Tuesday, June 11, 2013

A Report From the Family Court

I heard a report coming out of the family court in Korea.  The judges were very touched by the kind words of encouragements expressed by many adoptive families that have responded to the MPAK's blog.  MPAK gathered many comments and they were sent over to them.  Thanks to Junhyung Lee for the translation.  This feedbacks to the judges was the second one I sent.

Since the first group of parents was summoned by the judges on May 31st, they have met many ICA adoptive families.  The judges were very impressed with the adoptive families they met.  A judge confessed that in some cases she was moved to tears when witnessing the love displayed by the visiting adoptive families.

On May 29th, there was a discussion in the family court regarding adoptive parents’ medical reports. The judges were concerned about few parents that might have history of substance and alcohol abuse. While their doctors at home may have declared them healthy from substance abuse and alcoholic problems, the judges wanted to make sure the ‘healthy’ declaration is not just temporary condition but permanent ones. 

As for the ICA, the court has decided that children should receive IR-3 visas to make sure they get the citizenship immediately. As for IR-4, while the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 guarantees the receipt of citizenship upon finalization of adoption, and there is no chance of deportation to worry, the judges felt that making sure that receiving the citizenship with certainty and immediately upon entry is desired, and that’s the least that the Korean government can do for the children. Judges felt that despite the fact that there are increased workloads and delays for choosing IR-3, they felt that this was a burden that they need to bear.

As for the long term stay in Korea, the judges will do their best to speed up the finalization process.  They have decided to eliminate some procedures required for birthmothers by not requiring them to show up in the court.  If the birthmothers do not wish to be notified of adoption, the court will not notify them.  If they wish to be notified, the court will work with them on how and when they should be notified.

When the agencies receive adoption relinquishment agreements from birthmothers, they will note how the birthmothers wish to be notified, where, and what form of communications is preferred.  This will save some time in determining the court dates as they will not be required to be summoned.  However, there were some birthmothers that decided to change their minds after being notified of adoptions.  Just in April and May, there have been five cases of birthmothers cancelling the adoptions, and deciding to keep the babies.

As for the issue of adoption delays, when the judges examined the adoption cases last week, there were some cases where the parents waited 18 months before the cases reached the judges in April this year.   It appeared that the delays happened long before reaching the court, thus the court does not feel responsible for the delays.

30 comments:

  1. Hi Steve, thank for the update. Do you have any info about visitation of the children by the adoptive parents while in Korea on trips one and two and if a family decides to stay in Korea for one trip?

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    1. It appears that some are choosing to stay the whole time, and many are choosing to be there for a week during the hearing, go back to their home countries, then fly back (usually one parent in 2nd trip) when they are able to pick up their children.

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    2. Momtobe,

      I am in korea right now and I am waiting for my court date. We were able to see our daughter twice this week. We are not sure what to expect tomorrow in court. We will leave the next day to return to the US and return in two weeks.

      The most frustrating part is that no one knows what happens next after the approval. We dont know when we have to return and for how long. It has cost almost $15k for my wife and I to travel back and forth to korea. When you book last minute, the price of the tickets are 30-50% higher!! Not to mention that ive lost $50k in lost revenue from being closed for 9 days for my small business! This whole process has been extremely frustrating and we will not do it again. Everyone is afraid of telling us the wrong information and basically no one knows what is going on. If someone claims to know what is going to happen, they're lying to you.

      the kids are the ones who suffer the most. I feel for the foster parents because you can see that they are overwhelmed because of the bond they've created with the child.

      shame on korea, this is all quite pathetic in my opinion.

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    3. James, you must be very excited to see your little girl after all this time. I am very happy that your family is almost together at the end of this journey.

      I will hope for a positive attitude for you going into court so that everything works out in your favor.

      Congrats on finally meeting that precious little girl!

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    4. James, my heart goes out to you. I think the level of loss (financial, time, and emotional) experienced may differ from families to families, but it is clear that this new process has been a one gigantic burden for all. But I hope that you will find some comfort in knowing that you are almost there to bring your daughter home. And from that time on with all the happiness the daughter will bring you, the huggings, the kissings, and gigglings, and all the good stuff and of course the pains as well...will have been all worth the trouble. May you be encouraged as you look forward, and much blessings to you for you have done the right thing.

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    5. So James!! How did court go? Can you share details here?

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    7. @Tricoachgirl, they asked why we chose to adopt in korea, how long we were married for, how we met as a couple, where we lived, whether there was a korean community where we lived, what nationality we were, how long we were staying in korea for, if we had any other children, what our occupations were, what our annual income was, and if we knew that if the court gave final approval that there was no going back. they also asked if we had any final questions or comments for the court. literally, those were the questions asked. nothing more, nothing less.

      that was pretty much it. it took 5 minutes per family, maybe six? judge was very, very friendly and nice.

      the whole question now becomes, what now? what's next? we came back to the US and now we have to book our next flight and hotel again in korea. tough sitting in an airplane for 14 hours, let alone with a 2 year old that doesn't know you at all!

