Please see below the latest update from the State Department concerning the new regulations from Uganda (found here- http://www.mglsd.go.ug/laws/
These new regulations went into effect on June 2nd. The Laws were signed in May, but it had previously not been clear as to when it would go into effect, so some had hope that cases this summer would not be impacted. It seems now that this means any referrals made after June 2nd will need to abide by these new laws. IAN will keep its license in Uganda should a family want to adopt under these new regulations, however it seems that as things stand, it would be very difficult for any families living in the US to meet these standards. Here is a run down of the main things you need to know:
A person who is not a citizen of Uganda may in exceptional
circumstances adopt a Ugandan child, if he or she—
(a) has stayed in Uganda for at least one
(b) has fostered the child for at least one year under the
supervision of a probation and social welfare officer;
(c) does not have a criminal record;
(d) has a recommendation concerning his or her suitability to adopt
a child from his or her country’s probation and welfare office or
other competent authority; and
(e) has satisfied the court that his or her country of origin will
respect and recognise the adoption order.
45. Restrictions and conditions.
(1) An adoption order may be granted to a sole applicant or jointly
to spouses where—
(a) the applicant or at least one of the joint applicants has attained
the age of twenty-five years and is at least twenty-one years older
than the child;
(b) in the case of an application by one of the spouses, the other has
consented to the adoption.
(2) The court may dispense with the consent required under
subsection (1)(b) if the spouse whose consent is required cannot be found or
is incapable of giving consent, or the spouses are separated and living apart
and the separation is likely to be permanent.
(3) An adoption order shall not be made in favour of a sole male
applicant in respect of a female child, or in favour of a sole female applicant
in respect of a male child, unless the court is satisfied that there are special
circumstances that justify, as an exceptional measure, the making of an
adoption order.
(4) The application shall not be considered unless the applicant has
fostered the child for a period of not less than thirty-six months under the
supervision of a probation and social welfare officer.
(5) The probation and social welfare officer shall be required to
submit a report to assist the court in considering the application; and the
court may, in addition, require some other person or the local authority to
make a report in respect of the adoption application.
(6) Except where the application is by spouses jointly, an adoption
order shall not be made authorising more than one person to adopt a child at
the same time.
—
The main thing is that these requirements used to be able to be waived by going through guardianship decrees and then finalizing the adoption in the US. However guardianship is no longer an option if you are not a Ugandan citizen under the new amendments, so these residency rules now apply to all international cases. Obviously we understand that most families can not move to Uganda for an extended time. The state department is updating its Uganda adoption information page, and as soon as we have any more information about how this is playing out, we will be sure to let you know.
From: Adoption < Adoption@state.gov >
Date: Thu, Jul 7, 2016 at 7:48 AM
Subject: Notice: Uganda Announces Effective Date of June 2 for Amendments to the Children Act
To:
Adoption Notice: Uganda
July 6, 2016
Notice: Uganda Announces Effective Date of June 2 for Amendments to the Children Act
As reported in the Department of State’s June 2 Adoption Alert , on May 20, 2016, the Ugandan president signed into law amendments to the Children Act. The full text of the amendments can be found on the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development’s website . Ugandan officials have informed us that these amendments went into effect on June 2.
If you have questions about your guardianship or adoption case, please write to adoption@state.gov . We also encourage you to work closely with your adoption service provider.