Ukraine Adoption

A little bit of hope lies ahead

A new letter from the US Embassy in Ukraine, dated Nov. 26, 2005:

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:

On November 23, 2005 the National Adoption Center of Ukraine (NAC) officially informed the Embassy that the Center had resumed acceptance of new adoption dossiers under limited circumstances. The NAC advises that it will now accept dossiers from U.S. citizens who are applying to adopt the following categories of Ukrainian children only:

- Older children (10 years old and older);
- Siblings of previously adopted children;
- Handicapped children.

The NAC advised that, due to the large number of American post-adoption reports still outstanding (558 for the period 1996-2003), the suspension of acceptance of new dossiers other than those noted above would remain in effect. The Embassy follows this issue very closely and will continue to post updates on our website as well as advise the American adoption community by e-mails such as this one.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Adoption Unit/Immigrant Visa Section
Consular Section
American Embassy
Kyiv, Ukraine

In accordance with E.O. 12958 this message is not classified.

Special holiday

Eleven of us sat down at the long table with its cranberry tablecloth and candles to match. Thanksgiving dinner at our home was just a little more special this year with the extra chair next to me. Little Tara, in her corduroy jumper that matched the decorations, climbed into her new spot, smiling proudly. She wanted a little bit of everything put onto her plate---mashed potatotes, turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes-- and she tried most things. But she was more excited about the visitors: Grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins. Cousin Caroline said grace, we all grabbed plates of food to pass. I looked down at Tara, who was grinning ear to ear at me.

We were thankful for a lot this year.

Happy Thanksgiving

So I'm cleaning up the house a bit in preparation for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast at our home, Tara's first! A toddler in the house certainly adds a new, um, element to trying to get things in order. Order?

I cleaned the kitchen floor yesterday; today she knocked over a full cup of coffee (with cream and sugar) at the table (no one was hurt). I vacuumed yesterday; today she practiced using her scissors on a stack of junk mail. I put away all of her clutter-type toys in her toy box last night; do I need to finish this sentence?

And Mom, if you're reading this, I know you like to help clean up after dinner, but you should know our dishwasher broke, just in time for Thanksgiving. But don't despair: nieces Caroline and Meagan will be happy to do the dishes after dinner, I'm sure, since I'm taking them to the mall on Friday. Right girls?

Whoops, I better go see what else I need to do again...

Happy Thanksgiving to all! And to the families like us who brought home their precious children from Ukraine this year!

Sunny fall

We raked leaves, rode our scooters, ran some errands and just hung out in the sunshine on a great fall weekend.

A letter to the adoption community

Click on the "Adoption News" category to the left to read the latest letter from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to the hopeful adoption community in America.

A new letter to the adoption community

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine sent this letter last week to the adoption community. We hope that families who have adopted from Ukraine will take this seriously and comply with the registration rules so that other families who are waiting with high hopes can continue their adoption process and give loving homes to the beautiful orphans in Ukraine.

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:

As we reported earlier and most of you know, on September 19, 2005 the National Adoption Center (NAC) of Ukraine suspended the acceptance of new adoption dossiers from U.S. citizens and citizens of several other countries. The NAC explained that this decision was based in large part on past non-compliance of some families with post-adoption reporting requirements, which are mandated by Ukrainian law.

The U.S. Government has made numerous representations at many levels to the Government of Ukraine on this subject. On November 1, 2005 Embassy representatives met again with the NAC Director. The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Minister for Family, Youth and Sports and diplomats from other Embassies in Ukraine that have been affected by this suspension. At this meeting the NAC provided updated information on the numbers of missing post-adoption reports. According to NAC statistics, to date there are 598 missing reports on Ukrainian children adopted by Americans through intercountry adoption between 1997 and 2003. In addition, the NAC has not yet received reports/registration for 495 children adopted by American citizens in 2004.

We are repeating below an appeal from the Embassy of Ukraine, which we emailed to this list earlier. The Department of State strongly encourages parents to comply with post-adoption reporting requirements (). Thank you.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Adoption Unit/Immigrant Visa Section
Consular Section
American Embassy
Kyiv, Ukraine
Tel: 38-044-4904422
Fax: 38-044-490-4570
adoptionskiev@state.gov
www.usembassy.kiev.ua/amcit_adoptions_eng.html
In accordance with E.O. 12958 this message is not classified.

OPEN LETTER OF THE EMBASSY OF UKRAINE TO THE USA
Acceptance of new adoption dossiers from US citizens is suspended

The Embassy of Ukraine to the USA
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, October 11, 2005

WASHINGTON - Starting September 19, 2005, the Children Adoption
Center of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine suspended
the acceptance of new adoption dossiers from US citizens.

According to the Children Adoption Center, the decision to stop accepting
certain dossiers was based mainly on the past non-compliance of some
families with post-adoption reports, which are required by the Ukrainian
law.

According to the Children Adoption Center, the new procedures do not affect
dossiers that have already been accepted, unless the prospective adopting
parents have failed to register and provide reports about the previously
adopted Ukrainian children.

As the United States is the country whose citizens adopt the largest number
of the Ukrainian children, the Government of Ukraine is deeply concerned
with the fate of hundreds of the adopted children we have no information
about.

Taking into consideration the above-mentioned the Embassy of Ukraine to
the USA kindly requests your cooperation in two matters.

FIRST, we need cooperation in promoting the registration of Ukrainian
children adopted by US citizens and SECOND, in providing the Consulates
of Ukraine with post-placement reports from American adoptive parents
whom you may have contact with regards to this issue.

