A recent news story out of Zambia is bad news for families using the U.S. adoption agency Faithful Adoption. The Namibian ran a story on August 13 titled "Zambia Smashes Adoption Scam."

The article states that the Zambia government has uncovered and ended an adoption scam that involved flying children out of Zambia with adoptive parents, without proper adoption procedures being followed. As a result of these findings, the article claims, three children have been "withdrawn" from the American families that were planning on adopting them.

The Zambian Community and Social Welfare Minister Catherine Namugala, said that unconfirmed reports showed that at least 17 other children had been taken out of the country for adoptions, without the knowledge of the government and without legally binding adoptions haven taken place.

In the article Minister Namugala claims that she is not against international adoptions, however, she that adoptions had to follow the proper procedures and laws. She also states that they are working on identifying the people working in this adoption scam.

The article also states:

She expressed disappointment that foster parents were insisting on adopting only children infected with HIV-AIDS.

I am assuming there is a type-o in that statement somewhere, as I can't imagine that all of the parents hoping to adopt from Zambia were demanding HIV+ children, and I can't imagine that if there was a line of people wanting to adopt HIV+ children that it would be something that government officials in Zambia would be disappointed about, but then again, what do I know?

Actually, the article states that the agency involved is the "Faithful Charity Agency" in the U.S., however no such adoption agency exists and the agency "Faithful Adoption" claims on their website to have an adoption program in Zambia and that it is a "wonderful program".

In the article, Minister Namugala warns those that are helping illegal adoptions take place that they will be cracking down on them, and she also encourages orphanages to improve the conditions that children are living in.

There is mention in the article of contacting the American Embassy to "track down" children who may have been taken/adopted to the United States illegally. I can't imagine being a parent and getting that phone call.

The U.S. Department of State international adoption information sheet on Zambia states that there is a 12-month residency requirement for parents wanting to adopt from Zambia, and that there can also be a mandatory three-month foster period.

It also states that these requirements can and have been waived, when deemed by the courts to be in the best interest of the child.

In Zambia, adoption agencies must be registered with Commissioner of Juvenile Welfare in order to provide adoption services, the Department of Social Welfare of the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services oversees adoptions and Zambian courts issue adoption and custody orders based on recommendations made by social welfare officers at the district level.

I do not know much about adopting from Zambia, but I can say that any parent attempting to adopt a child without a court order or decree should be suspicious and concerned. As always, I strongly encourage all adoptive parents to do their own research, especially when choosing a program that is new or only has a small number of children every adopted.

There is a lot more information on the Intercountry Adoption Zambia page.

Zambia is a beautiful country with well over half a million orphans. These kind of stories (and the unethical doings that cause them) do so much harm to international adoptions and ultimately it is the children who suffer.