Eight Maltese children find adoptive families

Eighteen cross-border adoptions took place in Malta last year, with Russia being far and away the preferred country of origin.

Briefing the press this morning, Family Minister Michael Farrugia said that in 2015, eight Maltese children had found adoptive families in Malta and 18 more had been adopted from abroad; one from Albania, four from Slovakia and 13 from Russia.

This year, five children from Slovakia and six from India have been adopted and a family for a child from Albania was close to being found, Farrugia said.

A memorandum of understanding with Russia, setting out the accreditation of adoption agencies in the country, was also in its final stages.

Discussions with Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chile and Vietnam were nearing completion and those with Poland were at an advanced stage, the minister added, also saying that a representative from Cambodia had recently visited Malta to iron out clauses in an agreement.

Cambodia had stopped international adoptions five years ago, Farrugia pointed out, announcing that an agreement had been signed with the country, maintaining the ties between the countries once international adoptions resume.

The minister clarified that Malta played no part in delays encountered by adopting couples.

“You can make a hundred country agreements and have no matching of children to couples as it is up to the originating country to match,” he explained, adding that the process was the subject of talks “at a political level.”

“It its not enough to set up the standards, we also need an authority to ensure they are adhered to”, Farrugia said, making reference to the draft bill setting up the Care Standards Authority.

The Authority is entrusted with establishing minimum regulatory standards for social welfare services and enforcement with the power to grant, refuse, suspend or revoke any license. This authority would set the standards for out of home care for the disabled, drug addicts and other vulnerable groups, said the minister.