Government endorses draft law on adoption

Internationally adopting a Moldovan child should be allowed in case one of the spouses adopts the child of the other spouse, in case the child is adopted by a 4-degree relative (uncle, aunt) residing abroad and in case the child has not been accepted by the national adopter and suffers from a grave malady which cannot be treated in Moldova. These provisions are contained in the draft Law on the adoption legal status, endorsed this week by the Government, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the document, the international adoption may be permitted only if the adopter lives in a member- state of the Hague Convention on adoptions, or in a state with which Moldova has signed a relevant bilateral agreement. “The essence of the draft provisions consists in the fact that the procedure of adoption and control after adoption should be strictly regulated, in order not to admit abuses,” said Galina Balmos, the Minister of Social, Family and Child Protection. According to her, it is very important that every authority involved should know its powers, in case of either international, or national adoption. The Minister specifies the draft provides for post-adoption monitoring, during at least five years, as the adoptive parents and the entities having approved of the adoption will have to submit reports. According to official statistics, the national adoption is recording a slight increase. 360 children were adopted in 2007. The international adoption is keeping the pace of 90 children a year.