Slightly less adoption permissions granted than last year
The Adoption Board’s Annual Review for 2023 has been published. Overall, the number of adoption permissions granted in 2023 was slightly lower than in 2022.
In 2023, the Board’s Section for Adoption Permission Matters granted 45 new permissions for intercountry adoption processed through a service provider and extended the validity of 56 permissions for intercountry adoption. In 2022, by comparison, 52 new permissions for intercountry adoption were granted, and the validity of 66 permissions was extended.
Last year, 19 new permissions were granted and the validity of 37 permissions was extended for domestic adoption. In 2022, the Adoption Board granted 26 new permissions and extended the validity of 13 permissions for domestic adoption.
An extension of an adoption permission is typically requested from the Adoption Board several times during the adoption process. Each permission is valid for two years at a time, and the applicants can apply for an extension for up to two years at a time. The goal of the permission process is to ensure that the family conditions are such that the child can arrive in the family safely. The assessment of family conditions will also take into account the effects of the waiting period and any changes occurring during this time.
Involving the now adult adoptees in the development of services
The first Act on intercountry adoption entered into force in Finland in 1985, and this is also when the first intercountry adoptions took place in Finland. Now the first generation of children of intercountry adoptions in Finland has reached middle age. At the 2022 Special Commission meeting, the Hague Adoption Convention issued a recommendation to its members to involve adult adoptees in the development of adoption services. According to the Adoption Board, more adult adoptees could be included in the development of services for adoptees and adoptive families. As the number of adoptees who have reached adulthood increases, the services for adult adoptees become increasingly important. The Adoption Board has followed the development of post-adoption support for adoptees and adoptive families and considers the ongoing provision of these services important.
The Adoption Board monitors the situation in the countries with which Finland is engaged in intercountry adoption
In the current year, the Board has continued to follow national reports conducted in other countries receiving intercountry adoptions. The reports examine how adoptions have been implemented and supervised in the receiving countries. “Our main task is to monitor the information obtained from the countries with which Finland is currently engaged in intercountry adoptions or has been engaged previously, and to assess the prerequisites for collaboration from Finland’s perspective. The exchange of information, focused on adoption collaboration in Finland, between the central authorities of the Hague Adoption Convention member states is also central to us,” says Irene Pärssinen-Hentula, Manager at the Adoption Board.
Read the Adoption Board’s Annual Review 2023 (pdf).
Further information
Irene Pärssinen-Hentula, Manager, Chair of the Adoption Board, +358 29 520 9247