Multi-Tiered Plan

Multi-Tiered Plan

"Top to Bottom Priority that

Considers the Rights of Child and

Birth Family

In a Balanced Manner"

By the Korean War Baby

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Best to Worst Case Scenarios

Family

Preservation

Ethnic Korean

Family Adoption

Korean Adoptees/ Or KAD

married to Non-Korean Spouse

Trans-Racial/cultural adoption

Foster Care in Group Homes

Institutional Care

Abandoned and Living on the Streets

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Best to Worst Case Scenarios

This represents a rough idea of the Best for a child (Family Preservation) all the way DOWN to being abandoned and living on the streets. Following are some notes I have thrown together after studying the current situation in the Republic of Korea. 

Please, please feel free to add comments or critics, any suggestions on things I may have forgotten. Let's work together!!

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1. Family Preservation

Family Preservation - When it is POSSIBLE or DESIRED by the MOTHER, there should be support for her decision to KEEP her baby, even if her own family rejects her.

• Along with single divorced mothers, and widowed mothers, the government should increase Daycare Centers with financial help increased.

• Educational support must also increase in length of time, in order for single mothers to have assistance through critical years of development. This will benefit any woman who has need and the guidelines must be adjusted to separate from her parent’s responsibility.
  
  

  • Families of Birth Father and the Birth Fathers, should be forced by law to provide child support after paternity is determined by DNA testing by the Civil Courts- THIS IS Not done now). 

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  2. Ethnic Korean Family Adoption

  
  Ethnic Koreans means both those living as citizens in ROK, and those of the Korean Diaspora even if they have given up their Korean citizenship. Mission to Promote Adoption by Koreans MPAK is a leader in this area. Adoptions should be Adopted Child has the Right to Know that they are adopted. Korean Parents must be encouraged and given guidelines in HOW and WHEN to do this, plus awareness of the possible difficulties that their child may have in possible psychological damage, i.e. Attachment Disorders. Adoption should be Non-Secret but None of this is done now.
  
  

  STOP Civil Code Law Adoption in Korea, that does NOT follow the Hague Conventions on Adoption and Rights of the Child. The government MHWFA is reportedly considering joining all three aspects of Adoption under the same legal guidelines. THIS WOULD BE GOOD and protect the child’s rights while giving women who are pregnant outside of marriage.
  
  

  However, a woman also must have the option, after being presented with ALL options, done by social workers not directly connected to Adoption Agencies, to Relinquish her child for adoption. AND furthermore she should be able to choose WHERE, Overseas in ICA or Domestic adoption, vetted by the government and Four Adoption Agencies.

  
  

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  3. Korean Adoptee Couple Or KAD

  married to Non-Korean Spouse

  
  A Korean ADoptee, who is married to another KAD or a spouse of any ethnicity. They HAVE a complex personal understanding of adoption and will be able to help their adopted child in Adoption Identity understanding, even later in the issues of whether to Search for Birth Parents. 
  
  All Korean Adoptees, KADs who wish to adopt should have some priority over other Non-Korean Korean nationals. OF if the child has NOT been matched with Korean Nations willing and able to adopt a child, on a case to case basis considering age of child and situation of processing of PAPs (Potential Adoptive Parents).
  

  IF, at time of each individual case, no PAP that is of Korean ethnicity is available THEN the next level should happen.
  

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  4. Trans-Racial/cultural Adoptive Family

  
  

  Trans-Racial/cultural adoption to a “Blended” Adoptive Family that is thoroughly vetted and given continuing support on InterCountry Adoptions. Social workers should give priority to families that already have at least one other Adopted child.

  
  

  If this is not possible then those Adopting for first first Trans-Racial adoption SHOULD now be considered. Adoption is NOT limited to Race/Ethnicity/Language, etc. 

  
  

  Care should be taken to develop a 'training program' and support system on a National or Federal Basis for every State to follow. This would ensure that Adopting Parents have resources for any problems they may face. Vetting of PAPs must be universal and Adoption Professionals have tons of material, but it should be mandatory to take these courses BEFORE adoption takes place.  

  (I KNOW this will get some people but the KWB thinks Gay/lesbian 'single Adoptive Parents', should be last choice, because even though an Adopting family might later go through divorce (this does happen sadly); a child has the right to start off with a complete Family first. Single parent adoptions should be also vetted more to prevent possible abuse. It is almost impossible to prevent sexual abuse if there is no Prior conviction though unfortunately. )

  
  

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  5. Foster Care in Group Homes

  
  Foster Care is fairly new in Korea and does allow a better situation than a crowded institution. Foster Care should be made to allow legal adoption easier, as has been done in USA.
  Group homes are now being developed where 4-6 children stay with a Korean family BUT this is still short of having their own family. Too many children are kept in the country, in order to save the SHAME of being a "Baby exporter". What about the Child's RIGHTS? To save embarrassment children are kept in the country.
  
  Too many children are being prevented from adoption because their birth parents don’t remain in contact. There should be time period that allows “Relinquishment” if they Do Not make contact and sign the Relinquishment papers.

  
  

  There are thousands of Korean Orphans trapped by the system because their birth parents have NOT MADE CONTACT. The orphans will grow up in the institutions then be completely on their own when they reach 18 years old. Depending on the city they live in they will receive $2,000 to $5,000 with little help.
  
  Only 3% will finish university, most will only be able to get low paying Dirty, Dangerous, and Difficult jobs. They have NO support groups, on their own living as third class citizens.
  
  

  Group Homes are merely ‘mini-orphanages’ and every effort should be made to allow children to be adopted, even to overseas families.
  

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  6. Institutional Care

  

  
  

  Institutional Care is perhaps the worst thing for children who know that they will never have a family. The only life they experience is the overcrowded conditions and over-worked staff who can only attend to their basic needs. What ‘love’ can they possibly get in such environments? Very limited, yet tens of thousands (around 30,000) presently languish in the 280 institutions of South Korea.

  
  “Every Child deserves to have a home”!!
  

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  7. Abandoned and Living on the Streets

On the Streets…In the real world, millions of children are abandoned, destitute, and forced to live on the streets. The UNICEF figures show 13 million ‘double orphans’ who have lost both their parents, and over 132 million who have lost one parent. There is commonly NO welfare system to speak of, period in their countries.

They face a lifetime of begging, thieving, child prostitution, adult prostitution, starvation, suffering, struggling to just survive. Corruption, greed, indifference, children and adults are traded into the sex trade, others into slave conditions. While U.N. and NGO’s attempt to help, the conditions have not improved, such as in Haiti and many other countries.

Those who advocate just helping the children to stay in the country of their birth, disregard that in many cases their own parents DO give them up for a chance at a better future. Should their sacrifice be ignored? Difficult question.
Hague Convention standards should/must be applied to EVERY ‘sending’ country especially by ‘Receiving’ countries like the USA. There is “Better Ways to do it” in This Thing of Ours-Adoption.

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This is a work in Progress, help with your input.

Please send the Korean War Baby any suggestions and critics on this first draft of the Multi-Tiered Plan.@

koreanwarbaby@gmail.com