Children's Aid Society to run Chinese Adoptions
Leslie Papp and Jim Rankin, The Toronto Star
January 13, 2002

Amid concern over placing Canadian Children

In a dramatic departure from its existing service, the CAS of Toronto is moving ahead on a one-stop centre where CAS staff would run adoptions from China in addition to finding homes for local children.
The public agency's governing board decided Thursday to enter the
controversial world of international adoption despite concern from
critics that the CAS was straying from a mandate to serve local children.

"We're moving ahead", Toronto CAS exec director Bruce Rivers said
yesterday. "It's something we believe needs to be done".

The agency is formally applying to the Ministry of Community and Social Services for a licence to handle orphans from China with plans to expand into adoptions from other countries after the centre has opening likely in April.

"This will result in better service for children - in Toronto and
elsewhere", Rivers said in an interview.

Ontarians wanting children currently face a bewildering number of
adoption possibilities. The province's run 52 CAS's run local
adoptions, at little or no cost to parents; several private agencies
handle domestic adoptions - that is, providing babies for a fee - and Ontario has 20 private agencies licensed to handle international adoptions, which can cost $35,000 or more.

Would-be parents often don't know where to turn, or which type of
adoption would best suit them, Rivers said. "There's a great deal of
confusion".

Having one centre provide both local and foreign children would cut
through the chaos and give people clear choices, said Nancy Dale,
director of adoption services at the Toronto CAS.

"It allows people to come to one place to learn about adoption and make informed decisions', she said. "Our goal is really to bring people in and educate them'. No taxpayers' dollars would be used to run the centre's international operation, said Rivers, adding that people
adopting abroad would be charged a fee 'typical of fees charged
elsewhere'.

Exact dollar amounts haven't been set, but Dale said would-be parents adopting from China might expect to pay $25,000 to $30,000, including travel and other expenses. China was chosen "as a starting point" because adoptions there are reliable and well-regulated, she said.

Prospective parents are in a good position to know what to expect.
Rivers stressed that the Toronto CAS would run its foreign adoption on a non-profit basis, adding that the service isn't meant as a moneymaker for the agency.

Critics remain unconvinced about the wisdom of going abroad. "To me, it looks like (CAS officials) are worried about meeting the needs of kids", said Judy Grove, head of the Adoption Council of Canada,
an unbrella organization for adoption groups. "I'm worried this might detract from (CAS) efforts on behalf of the children of Ontario, who are their prime mandate."

Martha Maslen, Executive Director of Children's Bridge, an Ottawa-based adoption agency handling abour 250 Chinese orphans a year, questioned the expertise of CAS staff.

"I am actually quite honestly, perplexed as to why they want to take
this on", Maslen said. "This would be, presumably a means of bringing money into the agency."

Rivers said he knew of no other CAS in the buisiness of international adoption. The planned adoption centre will be run at the Toronto house owned by the agency and where the adoption department is already based. The CAS currently employs 10 people to handle local adoptions and more staff will be hired to handle orphans from China.

" It's not yet clear how many additional adoption workers will be needed," Rivers said.

Dan Miles, spokesperson for the Ministry of Community and Social Services, said the licence application from the Toronto CAS will be treated the same way as that of any private agency seeking to run adoptions abroad, even though the CAS receives public funding.

"There are some specific details they need to fill in. There is a strict licensing process to follow, and we're following it with the Toronto CAS like any other agency".

"We're still awaiting information with respect to staffing, qualifications and arrangements in China," he said. When that data arrives, the
ministry will "evaluate it like we will any other application".

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