As of September 13, 2024, Frank Adoption Center is no longer operating as an international adoption service provider. This shut down was unanticipated and we are heartbroken for the many families we were serving. If you are in need of a Primary Provider agency and cannot find one, please contact Brittany Tinker, IAAME’s Interim Executive Director at brittany.tinker@iaame.net or 352-318-2397.
If you would like to learn more about why IAAME has made its’ cancellation decision, please continue reading:
In 2013, Frank Adoption Center reopened; partnering with attorneys in both the US and abroad, working with orphanage directors and foreign leaders and establishing relationships with humanitarian organizations doing amazing work around the globe, FAC soon became known as the go-to agency for “hard” cases, working primarily in international relative adoptions, often in countries in conflict or countries that do not typically participate in international adoptions.
Rarely did these parents plan to grow their family thru adoption, instead they stepped forward because their relative child needed care, often having been orphaned by tragic circumstances. Working within this realm, we have been welcomed into some truly amazing families who put their trust and confidence in us – and for that we will be forever grateful.
IAAME is the designated organization that oversees the work of most international adoption agencies to ensure they are operating within the guidelines established by the Hague Convention. They also hold sole power to “cancel” agencies, with no meaningful right of appeal or independent oversight.
On September 13, 2024, FAC received a notice of cancellation, stemming from a complaint filed by US Department of State almost one year prior. The notice stated that FAC must immediately cease operations, leaving us scrambling to find agencies willing to take each of our active cases so that families could continue with as little interruption as possible.
The complaint alleged that FAC acted inappropriately in connection with a 2021 case out of Afghanistan; a case that, in fact, ceased to be an adoption services case following the US withdrawal from the country. Instead, this was a philanthropic effort and resulted in the emergency evacuation and humanitarian parole entry of two children whose US families were very anxiously awaiting their arrival.
While the complaint itself is relatively complex, as is FAC’s response, there are several key components:
Once the US withdrew from Afghanistan, FAC was no longer providing adoption services to either of the in-process families. Any actions from that point forward were undertaken by me as simply a concerned citizen, considering when I contacted the US Department of State to ask for advice, I was told that “if these [children] are going to get out, it is going to be up to you to do it.”
Neither child entered the US on an adoption visa, nor was one requested after the US removal from Afghanistan. Instead, I repeatedly asked for assistance in an emergency evacuation and entry into the US, specifically stating that I was not asking for an adoption visa to be issued.
Each year, the US Department of State publishes a report citing the number of adoption visas issued from any individual country. For years 2021 and 2022, there were ZERO adoption visas issued for children from Afghanistan. If these were not considered adoption cases for the Department’s own reporting purposes, it is ludicrous to think they can be considered as such in order to accuse FAC of wrongdoing.
Yet even after presenting this evidence and more to IAAME, the cancellation was affirmed. As a result, FAC will not continue.
If you have made it this far, thank you for reading. And to the 126 families we have worked with since our beginning, along with the countless others who have shared their stories with us, know that we will be forever grateful to you for letting us be a part of your family’s history.
Sincerely,
Mary Beth