WACSN in the news again.

A news article alerted me to problems with Liberia and WACSN. This time they removed 35 children. Awhile back, WACSN was being investigated. I researched the adoption agency a little bit. The agency is in Minnesota. They operate an orphanage in Liberia. News came out recently that the orphanage was raided and 35 children were removed. I wonder if the state of Minnesota has bothered to investigate this agency. Maybe with this article they will. I know that the IRS needs to be paying attention to this mess.

One of the things that I noticed with this agency is the website. It is very poorly done. It belongs to a woman in Tennessee. Liberia temporarily halted all adoptions in January when this story came out. While this moratorium has been going on, there have been no Americans adopting from Liberia. Canada has ceased all adoptions from Liberia. This website really pushes religious beliefs onto an individual. If you happen to ask too many questions or have a difference of opinion, you might be considered as not Christian enough. That will get your application denied.

Tax documents are also lacking. The last one filed was in 2005 where they show earnings from direct support of $222,900. They list no income from adoptions since that time. I think that I smell a skunk in here somewhere. How can this organization not report its incomes for close to five years? Inquiring minds and all.

Here is a quote from the article that really concerns me as an adoptee:

“WACSN is a Minnesota nonprofit, according to federal tax records, and has been one of the leading U.S. adoption agencies in Liberia. It is not licensed as an adoption agency in Minnesota. Under state rules, organizations that arrange international adoptions are not necessarily required to have a state license.”

They are operating out of Minnesota but they do not have an agency license from Minnesota. They do have a business filing for the agency out of Eden Prairie. It is amazing that these agencies are allowed to continue when they have children removed from their care. It is amazing that the state of Minnesota has not investigated this agency too.

The missing tax records, the weird way that the website is set up, and the fact that they are not licensed in Minnesota is enough to send warning bells off in my head. I suggest all adoptive parents to look elsewhere to consider adopting from.