Stencils 2003:10

2003-05-26

1. General facts about inter-country adoption

In Finland, the provisions regulating child adoption and the relations between adoptive children and their parents are included in the Adoption Act (153/1985). The Act also contains provisions relating to inter-country adoption. In 1997 Finland acceded to the General Convention on Inter-Country Adoption Affairs (the Hague Convention). Further provisions on inter-country adoption are contained in the Decree on Child Adoption (508/1997) and in the Decree on the Finnish Board of Inter-Country Adoption Affairs (509/1997).

The general planning, steering and supervision of the inter-country adoption service is the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The expert body in inter-country adoption matters is the Finnish Board of Inter-Country Adoption Affairs (the Finnish Adoption Board), which is subordinated to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The Board is the central authority referred to in Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Hague Convention.

Practical tasks relating to inter-country child adoption are attended to by the inter-country child adoption service providers. Finnish legislation on child adoption requires the use of a child adoption service. The competent service-providers, which have a licence granted by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health to act as service-providers for inter-country child adoption, are the City of Helsinki Social Welfare Board, Interpedia and Save the Children Finland/Pelastakaa Lapset ry.

In 2002 there were about 2070 children in Finland that had arrived via inter-country adoption. They have been adopted under the terms of the Adoption Act, which entered into force in 1985. In some cases the adoption of children takes place in a foreign state, in accordance with that country’s legislation, without permission granted by the Finnish Adoption Board. In such cases the Helsinki Court of Appeal can recognise the validity of the adoption in Finland. Most adoptive children have come to Finland from Russia, Colombia, Thailand, China and Ethiopia.

Foreign children have been adopted to Finland since the 1970s. The number of children coming to Finland continues to be small in comparison with the majority of other countries receiving children. In recent years the popularity of inter-country adoption has, however, increased, and the number of foreign adoptive children arriving in Finland has increased. In 2002 they numbered 246.

2. Composition of the Finnish Adoption Board

Provisions on the composition, appointment and tasks of the Finnish Adoption Board are laid down by Decree (509/1997). The Board has a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and the necessary number of other members. Each of these members has a personal deputy.

Representatives of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health act as the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Board. Of the other members, at least one must represent the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, one the Ministry of Justice, one the Directorate of Immigration, one the expertise in municipal child welfare work and one expertise in social sector research and development, in addition to which one member is appointed by each licensed service-provider. The Government appoints the Board for a five-year term. The term of the present Adoption Board is from 1 May 2000 to 30 April 2005. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health appoints a secretary for the Board.

The composition of the Board:

Chairperson	Ms Anne Hujala, Senior Officer Ministry of Social Affairs and Health From 21 November 2002: Ms Anne Kumpula, Lawyer Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Vice-chairperson	Ms Anne Kumpula, Lawyer Ministry of Social Affairs and Health From 21 November 2002: Mr Olavi Kaukonen, Ministerial Adviser Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Members (Deputy members)	Ms Désirée Söderlund, Legislative Counsellor (Mr Antti Leinonen, Legislative Counsellor) Ministry of Justice Ms Hanna Rantala, Legislative Secretary (Ms Minna-Kaisa Liukko, Legislative Secretary) Ministry for Foreign Affairs Mr Hannu Kantola, Family Therapist City of Hämeenlinna (Mr Esa Eriksson, Special Planning Officer) National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health Social sector research and development expertise Mr Arto Summanen, Social Welfare Worker Municipality of Nurmijärvi (Mr Tuomo Kivelä, Lawyer City of Espoo) Municipal child welfare work expertise Mr Heikki Taskinen, Director (Ms Petra Ylinen, Senior Inspector) (From 21 November 2002: Ms. Arja Kallakivi, Head of Unit) Directorate of Immigration Mr Sakari Lankinen, Ministerial Adviser (Mr Risto Pomoell, Ministerial Adviser) Mr Kari Ilmonen, Senior Officer (Mr Pekka Viljanen, Ministerial Adviser) Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Ms Tuula Eneberg, Chief Social Welfare Worker (Ms Nina Keres, Chargé d'affaires) City of Helsinki Social Welfare Board Ms Tiina Saukkonen, Manager (Ms Marja Miikkulainen, Development Chief) Save the Children Finland Ms Marjo Hannu-Jama, Executive Officer in Adoption Program (Ms Tarja Monto, Executive Director) From 21 November 2002: Ms Tarja Monto, Executive Director (Ms Karin Luther, Executive Officer in Adoption Program) Interpedia

During the year of operation the Board’s secretaries were Ms Päivi Kaartamo, Senior Officer, Legal Affairs, until 28 November 2002 and thereafter Ms Johanna Savolainen, Student of Laws, both of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Tasks relating to office work were attended to by Ms Raija Rantamäki, Project Secretary from the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health.

