[Kama]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone has been to Ukraine recently and what is going on with younger children's adoption? My friend from another forum is going and has appt on 9/24. She has been told that it is not sure that she will get a referral the first time around. Please share your recent experience. Thank you.

[gugs]

I don't have the answer but have heard that you will always get a referral, it just might not be what you originally requested. In other words you have to be VERY flexible.

[Kama]

Thank you gugs. I thought because of the events of last year and the fact that everything was stopped, there would be more children available. But, we will see.

[gugs]

I just read on another forum that there are couples currently in Kiev being told there are no children available. After pleading the one couple was shown 2 boys, not what they requested.....difficult times at SDA and hopefully things will straighten out soon.

[handytranslations]

Kids are now again available for adoptions.
We have different changes in policy every other time we have election, but now since the Ministry has re-organized itself, it would work fine.

[Max'smom]

It seems from the following announcement made at the end of July that the state ministry officials in Ukraine want to stress that prospective adoptive parents from abroad should not expect to be able to be referred healthy children under the age of 3:

Міні�тер�тво України у �правах �ім'ї, молоді та �порту


"INFORMATION MESSAGE

The Department has carried out the thorough analysis of the petitions submitted within the last six months by foreign citizens who wish to adopt a child from Ukraine. The results evidence that in the majority of cases the prospective parents are willing to adopt a healthy child under 3 years old.
The State Department for Adoption and Protection of the Rights of the Child would like to inform foreign citizens who wish to adopt a child from Ukraine (and their representatives) as well as all persons concerned on the following:
In its work with prospective parents the Department is governed exclusively by legal regulations envisaged by the Family Code of Ukraine, Procedure for registration of children who may be adopted, of persons who wish to adopt a child, as well as for control of the respect for rights of the adopted children, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in its Resolution #1377 of August 28, 2003, Resolution #367 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the establishment of the State Department for Adoption and Protection of the Rights of the Child dated on March 25, 2006. In accordance with the tasks and functions of the Department, designated in the current legislative acts the selection of a specific child at request of a prospective parent is not in the competence of the Department.
In this connection, the Department would like the prospective parents – foreign citizens, irrespective of the state they come from, to take into consideration the following. As the percentage of national adoptions has considerably increased and placement of children in the other forms of family upbringing on the territory of Ukraine became more widespread, the quantity of younger children for intercountry adoptions has considerably decreased. Consequently, in case if foreign citizens request the adoption of a younger healthy child (under 3 years old), the Department can not undertake any obligations on finding such a child. According to the Procedure approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in its Resolution # 1377 of August 28, 2003 petitions of foreign citizens shall be considered by the Department within 20 working days. After the documents have been considered, and the Department has given an affirmative reply, a foreign citizen is registered as a prospective parent and he/she is invited to Ukraine to obtain information about a child from the centralized database of children available for adoption.
Hence, an invitation to come for obtaining information about children available for intercountry adoption does not guarantee the adoption of a child of the desired age and health status."

Earlier in the year 2007, the state ministry reported on the activities of the adoption agency, showing that overall, there was an equal number of domestic and foreign adoptions, but that overall, less than 20% of adoptions are of children under the age of 6, so the announcement is consistent with figures.


----------------

Per the press release in July 2006, about 16% of children were under 6 and relatively healthy, including those with siblings.

[Kama]

Max's Mom- Thanks! Someone I know of and corresponded with just got a referral on a 4 yr old boy in western Ukraine and she and her husband are there now bonding and getting to know each other. So, things have moved a bit, it seems.