Premier agrees to look at inter-country adoption

| 23/11/2018 | 58 Comments

Cayman News Service(CNS): The premier has agreed to examine the possibility of asking the United Kingdom to extend the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption to enable Caymanian families to adopt children from overseas. Following the presentation of a private member’s motion brought by Chris Saunders, the opposition member for Bodden Town West, Alden McLaughlin said Saunders had done a good job persuading the government to look at the issue.

In his presentation Saunders said that he was aware of Caymanian families unable to have children who have sought to adopt from overseas because the pool for babies or very young children available for adoption locally is very small. But they are finding that in many cases, when they look further afield, they are prevented from adopting even when a suitable match is found because the countries of the children’s birth are signatures of the Hague convention and so cannot allow inter-country adoption with a non-member.

He asked government to see if the convention could be extended to Cayman to widen the pool for at least a few local families.

“All we are asking for is for the government to reach out to the UK to see if they can extend that convention and at least maybe two or three families can start a family of their own,” he told the Legislative Assembly, adding that it could expand the options for people who have had challenges starting a family.

The convention is designed to facilitate adoption of children around the world in the best interest of those children while protecting them from potential trafficking.

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Comments (58)

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  1. TNB says:

    Yes there are Caymanian children who need assistance. Yes there are couples willing to adopt Caymanian children. Sounds like a win-win. But it isn’t!!!

    Most times, the Caymanian parents do not want to give up rights to their child. They want to put the child in foster care for a certain period and then take them back home. This happens repeatedly. Who suffers? The child AND the foster parents!

    Until Caymanian parents are truly willing to put their child up for adoption (NOT foster care for a bit, NOT leaving the child by friends / family for months at a time) then the only alternative for persons wishing to adopt is to adopt a child from overseas.

    This would be a wonderful gift to persons wishing to adopt children. I hope the Government processes this quickly and does not wait years to implement it.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    You don’t think we got enough CAYMANIAN XHILDRWN SUFFERING! Government won’t even give them free medical or lunch whilst our ancestors made this place what it is today and y’all want to bring in more WDF

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  3. Anonymous says:

    What about enforcing current laws? Such as forcing deadbeat fathers to pay child support without the need for the mother to constantly have to go to court. How about the onus on the father to provide evidence of payments or access to all government services are blocked – renewal of a drivers licence, obtaining a passport, ability to leave the jurisdiction, obtain a police clearance and jail time if late by 15 days.

    A reason women don’t go to court for the child support payments is because it interferes with their day job and they can not afford to lose the only source of income they have to fight for money that is unreliable. I have seen where the deadbeat will pay one payment and not the following month and the mother has to bring him back to court again. Wasting the mother’s time. Or the deadbeat claiming unemployment or quitting just so he doesn’t have to pay.

    Social services would not need to give women as much money as they need if the deadbeats were paying. This should include any separated parent in the midst of a divorce as some deadbeats try to drag out the divorce process to delay payments.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Perhaps girls should also be taught to stopping having kids with deadbeat guys. You are not going to keep the guy by having a child for him.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Then allow for abortions.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Your assumption is based on the thought process that these girls were never married to the guy. Your thought process is also assuming that the man never paid ever. Generally what happens is the ex husband will pay initially until he finds a new woman and/or has new children. Then the responsibilty of the previous family is forgotten. At that point, all these ‘girls’ are classed into the same lump of trash that you are basing your thought process on which this is careless young girls that cannot keep their legs closed.

        All men/women should be responsible for their own children regardless of the circumstances. If they don’t, then the government is there to enforce the care of these children who are unable to care for themselves.

        • Anonymous says:

          You say “enforce the care”. These are people who allowed a man to adopt a child he was abusing. Enough said!

