Aġenzija Appoġġ would like to clarify comments made in an article on The Times (October 15) and as well as a number of statements regarding the agency.

Appoġġ was delegated by the Government in 2008 to provide the services of an accredited agency, primarily to assist prospective adoptive parents in the process leading to their approval as suitable and eligible adoptive parents and to match prospective adoptive parents with adoptive children in the case of local adoptions. In the case of inter-country adoptions, the agency also has contacts within a number of countries who assist prospective adoptive parents in the process leading to their being matched with a child.

Prior to January 2012, Appoġġ, being the only entity authorised to provide adoption services and so could only refer prospective adoptive parents to countries with which it had contacts and not to informal contacts, had established connections with other countries.

Following the accreditation award of some of these informal contacts in January, Appoġġ could then refer its clients to the newly-accredited agencies who, thus, provide prospective adoptive parents with the possibility of adopting from countries with which Appoġġ has not yet established contacts.

Also at the time, Appoġġ still supported the applicants and helped them obtain any documentation required in the process and gave them the necessary emotional support.

The support provided by Appoġġ does not stop once the adoption is finalised because both in local and in inter-country adoptions professionals from Appoġġ continue to monitor the progress of the adopted child, as required by law, for a period varies from one country to another.

In all circumstances, post-adoption reports are submitted to the country from where the child has been adopted.

Appoġġ is therefore fully competent and equipped to meet all the requirements of the laws regulating adoption in Malta and to assist prospective adoptive parents throughout the process, from the initial phases leading to their approval to the post-adoption process required by law.