Russian Adoption Changes
According to reports coming from Russian News sources: - The State Duma wants bilateral treaties with the US that will allow Russian officials to intervene in the lives of children who have been adopted internationally.
- Adoption only through accredited organizations. All agencies have lost accreditation, some for not updating Russia on the children's living conditions after adoption finalization. They are working on getting accreditation back at this time.
- After the Pavlis case the State Duma succeeded in revising family code to make international adoptions harder and closed a legal loophole allowing for independent adoptions from non-accredited agencies.
- The Ministry of Education launched a Web site to target and promote domestic adoption. The site will feature 260,000 Russian orphans, information about adoption, and a listing of accredited agencies. An English version may be in the future.
- Psychological assessment for future foster/adoptive parents.
- Certification showing that 30 hours of a parenting course has been completed before adoption. I highly recommend this to any adoptive family. This will help in understanding the grief that your child will experience and how to parent difficult behaviors. Children express emotions through behavior.
Cons
- If the treaty is accepted the number of foreign adoptions may drop as many adoptive parents will not welcome the idea of the Russian government being free to intrude in their lives at any time.
- Many feel that the proposed treaty may be a way to shut down international adoptions all together which will in the end hurt the waiting children of Russia.
Where it Stands
Changes in International Adoption are normal. Many programs have stopped over time for restructuring or due to allegations of "trafficking". So be prepared when pursuing a Russian adoption:
- Find out where your agency is in the accreditation process.
- Complete the 30 hours of training.
- Find out from your agency what you need to do to complete the psychological exam.
- Make sure your agency files any needed reports after the finalization of the adoption.
- Get involved with support resources such as the Eastern European Adoption Coalition.
Join the email support groups that are offered on the site and are country specific. Look for the Russian group which is a great resource for pre-adoptive parents. Then join other groups for post adoption support such as the PEP-L for school-age children or the PABT-L for toddlers and babies. - Be patient as this process is slow, but worth it.
- Prepare yourself for the possibility of the adoption falling through due to the upcoming changes within the system.
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References include several news articles from the following:- BBC
The Christian Science Monitor
RIA Novosti (Russian News & Information Agency)
MosNews.com
The New York Time - Working on Overhaul, Russia Halts Adoption Applications
