Angie Craig: “November is a special month to the adoption community, because it is National Adoption Month. In my state of Idaho, this…”

“November is a special month to the adoption community, because it is National Adoption Month. In my state of Idaho, this particular November is a very special month because it is when one of our newest citizens--Tilly McKeown--came home. Tilly is one of hundreds of children from Cambodian orphanages who are the focus of a special humanitarian initiative by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and the State Department. Adoptions from Cambodia were halted late last year because of serious concerns about the process in that country, and the initiative has been working since then to investigate and clear these adoptions on a case by case basis. We all want the adoption system to be ethical, transparent, and efficient. To achieve those goals in international adoptions, the United States signed the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, a landmark international treaty setting standards for adoption that will protect the interests of children and families everywhere in the world. The Senate ratified the treaty, and Congress passed legislation to implement it. We expect our federal agencies involved in international adoption to work toward these goals with all sending countries, whether they have signed the treaty or not. These are important policy goals for our government, but what is more important, they will help bring waiting children everywhere together with the families who will love them forever.”