If you've been following the story about "Focus on Children", the Utah adoption agency recently indicted on 135 counts of fraud and immigration violations regarding its program for adoptions from Samoa, there is more news this week.

In a story that takes a look at Focus on Children and Legacy International, an agency facing the same sort of allegations, Utah Human Services Licensing director, Ken Stettler says, "We try to inform parents anytime you deal with international adoption, you're taking a risk".

As mentioned in yesterday's posts on reforming adoption the process must begin with the individual, and education is the key.

Beginning, however, is not the end, and individuals will have to go beyond educating themselves to bring about real reform. (There will be more on this as the series on reform continues.)

Experts say there's no regulatory failsafe. But reputable agencies belong to a professional association, have a state license and accreditation in foreign countries, said Thomas DiFilipo, president of the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCIS).

"Missing any one of those ingredients," DiFilipo said, is "a red flag."

FOC met all those criteria. Webster made sure of it and checked the agency's references, he said.

Had Webster checked with Utah's Better Business Bureau, he would found three complaints from parents seeking refunds. But such complaints are common for adoption agencies, said Utah bureau president Jane Driggs.

"Emotions run high and families often have to wait longer than they're willing," she said.

Also, the bureau has no regulatory powers. The agencies that do have such authority report only confirmed violations, not complaints.

This, of course, will not do.

For a look at more of the heartache caused by Focus on Children, here's a personal story of two families.

Today, the Sos and Nybergs are close, the two Mormon families say, but their bond was born in deception.

They are at the heart of an alleged adoption scam that has all but ended international adoption in Samoa, sparked a massive federal fraud indictment in Utah and broken the hearts of grieving birth parents and stunned adoptive parents
in two countries.

When the adoptive parents realized that there were glaring issues involved in their adoption, they found the birth family and heard that their daughter had come to them through misrepresentation and lies. In trying to find a way to right this horrible wrong, the Samoan birth parents left the girl's future to the adoptive mom and dad who, "After wrestling with the heart-wrenching decision, the Nybergs left Elleia with her [birth] parents and returned home without her."

The case has not yet gone to court.

Have you heard of Camp to Belong, the organization "Dedicated to the Sibling Connection Initiative, Reuniting Siblings Placed in Separate Foster Homes or Other Out-of-Home Care"?

Since it got a mention at the end of the new mega-star-ladened installment "Ocean's Thirteen" ... George Clooney's character tells Andy Garcia's that he can't return the money he owes him because he has donated it to a group called "Camp to Belong" and credits Oprah for the info ... word is definitely out.

Here's a story on the Northwest chapter, and the camp it runs for kids separately placed in foster and adoptive families.

According to the Camp to Belong website, there are almost 600,000 kids in foster care in the US, and 75% of them have been separated from at least one sibling when they go into care.

The camp is staffed by adoptive and foster parents and funded through private donations, state and federal funds and grants.

New parents in South Carolina will watch an eight-minute video on what happens when a baby is shaken before they're allowed to leave the hospital.

A new bill requiring the viewing goes into effect on the 1st of January next year.

There's now thought to make the video widely available for day care providers and others who come into contact with infants.

Thirty percent of shaken babies die of the injuries sustained, and of those who survive, 50% will have lifelong complications.

The fist adoption by a same-sex couple has taken place in Australia.

With changes to the Western Australian Adoption Act in 2002, gay couples are now allowed to adopt.

David Vicary from the Department of Child Protection's Accommodation and Care Services said “This was a local WA adoption and the biological parents were fully involved in the selection process for the adoptive parents”.

And that's a look at the highlights of the adoption world news for today.