Although there are many children in England who are looking for an adoptive family, there are also children in other countries who need homes. Intercountry adoption may be their only opportunity to have a permanent family. For humanitarian reasons, the Government allows intercountry adoptions to proceed where:

Please use the links provided to find your area of interest.

News items

19 January 2010 – New requirements for prospective adopters Re: Philippines

The Department has been advised by the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) of the following information:

After careful deliberation, the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) has come up with the following list of new requirements for prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) with medical and psychological concerns.

Effective November 1, 2009, foreign adoption agencies should no longer accept families for the Philippine program who have the following medical and psychological issues as they will no longer be accepted by ICAB:

List of unacceptable medical issues:

1. Diabetes Mellitus
2. Obese (BMI of PAPs should be 35 and below)
3. Cancer
4. Kidney transplant and any major transplant (heart, lung, liver)
5. Pacemaker/stroke/myocardial infarction
6. Multiple sclerosis and other degenerative muscular disorder
7. Autoimmune disorders
8. Risk factors that will impede care for the child (e.g. blind, deaf, wheelchair bound)
9. Hepa C

List of unacceptable psychological issues:

1. Psychiatric disorders
2. Mood disorders/major depressive disorders
3. Anxiety disorders
4. Substance use disorders
5. Sexual disorders

ICAB requires that all applicants to be adoptive parents to a Filipino child seek a full psychological evaluation from a competent practitioner.

ICAB expects the psychologist to employ a reasonable combination of assessment processes when preparing the psychological evaluation report – clinical interview, evaluation of collateral information and psychological testing among others. The psychological evaluation report reflects the practitioner’s synthesis of all the gathered data.

The psychological evaluation report, therefore, shall include, but not be limited to the following:

1. Early experiences (e.g. childhood or adolescent years) that played a significant role in their development as individuals. How did
those experiences shape their development? Will unresolved issues, if any, likely impact the applicants’ parenting capability?
2. Functional assessment.
3. General coping mechanisms and problem-solving strategies as individuals and as a couple.
4. Clinical impressions.
5. Objective tests administered. Briefly describe what each test is meant to measure. State the results and their implications on the individuals’ capability as prospective adoptive parents.
6. Conclusions and recommendations.

The following are the psychological tests required for PAPs (note: the psychologist is expected to have access to valid and reliable psychological tests within his/her jurisdiction).

1. Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF)
2. Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III (MCMI-III)
3. Rorschach and Projective Personality Tests
4. Bender Gestalt Test
5. Fired Sentence Completion Test
6. DAP and RBE 2
7. 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire*
8. Parent Awareness Skills Survey*
9. Hare Psychopathy Checklist-R*

Note: *optional tests

ICAB will be expecting a more comprehensive psychological and medical assessment for PAPs who intend to adopt a regular child from the Philippines. PAPs seeking a relative or a special needs child will be assessed on a case-to-case basis.

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15 January 2010 – Indian adoption applications for Preet Mandir

We have been informed that an adoption agency in India, Preet Mandir, is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation in India following allegations of adoption malpractice. Information on the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) website, which is the Indian Central Authority, suggests that Preet Mandir’s licence continues to be valid. This means that Preet Mandir can continue to process adoption applications. The Department has written to CARA seeking reassurance that it is content for Preet Mandir to continue to process applications, and we have asked to be updated on the outcome of the investigation. We will continue to review the situation following CARA’s response. Any updates will continue to be published on this website.

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