      • Anonymous says:

        Or just stop having kids at 16-20

  4. Anonymous says:

    Alden realizes that under the convention he will have to establish anew authority to oversee the adoption process? It’s not just a matter of signing a convention- there are significant obligations that go along with it. And just wait until the first gay couple that decide to adopt using the convention turn up – CIG will have to support it, a tad inconsistent with their views in gay marriage.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    This is an important step for Caymanians (and other residents) looking into international adoption. The Hague Convention protects children.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    now tell me seriously, why on earth does Cayman need to adopt children from abroad when we have so many here who need so much care and attention?

    Alden, can you not find something more urgent to think about? and who in hell is coaching you?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Did you even read the comments?

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      • Anonymous says:

        You should have said, “read some of the comments by those that have tried”
        Because not everyone reads all the hate spewed up in here. (like both of these comments…)

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    • Anonymous says:

      This isn’t about Cayman adopting children, it is about people who live here being able to do so. HAVE YOU ADOPTED A CAYMANIAN CHILD? What support do you offer Caymanian children who don’t have parents. Are involved with the NCVO foster home at all? I’d love to hear ALL the negative commenters give feedback on their many efforts to adopt Caymanian children or give assistance directly to any of them.

      They aren’t seeking to adopt children from overseas who are dependent on the Government. You have to prove you have a healthy, steady, financially secure environment before you can adopt. I tried to adopt a Caymanian child and their no good family started threatening me with violence if I didn’t also agree to PAY THEM money when they wanted it so I can TOTALLY understand why people would want to adopt from overseas. There is no anonymity when adopting a Caymanian child in Cayman because its so small and next thing you know you are adopting the child’s dysfunctional child too.

      Okay now get on with your miserable life.

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    • Anonymous says:

      We need an “Adopt a Bum” programme to get all the streetwalkers off the road.

  7. Anonymous says:

    this government allowed a government official to adopt a child he was sexually abusing

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    • Anonymous says:

      What?!

      • Anonymous says:

        yes, even after the RCIPS, DCFS, FSU, Judiciary were informed of such. Alden himself has documentation on it, as do other MLAs.

        The person who brought the information on the sexual abuse forward was arrested, assaulted and prosecuted for doing so.

        Do some FOIs on it. Time period December 2015 – August 2018.

        • Anonymous says:

          Holy crap. That’s disgusting.

        • Anonymous says:

          Tell us more!

          • Anonymous says:

            2 private schools were involved and alerted, both private schools threatened legal action against the individual bringing the information forth. Government official who ‘allegedly’ committed the sexual abuse is free to access both campuses.

            in this case the cover up is worse than the crime. organized, calculated victimization. Something out of a MOB movie. Right here on our “peaceful” island.

    • Anonymous says:

      Jesus now I have heard it all. Really?

  8. Peoples K says:

    Foster care in shambles yet not of out so call ministers can fix it but they discussing bring more problems from overseas to add to it wow! XXXX

    CNS: I nearly deleted your whole comment. While I understand your position, please understand that the term “mixed breed” when applied to human beings is highly offensive. There are no human breeds.

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  9. Al Catraz says:

    This is just a sneaky way to legitimize marriages which do not produce children. I have learned from the good Christians here that marriage is for the purpose of producing children. So if a couple cannot have children, they should not be allowed to marry or remain married.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Soon come: adoptions of thousands of new “Caymanians” to claim full local benefits.
      PS – why had no one stated yet that the population is now over 100,000?!
      The middle class is also officially gone.

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    • annonymous says:

      821am – oh my goodness…

      You have serious issues! What an idiotic comment; lunatic!

  10. Anonymous says:

    It bothers me deeply that Alden believes he has a mandate to behave autocratically on every sensitive issue facing our territory. Alden’s feelings on everything predicate any action taken rather than consensus taking from voters. Although I don’t object at all to international adoptions, the sooner we stop agreeing to be led by Alden’s feelings, the better.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Is helping ‘at least one or two families’ really worth meddling in the Hague Convention?
    Least of our problems. Focus should be on abused, mentally ill, and orphaned kids living in our own country.

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    • Anonymous says:

      If you really love children look to the ones desperately in need of love and care within the Cayman Islands.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Build the wall!

