To provide readers with information on the CDC's TB screening policy for immigrants and how it affects internationally adopted children and their families, the International Adoption Examiner has featured a series of articles from a variety of sources on the topic. Interviewees from this series have included the family of Harper Yue Ye Scruggs, the Crombie family, the Joint Council of International Children's Services, pediatric tuberculosis expert Dr. Jeffrey Starke, and representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To continue with this coverage, Kathleen Strottman, Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), a non-governmental, non-profit organization that strives to be an objective, educational resource for information critical to advancing the efforts of federal policymakers on behalf of children in need of homes, answered the following interview questions via email.
Q: What is CCAI's official position concerning the CDC's implementation of the 2007 Technical Instructions for Tuberculosis Screening and Treatment for Panel Physicians, as it relates to children being adopted overseas?
A: CCAI’s sole mission is to eliminate the legal and bureaucratic barriers that hinder children from realizing their basic right to a family. As such, we are urging the CDC to carefully reconsider this most recent change in policy and ensure that it is not unnecessarily keeping children from being with a family who is waiting to love and protect them.
Q: What actions are currently being taken by CCAI to help exempt internationally adopted children from this policy?
A: CCAI remains hopeful that a resolution can be achieved through continued discussion with the CDC and is encouraging Members of Congress to help advance these conversations. At the same time, we are working with Members of Congress to develop a legislative solution to this problem should one become necessary.
Q: How can the adoptive community participate in this initiative?
A: The adoptive community should do two things: Sign the petition being circulated by the Joint Council on International Children's Services and continue to contact their Members of Congress to register their concern over this issue.
Q: For those who have never called their Members, what can they expect from such a call? What should they say? Will they actually speak with someone who will listen to their concerns?
A: Families who call their Members should ask to speak to the legislative assistant who handles adoption issues. During the call they should explain that they are concerned that the new protocols could have a serious impact on the health and well being of a large number of adopted children. They should stress that, according to several medical experts in pediatric TB, the likelihood of a pre-adolescent child infecting others with TB is extremely low and therefore the current CDC policy needs to be more narrowly tailored to those who might actually pose a threat to the public health. It is also possible for families to email or write to their member to express their concerns. Such forms of communication are equally effective.
Q: When does CCAI hope that this matter will be resolved?
A: The CDC has been extremely responsive of late and seems to understand and appreciate the significance of evidence provided by those practitioners with extensive pediatric TB experience. I remain hopeful that they will remedy this situation soon. If they do not, I am confident Members will engage. Either way, families should rest assured that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible.
*****PLEASE ALSO READ THIS ARTICLE FOR EXPERT INFORMATION ON PEDIATRIC TUBERCULOSIS: Interview with pediatric tuberculosis expert Dr. Jeffrey Starke******
To take action against the CDC's TB policy for internationally adopted children:
- Sign the Build Families, Not Barriers Petition
- contact members of congress to ask them to take action to exempt this population of adoptees from the policy.
*logo courtesy of Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute
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- Interview with pediatric tuberculosis expert Dr. Jeffrey Starke
- Joint Council on Intl Children's Services speaks out against CDC's TB policy for adopted children
Mother of Harper Scruggs discusses the heartbreak of leaving adopted daughter in China
CDC rules that Scruggs family must leave adopted daughter in China
Scruggs family may be forced to leave newly adopted daughter in China
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