Ukraine Adoption

Recent news, adoption stories and information about Adoption from Ukraine.

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Ukraine has dramatically limited adoptions recently. The agency that has until now been in charge of intercountry adoptions in Ukraine, The the National Adoption Center, lost its legal authority to process adoptions on December 22, 2005. The new authority on adoptions in Ukraine is the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports.

The U.S. Government has failed in many attempts to convince the Ukrainian Government to pass an interim resolution to allow pending adoptions to continue during the transition. Ukraine has stated that they will contact prospective parents caught waiting for the legislative process to move forward.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, "American prospective adoptive families who have January appointments should not travel to Ukraine until the Government of Ukraine officially confirms that you can complete the adoption process and return to the U.S. with your children in a timely manner."

The adoption process in Ukraine is unlike most other programs. Prospective parents travel to the Ukraine prior to getting a "referral" or being matched up with a child. Upon arrival to the county, the adoptive parents are shown photos of several children that match their requests. They then choose which child/children to meet. This can stretch the required travel to three to four weeks.

Like many other countries, Ukraine requires a dossier to be completed prior to travel, and home visits upon returning. The US State Department states that there were over 700 adoptions to the US from Ukraine in 2003. Additionally, “Ukraine does not allow adoption agencies to operate or locate a child for adoption in Ukraine. However, facilitators are allowed to assist with translation and interpretation services.”

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