[jmt]

We are going to this region for a blind referral of a girl under one. We have been down many, many roads with other referrals and this opportunity came up. We are going to have an IA doc travel with us and meet/evaluate the child.

Anyone else going/been there? If so, what has your experience been like?

Any input would be greatly appreciated :-)

JMT

[jablfl]

Would love to hear about your experience. My agency is suggesting that I look in this region.

[calikismet]

I have heard firsthand that this region is notoriously tough on documents, and other issues like ages of the PAP, etc. Times between trips has been pretty long, etc. But hopefully there have been some positive movements to make the region more friendly to PAPs...

Hopefully others can chime in with more relevant info!

[kdk545]

I have heard from numerous people that Ekat is an awful region. I have an email penpal that had to do 30 extra documents (after doing their dossier) and then had to redo many of those documents more than once. She also waited 4 months in between trips. The ten days isnt waived either.

For what its worth, when we were in the waiting for referral stage I told my agency not to send us referrals from this region.

[CTgirl00]

Just got back from 20 days in Ekaterinburg - no 10 days waived in this region.

The children in this region are gorgeous and health, but very few are getting adopted.

The paperwork is unreal - the 8 signature medical form must be done in the US only and you need board letters for each doctor. You will need to be very organized and understand that you will be redoing paperwork that will likely expire as you wait between trips. The judge is not adoption friendly. According to our team in Ekat, adoptions have gone from 500 last year to only 158 or so this year.
We waited 4.5 months between trips and felt very lucky, as others we met there had waited 10-14 months for a court date.

All in all, as tough as it was, we are truly in love with our child and can not imagine having it any other way - if you are ready for the paperwork (it changes overnight) and can handle the wait then you should pursue an adoption from Ekat - these children need families.

Please feel free to PM me with any additional questions.

Beth

[Katie63011]

I have not been there, but our agency does send families there. The regions has the reputation for having very healthy children but being very, very difficult. It is not a region for the faint of heart. Tons of ppwk requirements (more than the norm) and a long time between trips.


I personally would think twice before going to Ekat unless you don't mind a very long wait between trips as well as redoing ppwk numerous times.

Good luck with your decision.

[Dobby]

Hello again!
I said my goodbyes from the forum, but when Ekat. pops up I have to put in my 2 cents. There are few of us on this board from Ekat., and I would hazard a guess we're one of the few who had a pleasant and successful adoption from this region. Before I address the previous comments, please remember that we finalized our adoption at end of March 2004, right before the 8-dr. medical and other paperwork was put into place.

First, I have to stress that your experience depends on your agency. The 10 days do get waived - ours was. The wait time can be significantly shorter - ours was 5 weeks. WEEKS. Again, with the slowdown that occurred and all the paperwork changes, I am sure between trips are much longer now. I would suggest gathering as much info as possible from your agency about the region and force them to be realistic with you. Explain the things you have "heard" about the region and get to the bottom of how your agency is handled in that region.

The judge IS adoption friendly. She's not easy-adoption friendly. There were only 2 judges in the region that handled adoptions in 2004; I understand the male judge is no longer doing them, and that leaves "the female." Which would lend to reason the longer wait time. We were told that she never, ever wants her judgements called into question and makes sure that every t and i are dotted, crossed, and every document is perfect. The demands of the extra paperwork, we were told, was because she did not want "powers that be" in Moscow to end adoptions in her region by saying that she wasn't stringent enough.

The children are beautiful and healthy. Roman was on-target developmentally and weighed 19 pounds at 9 months old. He walked a week before his first birthday. This was true with every child we encountered that was adoptable.

I would agree that Ekat. is not for the faint of heart. And I, too, have heard that the paperwork demands are unreal. However, I think the experience depends on your agency as well. Don't write off Ekat. based on hearsay. We loved it so much, both the region, the people, and the children, that even with all the new requirements we would request the region again in a heartbeat.

[jmchowat]

Our agency sent 4 families there in February. The first traveled last weekend to pick up their children, the others are still waiting and constantly redoing paperwork to try to satisfy the judge. They did not get the 10 days waived.

[angelkisses0102]

I have 'heard' the orphanage is overflowing with kids...because so many people shy away from it. If age is not an issue for you and you are up to the challenge...you will most likely get a very beautiful and very healthy child. Ekat is not for the faint of heart....

[andiej]

We went in August to meet our referral. We accepted a sibling group of 3. The kids are beautiful and healthy. Is the paperwork tough, yes it is. However, from what I am reading many regions are moving to the Ekat style paperwork, especially the 8 doctor medical form. I think every region is going to have a little longer wait for trip 2. With the new changes I think that most regions will have an increase in paperwork because as Dobby said they don't want to have the finger pointed at them if something tragic happens to the child once they come to the US. Having said that, I think the most important thing is to go with your gut and also look if your agency does a lot of work in Ekat. We had the choice between Krasnoyarsk and Ekat. When we saw our referrals it just didn't matter anymore. So go with your heart and a little knowledge. Make the decision that is right for you. Andie

[Russiaknight]

DH and I recently returned from trip 1 to Ekaterinburg (Oct 2) and I apologize for not posting very much (if at all) but I got really sick once we got back and have also been very busy finishing all the wild paperwork requirements.

Our agency well-prepared us for the requirements but after speaking with a lot of other families it still felt like the right place for us. And of course after we met our-son-to-be there was no turning back. He is gorgeous and healthy.

The paperwork is really hard but doable and it definitely keeps you busy and your mind off of the waiting. I only say this because we haven't yet been asked to redo anything more than twice

We've also heard the same as Dobby about the judges and other officials - they are not anti-adoption - they just want things done very specifically. They do want children to find homes. The director of the baby home our son is in indicated the same mentality - they are happy to see children go to loving homes - any loving home regardless of country.

We had an absolutely amazing and wonderful experience during trip 1 and everyone we met was positive about what we we're doing. I even had the pleasure of sitting next to an Ekat MOE official on the Aeroflot flight to Ekat who wished us good luck (besides the point that I almost passed out upon learning where she worked).

I also agree that your choice of agency will make all the difference in the world. Ours gave us very specific guidance and templates for every single piece of paper that was required and keeps us informed every step of the way. My understanding is that there is also a new male judge that just started in September (replaced previous judge that recently retired).

Definitely do not rule out Ekat without getting full picture.

Laura