have unlimited access to children) but that would still force the other agencies to get in line fee wise.

And I am not just talking Vietnam here, even if the country closes down there will be another one waiting to take money for international adoption and the same thing will happen all over again.

It’s just a thought….

We’ll also be announcing our fundraising campaign. Ethica is an all volunteer organization but with so many countries closing in the past year, we need your support. We need to be able to meet the demand for our advocacy and crisis work. Our caseload will be stretching from 250 to at least 1,000 in a few months time. Please consider donating so that we can assist each family and so that we can continue our policy work. Thank you!

Linh Song, MSW
Executive Director
Ethica, Inc.

Everyone wants to know who the agencies are and how many cases have they found. Now that the report has been issued by the Embassy….can we file a Freedom of Information Act request for more detailed information used in the preparation of the report?