I've long said we are in a perfect storm of adoption policy and practice. "Children still need families, and adoptions need to be done with integrity and transparency. The number of international adoption agencies subsequently has declined. In 2007, 221 children were adopted by 2015, only 63 international adoptions occurred in Utah, according to U.S. In Utah, 2,551 children were adopted between 19, but those numbers have been dwindling. Some involved in the situation were given prison time others faced misdemeanors, probation and fines.īut few agencies that have engaged in illegal practices have been prosecuted, and many critics say that the unethical adoption agencies ignore how children have arrived at an orphanage.Ĭases such as the Focus on Children one, as well as improved fertility treatments and other factors, have led to a steady decline in international adoption. In 2007, a federal indictment accused Utah adoption agency Focus on Children of coercing and tricking parents in Samoa into giving up their children for adoption. Getting a clear picture of the horrific situation of a child being kidnapped and adopted into a family in another country is a challenging situation. As time went on, Rowland continued to live his life and served a church mission in London, where his immersion among a large Indian populace triggered memories he thought were long forgotten.Įventually, he met a woman named Priya - whom he would ultimately marry - who was from Southern India and had some unexpected ties to the orphanage Rowland was originally taken to. His adoptive family was horrified to later learn that he had a family back in India whom he missed.
They raised him as their son, changing his name to Taj Rowland. " The Orphan Keeper" by Camron Wright is a fictionalized account of a true story about Chellamuthu, a 7-year-old boy who was kidnapped in his native India, taken to a Christian orphanage hours away from his home and eventually adopted by an unsuspecting Utah family. For many, it's a career path, marriage or death of a loved one.įor international adoptees, that major life event often happens much earlier than for most. Life is filled with events that change people's courses forever.