Self-Guided Study - Role of our Agency and the Levels of Government

As we work through the Self-Guided Study book, there are a few points that I felt I should mention.

* We chose to work with a not-for-profit adoption agency that has specialized in open adoptions and has been in business since 1989.  We are working with the Director of this Agency and she has a graduate degree in social work.
* The Agency is doing background checks to make sure that we are fit to be parents.  They also work with us to help us with the required paperwork and to make sure that we are ready and aware of all the processes of international adoption.
* The Role of Alberta Children and Youth Services is to assess whether we should be permitted to adopt and once our Home Assessment is complete, they will provide written information to Citizenship and Immigration Canada specifying that we have completed the study and we are approved on a Provincial Level to adopt internationally.
* The Role of Citizenship and Immigration Canada is to make sure that children are not abducted, bought, sold, or removed from their biological families without consent.  They make sure the adoption is legal within both countries and help to create the parent-child relationship.  This is in the best interest of the child, and, in the case where the requirements under to local and international laws are not met, they will deny the child's visa.
No costs will be charged to us from Ethiopia and nobody should ever profit from the procurement of children for adoption.
We are doing our research and using a reputal not-for-profit business, along with working with our government, to make sure that the appropriate steps have been taken and we have the best interest in mind for our child.