3. Activities of the Finnish Adoption Board

According to the Decree on the Finnish Board of Inter-Country Adoption Affairs (509/1997), the tasks of the Adoption Board are as follows:

• to grant families the permission for inter-country child adoption;
• to approve the foreign co-operation partners (foreign service-providers) of Finnish adoption service-providers;
• to maintain a file on the child adoption legislation of foreign states;
• to issue expert opinions;
• to make initiatives on the development of inter-country child adoption activity;
• to monitor international development in inter-country adoption affairs;
• to monitor the way in which the Hague Convention is complied with in Finland and, if necessary, to set about measures to produce conformity with it;
• to cooperate with the central authorities of states parties to the Hague Convention in order to achieve the objectives of the Convention and to exchange information referred to in the Convention;
• to attend to the tasks of the central authority under the Hague Convention which have not been assigned to another body by a law, decree or decision of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

Since 1 July 1997, the Finnish Adoption Board has been the central authority meant in the Hague Convention. Among the co-operation states of Finnish service-providers, the Convention has been ratified by Poland, Colombia and the Philippines. A list of the states which have acceded to the Hague Convention is attached (Appendix 3).

The Adoption Board had 29 meetings in 2002. Six of them were meetings of the full composition and the remaining 23 were meetings of the limited composition. The limited composition includes, in addition to the chairperson, the member representing expertise in social sector research and development and the member representing expertise in municipal child welfare work. The competence of the limited composition includes dealing with the permissions to be granted for child adoption.

In quantitative terms, granting permissions for child adoption is the most significant task of the Board. In 2002 it handled 223 permission applications. Only one application was rejected. In addition, the Board processed 65 applications for extending the validity of a permission and four applications for changing the conditions for a permission.

The permission applications are forwarded to the Adoption Board through adoption service providers. In regard to 70 applications the service-provider was Save the Children Finland/Pelastakaa Lapset, in 99 applications Interpedia and in 54 applications the Social Welfare Board of the City of Helsinki.

In 2002 the times of processing permission applications were lengthened compared to the previous year, partly because of the piling up of applications. The Board made its decision on 14 applications within one month from their receipt. The processing of 108 applications took more than one month but less than two months. The processing of 81 applications and the decision-making concerning them took more than two months and that of 20 applications more than three months.

During the past year the Board received reports of altogether 246 arrivals of adoptive children in Finland. Altogether 64 children were adopted from China, and 53 from Russia. Next most children came from Thailand (45), Colombia (37) and South Africa (17). More detailed statistical data on the children arriving in Finland and on the permission applications are attached (Appendix 1).

The Adoption Board gave six expert opinions to the Helsinki Court of Appeal for the recognition of adoption that had taken place in a foreign state.

During the year the Board dealt with and accepted six Finnish service-provides’ applications for co-operation with foreign service-providers. Two of these applications concerned approval of a new co-operation partner and others a licence to continue the already existing co-operation. A list of the foreign co-operation partners of the Finnish service-providers is enclosed (Appendix 2).

Chairperson of the Board, Anne Hujala, attended the Nordic adoption authorities’ meeting in Stockholm on 29 to 30 August.

Anne Hujala and Désirée Söderlund met on 17 April 2002 Colombian guests invited to Finland by Interpedia. The guests were Marcela Restrepo, Psychologist, and Magdalena Jimenéz, Director, both of Los Pisingos Foundation (the Colombian service-provider of Interpedia). The guests told about the activities of Los Pisingos and asked about those of the Finnish Adoption Board.

Representatives of the Board Hanna Rantala and Désirée Söderlund met on 13 September 2002 representatives of the Finnish service-providers’ co-operation partner in Thailand, the Department of Social Development and Welfare.

The Chinese contact person of Interpedia, Mrs Fang Jing, met Anne Hujala on 16 April 2002.

Anne Hujala met in October 2002 guests of the Save the Children Finland from the Republic of Karelia (Russia). The guests were the Vice Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Karelia, Aleksander Savin, Judges of the Supreme Court Albina Katchalova and Tatiana Revunova, and the Chief Counsel at the Office of Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Karelia, Anna Elkina. The programme included getting acquainted with the operations of the Save the Children Finland, Finnish child welfare work and the activities of the Finnish Adoption Board.

The Board’s Internet pages are found at: www.stm.fi/suomi/organisa/orga01fr.htm. The pages give information about the Board, service-providers and inter-country adoption in general.