Red tape gets in the way of Brazilian children's right to be adopted

There are about 46,000 children and teenagers living in shelters away

Published on 28/05/2017 - 14:44 By Adriana Franzin reports from Agência Brasil - Brasília

trigêmeos com os pais adotivos

Jefferson Seidler and Silvana Kronemberger with their triplets - Caio, Camila and CarlaFrom the families' personal collection

Waiting in the cold aisle, sitting on a concrete bench, Jefferson Seidler, 42, felt his hands sweat with anxiety. His long-awaited children were finally coming up. His voice choked as he pointed them out to his wife Silvana Kronemberger, 41, “I guess it's them coming over there.” It had been a four-year gestation and a much bigger proposal than recorded in the National Adoption Registry. They had applied for a child younger than three years old. Eventually they adopted triplets.

The mother—who still keeps the little shoes the girls were wearing at that first meeting (the boy was barefoot)—recalls all the anxiety from that day until a month later when Caio, Camila and Carla, now aged 6, finally came home with their new family.

As of May 25, when Brazil celebrates its National Adoption Day, 7,493 children were waiting to be adopted in the country. But only 4,826 enrolled in the National Adoption Registry are completely available to join a new home. The others still have ties with their birth families, a situation that allows for further appeals that could hinder adoption.

That number, however, accounts for just over 10% of the children living in shelters today. The National Council of Justice reports about 46,000 children and teenagers live far from their blood relations and are no less far from a permanent home, trapped in a legal limbo as they await the proceedings to remove them from their birth families.

On the other side of the list, 39,633 prospective adopting parents await. Most of them (about 80%) have not stated any racial preferences, 63% do not mind the gender, and 32% are willing to adopt siblings or children with health conditions or disabilities.

Red tape

According to Suzana Borges Viegas, Associate Professor of Civil Law at the University of Brasília (UnB), adopter preferences are not the main reason why the process takes so long.

“Wading through the large amount of court red-tape is what really delays the whole process. The courts can't skip any of the legal procedures, not least to avoid issues like rejection. Moreover, some stages are really long. Just to mention an example, straightening out the child's situation takes about a year. Breaking ties with the birth family requires caution because the State will primarily want the child to stay with their blood family,” she explained.

One potential way to make the process shorter, in her opinion, would be to increase staff in adoption courts. She also advocates the approval of a bill tabled in February by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security which sets time frames for completing the process. The bill also allows temporary guardianship to be granted faster. “This new rule could ensure the children joins the family before the proceedings are completed,” she continued.

For the triplets' mother, Silvana Kronemberger, it was all worth the wait. “My children are the greatest symbol of God's love for me. He gave me the honor of loving and raising them to be fulfilled people, men and women who can make this world a better place and prove that building a family is possible and worthwhile,” she said filled with emotion.


Translated by Mayra Borges


Fonte: Red tape gets in the way of Brazilian children's right to be adopted

Edition: Talita Cavalcante / Nira Foster

Latest news