The Embassy of Ukraine is obliged to act in accordance with the Ukrainian
law which states that the Embassy shall supervise the registration of the
adopted children and maintain the database of the post-placement reports
about them.

Registering your child allows the adopted child to be added onto the list of
Ukrainian citizens residing in the United States.

Please be advised that in accordance with the Ukrainian law, the adoptive
parents signed an agreement with the Government of Ukraine to:

[1] maintain the Ukrainian citizenship of the adopted child until the
age of eighteen,
[2] to register the child with the appropriate diplomatic mission of
Ukraine, as well as
[3] to submit to the diplomatic mission periodical reports about the
child's well-being and
[4] to allow the representatives of the diplomatic mission to contact
the child directly.

It is especially important for the Ukrainian Government to know where the
adopted Ukrainian children have been placed and how they are progressing
in the United States. Through regular reports, the Ukrainian Government is
informed of the children's development with their adoptive parents.

The Embassy of Ukraine thanks all American families that provide us with
information about the progress of their Ukrainian children. We really
appreciate it.

The Embassy of Ukraine kindly asks those who forgot or refused to provide
us with this information to do so as soon as possible. Please send the
reports along with pictures of your children so that we may follow their
development throughout the years.

Please understand that your neglect to inform the Ukrainian authorities
about your adopted children blocks the process of the Ukrainian orphan
children adoption by American families.

For your convenience, information on the consular registration of Ukrainian
adopted children is available online at
.

A sample of the post placement report is available online at
.

To facilitate communication, the reports can be forwarded via e-mail to:
adoption@ukremb.com or can be sent by mail to the Consular Office of
The Embassy of Ukraine at 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007.

If you have any contact with adoptive parents, organizations, agencies or
persons who may benefit from this information, the Embassy of Ukraine
kindly asks you to pass this information along so that everyone may
become well informed.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the Consular Office of
the Embassy of Ukraine via fax at (202) 333-7510 or by email address at
adoption@ukremb.com .

The Embassy of Ukraine appreciates any assistance in compiling this
information because this in turn will help keep the adoption process open
for the American families.

Hangin' out

I have been battling a cold for a week now and managed to lose my voice last Friday night. When I talked to Tara in a whisper, she would whisper back, like we were involved in something very sneaky.

So on Monday I gave in and stayed home from work to try to fight this ailment, plus I couldn't really talk. I kept Tara home from pre-school because it's too far to drive; it's near my work. What a good sport she was, hanging out with me on the couch, coloring quietly, playing with her toys. She even took a 2 1/2-hour nap in the afternoon, enabling me to do the same.

When I would cough, she'd say, "medicine?" She covered me with a blanket. When I told her I was going to the doctor, she started to sing that "Three little monkeys jumping on the bed" song. If you don't know it, ask any child. It involves a bumped head and a doctor. It really made me smile!

My sister thinks Tara will be some kind of scientist, and I wouldn't be surprised if she goes into the health field. She is quick to supply band-aids to anyone's "owies." She always wants to see the cuts and bruises and scrapes up close.

OK, so I can dream for this little girl who started in an orphanage in Ukraine and may end up saving lives some day.

Snow White

One hour before we went trick-or-treating, Tara was in her Snow White costume with glitter shoes. She wanted her hair up. We had been prepping her for this big night, taking her to costume shops to get used to scary masks and creepy creatures. It worked. She didn't scream at all.

She sat in the wagon for a while, getting up at each driveway and trotting to the doors. Then she decided to just put her bag of goodies into the wagon between stops, and jogged alongside her brother and his friends.

She kept up! Tara got just as much candy as the big kids. She tripped a few times in the grass, got back up and kept going. Once, she fell face-down on the pavement. A little trickle of blood seeped through her pink tights. Oh no! We were worried the night was over. But she was more concerned about her candy sprawled in front of her. I quickly gathered it all up and put it in her ghost bucket. I asked if she was ok. Yes, she said, and kept running to catch up to Austin.

More pics are posted in the album.

An e-mail message from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine

Response to my email about what are you doing to help?

Laura,

Even though we have not received an official response to our inquiry, we can confirm to you that Ukrainian courts are now processing all adoptions according to the new Code. We have noticed that most courts are applying the new laws more or less uniformly:
the appeal period is ten days, a waiver of appeal period is hardly ever granted (the reason is removal of adoptions from the list of civil cases eligible for immediate execution). If you know any American adopting parents who are experiencing difficulties with local courts, please ask them to contact us.

On a suspension subject:

We are very hopeful that the NAC will resume accepting new adoption applications soon. The NAC continues to process adoption cases that are already on file, which is a good sign. We have made numerous representations at many levels to the Government of Ukraine on this subject. However, we still have no definite information regarding the possible timeframe of suspension. The Ukrainian authorities have assured the Embassy that the suspension will be over as soon as the majority of the missing post-adoption reports arrive to Ukraine.

We will post developments on our website just as soon as we learn of them. At the moment, the NAC is not accepting ANY new dossiers. We recommend families who believe they have exceptional circumstances (biological siblings, children about to age out, medical emergencies, etc) to send an appeal to the NAC to allow them to be processed on an exceptional base. We can always help to communicate such requests to the NAC, if the families wish to do so.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Adoption Unit/Immigrant Visa Section
Consular Section
American Embassy
Kyiv, Ukraine
Tel: 38-044-490-4422
Fax: 38-044-490-4570
adoptionskiev@state.gov
www.usembassy.kiev.ua/amcit_adoptions_eng.html
In accordance with E.O. 12958 this message is not classified.