Bid to ease pain of lengthy adoption process

A Dingli couple have come forward to express their frustration and demand changes to the present child adoption system after it had to weave through a 20-month bureaucratic process.

Olav and Giannella Attard have three healthy and energetic boys of their own, aged seven, six and three, but they both wished to have two more children.

"The path of adoption was a choice my wife and I took, not because we cannot have more kids of our own, but because we wanted to give a new lease of life to two young children who are homeless and parentless, without love and affection," Mr Attard said.

The young couple set its sights on Ethiopia after it saw the heart-breaking footage of a documentary on television and in December 2001 started the lengthy procedure of adoption.

Now, 20 months later, after a never-ending game of ping pong between the adoption panel, the director of social welfare and the adoption unit in Malta, the Attards have been finally informed they have been "approved as adoptive parents... ideally the panel suggests they adopt one child at a time".

They are now looking at another year before their dream can be realised since Ethiopia is waiting for an adoption agreement with Malta to be finalised before the path is cleared for Maltese couples to adopt.

The government is seeking agreements with different countries to facilitate the process of child adoptions while respecting the children's interests and curtailing abuse.

Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi recently told parliament that talks were underway with Russia and Bulgaria on adoption procedures.

Dr Gonzi defended the family department which, he said, was being accused by some of taking too long to draw up home study reports on families wishing to adopt.

It was Dr Gonzi's remarks that encouraged the Attards to come forward and speak about their ordeal.

"We want to speak out because we do not wish to see other couples go through the same frustrations. We happen to have three kids of our own and the system drove us round the bend, just imagine the trauma infertile couples have to face," Mr Attard said.

The couple believes that the very fact that they have three children was the first stumbling block in their adoption procedure.

"The reaction of the first social worker was: you have three kids, you do not need to adopt. My wife and I never saw adoption as a need, it was a choice to give a young child a new life," he said.

Nearly a year after they submitted their application to adopt they were advised that it would be reviewed in two years time "as your natural children need your full attention and on condition that you attend a parenting skills course".

The couple continued to forge ahead, meeting with family psychologists, enduring surprise home visits from the social worker and making endless phone calls to question what stage their application had reached.

What they found infuriating was that the system does not allow the family access to the adoption panel and the decision to adopt rests on one social worker's assessment.

"Adoptive parents should have a right to be present when decisions on their case are being taken. It's better to commit a crime because the law allows you the chance to appeal and be present when your case is heard but the same does not apply when one wishes to save a child from starving to death," they lamented.

The Attards insist they are not against having a proper adoptive system with follow-ups and appropriate procedures in place to ensure the child's protection but the administration process, they said, took far too long.

The couple has joined forces with three other families - two who have successfully adopted a child and another in the process of adoption - to set up a support group for families going through the lengthy and frustrating adoption process.

"When we applied to adopt we thought it would take just three months - we never dreamt it would take so long. We want to offer support to those planning to adopt," Mr Attard said.

The family can be contacted on 21 451702, via e-mail at olavatta@maltanet.net or write to: 208, Triq il-Merill, Dingli RBT 14.