[Tom & Amy]

I found this on another forum - sounds like it could be serious!
Tom

"I received this from my agency today . . . just thought I would give everyone a heads up.

Apparently some families from various agencies have been posting information about their referrals, the orphanage locations, etc. on the web. We have been asked to tell all our families that such activity is considered illegal in Russia and the MOE in certain regions has traced such postings and is very upset. These kinds of things can actually shut down a region and all adoptions coming out of there. Technically families are not to have any information about their referrals prior to their first trip. Please make anyone you know aware of this information as well, as it's an extremely serious situation."

[sickmeig]

there are many things that russia needs to change and will be changing over the next 20 years. their adoption policies will need to change too. parents have the right to know as much about their child as possible before adopting.

[rachelwoodlock]

I agree that many aspects of adoption do need to change in every country around the world, however, I do not think it is appropriate to discuss individual referrals across the web. What about confidentiality and child protection laws. This should matter to us all.

[britfish]

I'm gonna be selfish here.....I hate to think the MOE is working on tracking this down instead of finding me my referral!

[Mezzo1]

I would take this very seriously. I have also heard the same rumblings recently.

Leslie

[mabelr]

what regions and agencies was this referring to?
can anyone PM me with info?
thanks!

[DaniJ]

I know they are culturally different than we are, and trying to be open-minded about that, it still seems to me they are looking for yet another excuse to put increased restrictions on international adoptions..... grrrrrrrr. can't they just put pride aside and think of the children first!

[waitinginnj]

The protocol for this process has been this way for a long time. Many agencies have internet policies to protect the children and to maintain compliance. The child that you are adopting is not your child until court is finalized. I know that they are born in your heart, but the reality is that things are not final until they are final.

It is not hard to be able to utilize the internet as a source of support and information without sharing too much information.

[mgibson]

Ditto the above. In order to make sure that no other childs process is delayed this should be a no-brainer. I am probably guilty of doing this to some extent, but I agree we should all be more careful.

Melissa

[EJsDad]

While I personally believe that *some* agencies are overly paranoid with their restrictive policies (being a former client of one of them myself), I can certainly appreciate the sensitivities involved with Russian adoption referrals.

The bottom line is that these kids are NOT your children up and until the judge grants you custody. It's probably not a good idea to post referral pictures, provide detailed information about a particular referral, etc., particularly over the Internet.

There will be plenty of time to post pictures and provide details after the adoption is final!