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    8. Thanks for the info! Did you get to visit your child a few times? I hope? Did your agency give your an estimate of when the court will issue final judgement to start your 14 days? Was court 'surprised' at how old your child was and how long you'd been waiting? Did your agency cue you on to what would happen at court beforehand? Did they send a representative from your agency for the first few cases? I think that would be helpful and a wise idea on the part of an agency.

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    9. answers to your questions:

      we got to see her for 2 visits before our court appearance. our agency says that once we get approval that it will take 14 days to get our child. the court didn't mention anything about the age of our daughter. the agency did give some examples of questions that were asked in previous court appearances. they sent two interpreters and one social worker for every family. what's going to happen next? I don't know. waiting for approval, once i hear, i will book flight and hotel.

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    10. James, thanks very much sharing your experiences. I would really like to have a copy of the sample questions if you have them. Also, please document your experience, and I will combine with another parents' experience and share with all the readers in the blog on what to expect. Please mail me your questions to me at mpakusa@gmail.com. I understand that you still have a few weeks before all is done, and I will be more than happy to share in the blog your experiences and those of others. Thanks again sharing your experiences.

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    11. James, how long were you in Korea for this first trip?

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    12. @steve: i'm still waiting for my approval from court and i will share how long the visa process etc will take.

      @Kelley: I just got back from 1st trip to korea. i went for one week. got to meet my daughter twice (1 to 1.5 hrs each time) and had a 5-10 minute court appearance). once court approval is given, i will go back to korea. yes, i'm still going through jet-lag and i'm exhausted at work and at home

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  2. Hi Steve, thanks for another update! I'm curious how the quota for 2013 plays in to all this since it sounds like they're trying to speed things up for everyone. Is the quota for ICA adoptions still being enforced, and is it tied to the number of domestic adoptions as previously suggested?

    Regarding the birth mothers who have cancelled the adoptions and chosen to keep the babies, did those happen during that 14-day appeal period? And if the birth mother does change her mind, is there any information regarding a refund of the money that the adoptive families have already spent for the adoption?

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    1. The quota has already been set for 2013 and it should be a reduction of about 10% from last year's quota. It has nothing to do with domestic adoption performance. However, the EPs will be given based on domestic adoption performance. You must remember that the June schedule for the family court appearances will close out the remaining EPs granted from 2012. Of all the appearances in June I do not know how many are the first group of the 2013 EPs, or whether there are any.
      As for the birthmothers that kept the babies, I don't think they necessarily happen during the 14-day waiting period. They may have been notified before. If a birthmother changes her mind, the agency will assign another child right away if you wish to continue. I'm sure they will refund you the money if you choose not to continue. But if you do continue, the process of EP approval and another family court appearance need to be made. However, the agencies will make your case a priority.

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    2. Just a clarification- there are July 12 court cases and those are still EP's from 2012. And there are at least several other 2012 families that don't have court dates still. No EP approvals yet either and it's now been 5 weeks since first ones of 2013 went in.

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    3. Dear Tricoachgirl,
      Thanks for the updated information. It appears things have changed and maybe not all the scheduled cases were processed by the court.

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  3. Steve,

    Do you know if they will in fact speed up the process? Also, can you clarify this statement? I'm not sure I understand

    "It has nothing to do with domestic adoption performance. However, the EPs will be given based on domestic adoption performance"

    Thank you.

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    1. The quota level is rather independent of domestic adoption. Each year the government reduces by 10% from the quota assigned from the previous year. However, the EPs will be based on the performance of agencies based on domestic adoption level. In other words, the total EPs approved in 2013 may not reach the quota level.

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  4. James, thank you for sharing. You are our life line as the rest of us wait in the dark. Hope you return quickly!

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  5. Dear Steve and Family who had the court date on May 31 and June 4:

    Has the court issued the final court approval yet? Do you know what visa will the child use to come to the USA (IR3 or IR4)?

    Thank you!

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  6. i heard from a family that had a court date on May 31st that they got the IR3 visa.

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  7. James, thanks for all of this information!

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  8. I just bought my tickets to return to Korea. it took longer than expected to get the approval from the court (1 day) and for the 14 day waiting period (took 17 days). just wanted to warn couples that are going to korea that this is a new process and there will be delays. don't bank on the courts/agencies to give you definite dates. buy an open ended ticket. we'll see how long the us embassy in seoul will process our child's visa. the us embassy does NOT grant visas on wednesday and they are closed on both american and korean holidays.

    will keep you all posted!

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    1. Thanks, James. Have a good trip to Korea.

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    2. James: Very happy for you! Thank you for sharing. Were your court date 6/14? Do you have an appointment schedule with the USA embassy in Korea yet?

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  9. Steve,
    Is the rate of birthmothers who change their minds & decide to take their child back any different under the New Special Law than it was under the old law? Is the rate so far approximately 5/60 cases that have been hear by the Family Court?

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    1. I would think this is hardly a noticeable change when only 5 of 60 cases, but still we can't ignore. I'm sure the government is not very pleased with this. My concern is more with the birthmothers that decided to keep their children, only to change their minds again later when things don't go too well for them.

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    2. Do the children go back into foster care again if the BM or BP decide they can't care for the child? I see the system ending up similar the US system where kids go in and out of multiple foster homes. Also what might happen if BM comes back within the waiting period or after a family has already travelled to Korea?

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