[aprilhwth]

My brain is swirling trying to figure out if we should go with an adoption agency for Ukraine or use and independent facilitator. Anyone who has adopted from Ukraine recently please tell me what your final cost was, how much cash you had with you in country and how much you used in country. Please!!

[sak9645]

First off, be aware that a bill was introduced in the Ukrainian legislature, which -- depending on the final wording -- could halt American adoptions from that country. Action on the bill has been postponed repeatedly, however, most recently on January 12, 2011.

In short, you may or may not wind up being able to adopt from Ukraine, depending on whether and when the bill passes, and whether the wording creates an opportunity for countries with multi-lateral treaties, such as the Hague, to continue working with Ukraine. (Early versions of the bill exempted only countries with bilateral treaties, which U.S. law does not permit.) Before sending money to ANY agency or facilitator, American or Ukrainian, be sure to contact the U.S. State Department for the latest updates on the status of the bill, so that you know the level of risk in starting an adoption at this time.

Second, remember that Ukraine does NOT allow foreign adoption agencies, facilitators, or translators to participate in a prospective parent's initial meeting with the Ukrainian adoption authority, known as the State Department for Adoptions and Protection of Rights of the Child (SDAPRC), for the purpose of selecting children to visit. If you use an American agency or facilitator, its role will be limited to helping you complete your application to adopt. Later in the process, you "may" be allowed to use a private translator

Also remember that the Ukraine has told the U.S. State Department that there are NO healthy children, or children with minor correctible special needs, under age three, available for adoption by foreigners, and very few healthy children or children with minor correctible medical needs, under age six. If an agency or facilitator tells you that it can play a role in the selection of a child for you, or that it can help you adopt a healthy infant or toddler, it is either untruthful or using questionable practices.

The SDAPRC is committed to finding homes for Ukrainian children who are considered the most difficult to place, such as those with severe mental or physical challenges, those who are age ten or over (especially boys), and those who are in sibling groups with at least one school aged child or child with a disability. As a result, the SDAPRC will often show a family books of available children with such challenges. If a person does not see a child/children whose needs he/she can meet, and requests books of children with less serious special needs, the SDAPRC may or may not grant the request. In many cases, families have been told to go home and wait for a second invitation, since the SDAPRC already has too many appointments scheduled. Ukraine's stated policy is that families may have no more than three appointments with the SDAPRC.

There are allegations that some agencies or facilitators have offered bribes to members of the SDAPRC, so that families will be shown books of children with more moderate or minor special needs, upon request. While there is no proof, some of the allegations seem credible. Be very careful in choosing an agency because, if you select one that has been involved in offering bribes, and the Ukrainian government finds out, you could be denied the opportunity to adopt and lose any fees paid to the offending agency.

According to the U.S. State Department, Ukraine, itself has no adoption fees; you pay only for things like court filings, notarial services, translation, and so on. However, the State Department also says that people have paid anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000 to agencies and facilitators, for their services.

As a result, shop around before you send money to an agency or a facilitator. Determine what their fees cover, and draw conclusions about whether there really is value in having the agency or facilitator work with you. Also talk with other adoptive families that have used a given agency or facilitator, about any "surprise" fees that they encountered in-country. Unfortunately, such surprises are common when agencies or facilitators do not supervise in-country contract staff very well. Be sure to get receipts for any fees you pay, in case questions arise about double billing.

I hope this helps.

Sharon

[LG_Family]

We adopted a brother/sister sibling set - came home January 2010. Total cost $33k. We went independent-Ukraine.

[volga121]

LG_Family, please share which agency did you use and your experience. Many thanks,
Tatyana

[LG_Family]

Volga -
We adopted independently, meaning - we did not go through any agency. Ukraine does not allow agencies period. You must handle everything face to face with them. The only help you will have is a facilitator, who basically acts as a translator in my opinion.

[LG_Family]

Everything needed is clearly on Ukraine's SDA )State Dept. of ADoptions) website. We handled everything on our own without any paperwork hick-ups or problems at all.

[volga121]

Thank you LG_Family.

It could be beneficial or otherwise to be able to follow the process and do it yourself. Would you do this again if you were just considering and looking into adoption? How long dis it take you from start to finish?

[LG_Family]

Volga,
We started our process in June 2009, our SDA appointment was October 2, 2009, we met our children October 19, 2009, BUT we did not finalize things and go home with our children until January 23, 2010. We stayed there the entire time. It was VERY difficult. We LOVE our children, but the ENTIRE thing has been very difficult. If we thought of adopting again, NO - we would most certainly NOT adopt from Ukraine. With that being said, there are TONS of children who need homes there, who are loving and deserving previous little souls, but- for our family, I'd have to say no.
Email me- for more questions. wainwrightadoption@yahoo.com

[CathyStone]

Hi, we have adopted from Ukraine twice using the same facilitator.

I can definitely say that choice of a country and adoption facilitator are the most essential things in international adoption.

We made a thorough analysis before making a choice, weighing up references and cost of services of different facilitators and agencies.

At the beginning I was a little scared of going independently until I got tons of references from those who had done it independently.

So finally we decided to find reliable and reasonable adoption facilitator.

Cost of the process was one of the most important issues for us just like a reliability of adoption facilitator.

Our expenses in Ukraine totaled 16,000$. They covered adoption of two kids and all the related expenses. As we learned procedural expenses pretty heavily hinge on a region of adoption.

Thanks to our facilitator we saved lots of money on lodging and transportation:
instead of paying for an apartment on a daily basis (which was 300 grivnas per day (about 35$), he found an apartment that we rented on a monthly basis, paying 250$ per month. Also our facilitator arranged for a driver with a very reasonable fees. Considering that we had to shuttle between two small towns, it saved us some money too.

Another big thing on which we saved thanks to our facilitator was preparing documents for adoption from Ukraine. Agencies usually charge for this service a fortune. Our facilitator’s fee included this service. So he helped us to compose our adoption dossier correctly, advising us on each step of a dossier preparation process and checking each document of a dossier before we sent it to Ukraine.

So lots of things depend on an adoption facilitator that you choose.

If anyone needs any advice or support, I will be glad to help.

[volga121]

Thank you CathyStone and LG_Family for sharing your experiences. We are still in a process of research and are trying to make sense of all the information and the process. As we are ready to move forward, I will be reaching back to you , if you don't mind, for a specific information regarding the agencies.
Many-many thanks and all the best

[L39]

CathyStone can you please share which facilitator you used for your adoptions. I'm very interested in adopting from Ukraine. Thank you in advance !

[DPline]

Please remember that discussion of specific facilitators must take place via private message.