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Why does the Premier and his yes massa peeps think they have the onus on good ideas and solutions? Winning an election should be dependent On an IQ test. We would all see how many of them can even think for themselves..

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  14. Anonymous says:

    I am so happy that Chris brought this motion. I am one of the women that spoke to him about it. My husband and I tried for years to have a child without any success. I reached out to other MLAs for more than 10 years and they paid me no mind. Some of them looked at me like I was less than a woman because I couldn’t carry a baby into this world. I still live with the scars of having 2 miscarriages.

    I previously tried to raise a child through the foster care system but between the grandmother wanting the child, and the mother showing up some days wanting her child back, it wasn’t easy. I learned the hard way that unless you can get a child at a very young age, it is going to be very difficult to raise them with my values. This process can take years and it is expensive.

    All this convention will do is expand the pool of countries to which my husband and I can adopt from. For many of you that can have children, count it as a blessing. I wish I could.

    I have been called Aunt for many years but it is not the same as being called mummy.

    I am happy that someone took the time out to listen to us and talk to us and didn’t judge or make me feel like less than a woman. I took the time out to listen to the debate and I am grateful to Chris and Alden for giving it some attention.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You mentioned a problem with the foster care system. Did you bring that to the attention of any of the MLAs? Because if you consider this a ‘solution’ to that problem then you’ve got an even bigger problem.

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      • Anonymous says:

        This is a legitimate comment. This person was only pointing out, given that she had said the foster care system had let her down, then a way forward was to change the care system.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Someone I know, an attorney, had adopted 2 children, a boy and a girl when they were little. 10+ years later, he is divorced and broke. He pays $80K/yr for a special school his adopted daughter is sent to for behavioral issues. I know this could be an exception, I don’t know the statistics, but “no good deed goes unpunished” comes to mind. Sometime bad behaviour stems from genes no good parenting can fix. So one really needs to know parents of a child for adoption to make informative decision. All children deserve having a family. Make sure you and your partner would be able to endure all hardships that adoption of a child can bring.
      Wanting to be a mom so badly could indicate “validation” issues. Being a center of mom’s universe is not good for a child either.

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      • Anonymous says:

        So sometimes bad behaviour stems from genes you say. What evidence have you of this? Often adopted children have been through the care system before adoption and have experienced trauma that no amount of good parenting can fix unless there is expert and ongoing expertise to help the children and the adopted parents.

  15. Anonymous says:

    This is more crap from Alden appearing to be a humanitarian. He is a globalist. There is a big difference.

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    • Anonymous says:

      It’s to distract us from the thousands of dollars spent on the pro-cruise port. Classic act.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    We love human rights…; when it suits us
    We love international bodies… when they are helping us or doing things we approve of

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  17. Anonymous says:

    I hope that this is strongly dependent on their financial ability to raise and support a child sufficiently.

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  18. Anonymous says:

    So you’re saying that there are no children in Cayman up for adoption!???

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    • Anonymous says:

      No many, but for the few available you also have to adopt their parents, aunts, uncles etc.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Ah! Nuff Said.
        I am genuinely grateful for your explanation of this (and above, I assume that was you as well). And now I wholeheartedly empathize with your situation.

        I wish you luck!

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      • Anonymous says:

        Those who adopt should be financially secure and capable of adopting a child.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Duh really ? Thanks for stating the obvious, clearly younwill not be permitted to adopt a child if you cannot demonstrate that you can care for the child.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Well you a bleeding genius for stating the obvious.

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        • ThIs WrItInG Is VeRy IrRiTaTiNg says:

          So should natural parents but that hasn’t happened here based on the number of young people with children who require some form of government assistance to make ends meet each month.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Then that is an issue for Social Services. The foster system is in shambles and there seems to be no one on island who is prepared/capable to sort the mess out.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Allow for intercountry adoption of Caymanian children. Why are we importing children when there are many in Cayman that need adopting?

          Regarding foster care, change the rules/laws that if a child is in foster care for a year or more the parents have no right to prevent full adoption by another family including an overseas family that want to take care of the children.

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