INTRODUCTION
Office
President
Ms Barbara Parlant
Vice-president (responsible for adoptions in Brazil)
Ms Marisa Maia Drumond
Vice-president (responsible for activities in Vietnam)
Ms Joëlle Riby
Director of postal communications
Ms A. Jolibois
Administrative assistant
Ms L. Senillout
Treasurer
Mr Jean-Patrick Mattiuzzo
Brazil team
JM Bremaud, S. Chiron, H.Lam
Vietnam team
I. Burin des Roziers, MC. Nony (referring doctor), M. Nauleau-Martinaud, AM Leaute, TH Trugnan
On location: Local correspondents in Brazil and Vietnam welcome and support families throughout their stay.
What makes our team special is that its membership includes a Vietnamese administrator and a Brazilian vice-president.
Founded in 1930, the “Oeuvre de l’Adoption de la Charente,” which became “Adoption et Parrainage” of the Charente region in 1979, is a nonprofit association governed by the law of 1 July 1901.
From 1930 to 1981, the association welcomed 82 French orphans and was responsible for their legal guardianship until they came of legal age. Children were placed in foster families, educated, and the financial burden was covered by the association.
From 1981, as the abandonment of French children had thankfully significantly dropped, the association, to meet the requests of families who wished to adopt a child, turned to international adoption.
In 2010, Adoption et Parrainage de la Charente became one of the eight committees of the Confédération Française pour l’Adoption.
COFA — COGNAC Committee is an approved adoption agency, in accordance with the provisions set out in the decree of 18 April 2002.
To carry out its business, this means our association had to:
- secure an authorisation to operate from the departmental council of Charente,
- be authorised and recognised by the French Central Authority,
- be accredited for adoptions in the countries we have chosen,
- since 1986: Brazil
- since 1994: Vietnam
Our mission is therefore recognised by public authorities.
OUR TEAM
OUR FUNDING
Adoption applicants who solicit our services contribute to our operating expenses (which are endorsed by the Mission de l’Adoption Internationale – MAI).
We receive financial support from MAI as part of an Agreement of Objectives and Resources, signed with the French state in 2011, to fund travel, team training and the preparation of prospective parents.
Our COFA – COGNAC accounts are audited by a certified accountant and, like all COFA committee accounts, validated by COFA’s auditor.
SCHEDULE
OUR FUNDING
Our funding comes from:
- Operating fees requested from adopting families after their application has been officially accepted by COFA Cognac.
- A grant offered by the Mission de l’Adoption Internationale as part of the contract between MAI and COFA setting out aims and means.
Our COFA Cognac accounts are approved by a certified accounted and examined, like all the accounts of COFA Committees, by COFA’s auditor.
ADOPTION PROCEDURE
Getting started
Application review by the reading commission.
1st interview
Introduction of applicants and of the Association
2nd interview
Compiling your application
3rd interview
Agreement is signed, preparing for your trip
Finally…
Trip to the child’s country of origin: 60-day stay in Brazil 30-day stay in Vietnam
After the adoption
Four biannual follow-up visits over a 2-year period in Brazil. Six biannual follow-up visits over a 3-year period in Vietnam.
CONTACT
Practical information
Brazil hours: Mondays from 14.30 to 17.30
Vietnam hours: Tuesdays from 14.30 to 17.30
COFA Cognac
9, avenue du Maréchal Leclerc
16100, Cognac
+33 (0)5 45 35 24 25
How to send your application
To study a case, COFA Cognac requires applicants to send by regular mail only:
- A letter explaining their adoption project
- Their agreement and attached information sheet
- Their social and psychological evaluations
- One or two photographs of the applicants
- A stamped envelope for our reply.
Were you adopted through COFA Cognac?
Would you like to find out more about your origins or speak with a professional?
If you are of legal age or are the parent of a minor, you may contact COFA Cognac and the relevant country team will study your request and the reliability of the process.