We've just decided to adopt and are so far most interested in Eastern European countries. How did you decide to adopt from the country you chose? Can you recommend any resources that describe each country's rules, timeframes, etc?

Thanks!

[ritanorton]

J.M.
It really depends on what kind of child you are looking for. Russia, Kazakstan and Ukraine are good for < 1yo. Bulgaria for >1 yo. Boys are referred faster than girls, because most people want girls. Also, the cost can vary. Russia, Kaz, Ukraine can cost you anywhere 18-40K. Bulgaria is cheaper if you go directly through Bulgarian agency. PM me if you have ??
Rita

[Ktates]

We decided on Russia for a couple of reasons
1) We could have an infant - (Everything I had read or seen or been told was that the minimimum age for Ukraine was at least 14 months)
2) the adoption program is overseen by the government and international adoptions have been in place there for longer than other countries.
3) We thought it had a much more stable program than other countries - at the time we were looking Romania was about to be closed, Guatemala was having major problems and another country (Georgia maybe?) the wife of the Prime Minister didn't like the idea of foreign adoptions so they were being stopped. (That I read on one of the boards so I'm not sure how true it is.) But you get the picture - things in governments and countries can change - we tried to minimize that risk.

4) The agency we liked the best had an excellent Russia program - we had thought about Poland or Bulgaria as well but we wanted a local agency and we thought it was more important to go with a great agency we were confident in.

Lots to think about - good luck in your decision!

[Waiting4Skip]

For us, it came down to the fact we wanted a "reasonably healthy" little boy, and the availability of healthy little boys in Russia. Our Homestudy agency was a huge help in narrowing it down.

Judy

[Max'smom]

Hi,
Personally, I have been shocke by some of the inflated claims about infants made by adoption agencies I have approached about EE adoption. With the exception of Russia, there are very few adoptable infants in EE. Most people in EE try very hard to avoid unwanted pregnancies (the birth rate is much lower than in the US), and those who decide to have a child usually want that child. The poor kids who end up in orphanages are the older kids whose mom got sick and couldn't care for them or whose parents died in a car crash and so forth. If you google "adoption from" and then fill in the blank with the name of an EE country, you will get hundreds of agencies offering babies from that country.
In evaluating such offers, you might want to look at the State department website very carefully, in particular look at the precautions they give in their adoption booklet:
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption_booklet.html
Furthermore, in choosing a country, look at the number of children issued orphan visas for recent year and the adoption warnings the State department provides on particular countries (also on this website). Then ask your agency how many adoptions it has facilitated in the infant age range from each of these countries.
In the case of some East European countries, thousands of US agencies claim to be able to help you adopt an infant or child under 1 from Belarus or Ukraine in 12-14 months, even though there are very few adoptable children in this young age range annually. Think about the odds that your agency is facing when it offers you a baby from a particular country: if thousands of US agencies are promising to help you and other parents get a young child under the age of 14 months from EE country x, and when you look at the US orphan visa statistics, the US government says that only 138 orphan visas total were issued to that country in the past year, you should take that into consideration in how much you decide to trust this agency, particularly since many of those children are in the older child category.
On Ukraine: I find Cathy Harris' Ukraine statistics and her general advice to be useful here. She tells prospective parents that if you want an infant, Ukraine is not for you. It takes a lot of courage for an adoption facilitar or agenc to say that to people who very badly want to hear something else.

Max'smom

[Mykidsmom]

My husband and I feel compelled to respond to the previous response.

We adopted a 6 month old boy from Ukraine in Feb. 2001, and a 13 month old boy from Belarus in July 2002. The negative comments about being unable to adopt a healthy child from Eastern Europe are simply false and misleading. We dealt with a very reputable agency, and our boys have been healthy as horses. Our agency is run by a Russian couple who are doctors, and they screen each child to be adopted. The rules vary from country to country as to the earliest age at which a child can be adopted--over time, the rules change even within a given country.

People on this forum need encouragement and direction, rather than negativity, from posters.

