Please see the article on Estonian adoption on the website of the U.S. State Department, at
http://travel.state.gov/family/adopt...untry_379.html.
One thing the article will tell you is that very, very few children are ever adopted from Estonia by Americans. The main reasons are that:
1. Because of Estonian adoption law, only children whose parents are dead or who have been removed from parents by a court of law may be adopted. There are very few such children -- too few even for the Estonian families who want to adopt and who are given preference over foreign families.
2. Because of Estonian adoption law, healthy children may NOT be adopted internationally. International adoption is reserved for children whose needs cannot be met in Estonia.
The article states that you should not try to find an adoptable child on your own, because you will probably focus on children who are not adoptable under Estonian adoption law or eligible for an adoption visa under U.S. immigration law.
It states that you should use an American agency that has signed an agreement with Estonia's Ministry of Social Welfare. Before signing with an agency, you should ensure that it has a written agreement with Estonia.
It also states that Estonia is now a party to the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption. Since the U.S. has not yet ratified the Hague Convention, some countries that have ratified are not eager to work with Americans. I don't know for sure that the Estonians have reacted this way, but it is a possibility.
Always check out agencies carefully. Besides ensuring that an agency has an agreement with the Estonian government, you should:
1. Check references carefully. You can talk to people whose names are given to you by the agency, but go beyond those people. After all, the agency is likely to give you only the names of its most satisfied clients. And be very specific in your questions. Don't just ask, "Did you have a good experience?" Focus on issues that are important to you, such as medical information, travel support, etc.
2. Check to see that the agency is licensed and not-for-profit. While it by no means guarantees that you will have a good experience, licensure does hold agencies accountable for their conduct. An agency is going to be cautious if a state can yank its license because families are treated badly.
3. Contact the licensure bureau and the Better Business Bureau in states where the agency is licensed. Ask about the volume of complaints, the nature of the complaints, the resolution of the complaints, and so on. Many times, you will get useful information. Just remember that a single complaint doesn't necessarily mean that an agency is bad; it just might not be right for that family. Look for a pattern of complaints.
4. Check to see if the agency is a member of respectable organizations that advocate for ethical international adoption. The primary such organization is the Joint Council on International Children's Services, which has its membership directory on its website at
www.jcics.org. However, you can also see if it is a member of the National Council for Adoption and similar organizations. In addition, check to see if some of its staff have presented at conferences put on by reputable organizations. This often suggests that the staff are held in high regard by the adoption community.
5. Know the country's rules and the U.S. rules well. Then compare them against what the agency tells you or says on its website. Run away from an agency that makes claims that seem inconsistent with the rules, or that sound too good to be true.
6. Go for experience. Select an agency with a lot of experience, not just in Estonia but in international adoptions in general. Ideally, the agency will have been in business for a long time. However, a younger agency can be good if it was founded by an adoption professional with years of experience in another agency, or if it has very experienced program managers for the countries of interest to you.
Sharon