These country updates bring you the most current and up-to-date information from our program coordinators. One way of keeping you informed of what is going on in the country.
March 2010
On March 1st the new law went into effect which requires children to be on the national registry only six months instead of 18 months! As with most countries, the placement of special needs and older children is their first priority. If you are interested in a special needs child, CAS welcomes your application. We are hopeful that referrals to families with dossiers currently in Georgia will happen soon and the CAS representative is working diligently with officials there. We are accepting a limited number of new applications so that families may begin to work on their homestudy. Please continue to check our website for new updates.
February 2010
Last month it was announced that the new law enabling children who are 6 months and older to be eligible for international adoption will go into effect on March 1st! As a result of this significant change it was decided that no referrals would be given until after March 1st. We are hopeful that by the end of next month our first family will receive a referral. In anticipation we are accepting new applications so that families may begin to work on their home study. Please continue to check our website for new updates.
Looking for a new soup recipe to try during the cold winter months? This Vegetarian Karcho (spicy soup) is sure to warm you up! For a heartier version try adding meat.
Ingredients:
- 1 Chopped Onion
- 4 Teaspoons of Butter
- ½ Cup of Finely Chopped Walnuts
- 1, 16 Ounce Can of Crushed Tomatoes
- ½ Cup of Rice
- 6 Cups of Water
- ½ Teaspoon of Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 ½ Tablespoons of a Hot Spice Blend (khmeli-suneli)
- 1 Teaspoon of Salt
- 6 Tablespoons of Chopped Cilantro
- 3 Tablespoons of Chopped Dill
- 3 Tablespoons of Chopped Parsley
Preparation:
- Sautee the onion in butter until soft (not brown)
- Add water, walnuts, half the cilantro, garlic, pepper flakes, rice and bring to a boil
- Add crushed tomatoes, bring to a boil and lower the heat. Heat until the rice is cooked, about 30 minutes.
- Add the hot spice blend and salt, cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the other half of the cilantro, dill and parsley.
January 2010
Exciting News! Parliament has reduced the time children spend on the registry from 18 months to only 6 months! We are hoping that is will allow more children to become available for adoption.
Court is scheduled for later this month and we are hopeful that waiting children will then be considered eligible for international adoption. We have recently been in touch with the Director of the Social Service Agency at the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs who confirmed that there are several children who are eligible for adoption and may be considered to be matched with foreign prospective adoptive parents. In Georgia they have a New Year’s tradition of making and eating Honey-Walnut Candy on New Year’s Day for good luck. We are currently not accepting new families into the Georgia program as we wait for the first three families to be well underway with successfully completing their adoptions. We hope to open this program to new families in the coming months. Please continue to check our website for new updates.
December 2009
We are hopeful that our first three families to submit dossiers to Georgia may soon receive matches. Our facilitators maintain regular contact with the Ministry of Health officials to ensure that the adoption process continues to progress. We are currently not accepting new families into the Georgia program as we wait for the first three families to be well underway with successfully completing their adoptions. We hope to open this program to new families in the coming months. Please continue to check our website for new updates.
November 2009
We are optimistic that our first family may be matched with a child any time now! Our facilitators continue to maintain regular contact with the government officials as they work to try and streamline the adoption process. It is anticipated that early next year the law requiring that children be on a National registry for 18 months before they are eligible for international adoption will be changed and the time frame reduced. This will be a major accomplishment in the best interest of the children that the Ministry of Health has been diligently working on for quite some time. We are currently not accepting new families into the Georgia program as we wait for the first three families to be well underway with successfully completing their adoptions. We hope to open this program to new families in the coming months. Please continue to check our website for new updates.
September 2009
The Republic of Georgia continues to be a promising Pilot Program! At this time three dossiers have been submitted and these families are currently waiting to be matched. Now that summer holidays have ended, we anticipate a busy fall for this new program! We are currently waiting to accept new families into the Georgia program as we want the first few pilot families to be well underway with their adoptions. Please continue to check our website for new updates.
August 2009
A country of future interest to families certainly may be the Republic of Georgia. CAS has worked with Georgian officials for many years providing humanitarian projects and assisting with the placement of orphaned children.
In July, CAS agency representative, Nadya, was welcomed to Georgia by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection (the Central Authority for Georgian adoptions), including the Minister, Eka Saneblidze, and the attorney for the Ministry. This trip was in response to CAS’s official approval received in April 2009 to submit dossiers and begin cooperative Hague adoptions with this country. It was clear that Ms. Saneblidze is very dedicated in her work on behalf of the many waiting Georgian orphans in trying to find a forever family for each child. They are working tirelessly to ensure a solid procedure is in place and the legal status for orphaned children is complete.
Nadya was able to visit orphanages for both babies and school aged children. The needs of these orphanages are great! On behalf of CAS Nadya was able to donate clothes and shoes for each child at the orphanage for older children. The delight that the children felt about having new clothing was very apparent and the caretakers rejoiced!
CAS currently has a small number of families piloting this program with dossiers submitted and the pilot program is moving forward. Please monitor our website or contact our agency for further information.