[Max'smom]

Hi,

I am happy for your fortune, My Kids Mom. I just want to give a broader picture of the legal and institutional context.

There are individual exceptions to what I said.

According to current Ukrainian adoption laws, children must be on the Adoption Center registry for one year before they are available for international adoption.

Children with medical conditions listed on the Ministry of Public Health Protection are available as soon as they are processed at the Adoption Center. (usually two months)

The only adoption organization that can legally show you pictures of children available for is the Adoption Center in Kiev, Ukraine. The only adoption organization that can legally give ANY information on the children available for adoption is the Adoption Center in Kiev, Ukraine.

Any agency or person who informs you that they can show you pictures of children up for adoption for you to choose from are doing so illegally and the Ukraine Government can prosecute these individuals. Do not trust these agencies and report them to the US Embassy and government immediately.


MM

[Deborah525]

Hi I am very new to this process and was terribly upset at Russia's recent change in policy..since we really wanted to adopt and infant.
According to the previous post Ukraine will put a child on their list for adoption with medical problems at age 2 months...is this child then ready for adoption?
Anyone know what kind of medical problems we're talking about? some things over there may be easily correctable in the US.

thanks and hello.
Deborah

[Grobi]

Hello Waiting4skip!

I can't believe how adorable little Skip is, so sweet!!
One question: What are you going to do with him (or have you done) during your next trip(s) to Russia? Is he coming, too?
This is one of my bigger issues, that's why I am asking.
Thanks!

[Ken Brown]

In the Republic of Azerbaijan kids must be in the Database only for 4 months, then they can be given for an international adoption. I know this for sure, we are now adopting from there.

[6kidsforme]

I am not sure where you got your info from, but it is not 4 months, They are required to remain on the database for 6 months. The earliest they can come home is 8 months, and that is if all goes well, which is really rare. The average age of home coming is about 10 months.
It is a great program and great country, but it is really slow going....

[nhook]

Does anyone know about Moldova? My agency goes through them. We are looking to adopt an older boy around 5-7 years old.

I really like the fact that Moldova's trips are short!

[Jasiu]

Hello!

We are adopting from Poland and have found the process to be great (we are adopting independently but know lots of posters here on the board and others who are adopting from Poland with agencies). The program is stable and there are not as many surprises (in terms of additional costs and/or accreditation worries). The only thing with Poland, there are next to no infants available for international adoption. The youngest (if this is your wish) that you may be able to adopt from Poland is about 14 months old. However, the wait for pre-scholers (3-5 yrs old) is reasonable, especially if you are willing to adopt 2 or 3 siblings. We received a referral on beautiful and healthy 4 yr old girl and 8 yr old boy and are in the process of adopting them. We initially requested one or two under 7, but this has worked really well. We have been in the process for about a year, started with home study in December 2005 and received a referral in August 2006. The typical "from start to finish" for Poland is about 1.5 year.

For us, adopting from Poland had to do with our roots, I am Polish American and my wife is a Polish immigrant. Since Poland is open for adoption it made sense to adopt from there because we will be able to expose children to the culture, customs, language, etc.

Originally Posted by J.M.

We've just decided to adopt and are so far most interested in Eastern European countries. How did you decide to adopt from the country you chose? Can you recommend any resources that describe each country's rules, timeframes, etc?

Thanks!

[Eve W]

Hi Jasiu,

We are still uncertain which country to choose. Poland of course would be my first choice, because I am Polish. I would like to apply for one healthy child up to about 4 years old and I am not sure if this would be possible. What do you mean by reasonable wait for preschoolers? Would it be possible to adopt only one pre-school age child?

Eve

[Jasiu]

By reasonable, based on recent cases, it seems to be 1-2 yrs frame.

Originally Posted by Eve W

Hi Jasiu,

We are still uncertain which country to choose. Poland of course would be my first choice, because I am Polish. I would like to apply for one healthy child up to about 4 years old and I am not sure if this would be possible. What do you mean by reasonable wait for preschoolers? Would it be possible to adopt only one pre-school age child?

Eve