Yesterday was a weird day... many folks are waiting for the October appointment list.

Brief recap: The SDA (Ukrainian government adoption authority) is the only organization who can provide children's referrals. Families must travel to Ukraine for an appointment for the referral. Right now only families who filed a dossier between Feb 2004 and March 2006 are getting appointments. Some of dossiers are very old for various reasons including a shutdown/slowdown in Ukrainian adoptions in... more

International Ukrainian adoption has started up again as I mentioned in Ukrainian Adoption Happening: Sept 6 Appointment.

And Starbucks Loving Mommy has another interesting post about her adoption experience so far. She has her referral and is traveling by train to the Oblast.

RUMOR REMINDER: Remember... more

I mentioned in Take Your Time blog that you need to take time and research options when selecting an adoption facilitator. I used David Bentley (formerly named David Dolinsky) as major example.

I was thinking about this and realize I had a little bit more to add.

I had already selected my facilitator by the time I met David.

And I will admit that I was taken in by him. I thought he was one of the good... more

I am going to review some history in Ukrainian adoption as it relates to facilitators.

Cathy Harris runs a business out of Florida. She started helping with Ukrainian adoptions back in 1999.

She fills a role that is sometimes called "state-side" helper.

She clearly states that she isn't an agency or attorney. She charges a fee to provide advise and support on creating the dossier. She also provides an email list for support. And she hooks parents up with... more

Adoptive parents have been emailing the US Embassy in Kyiv asking for more information... They have been asking

When is my appointment? Can I adopt a child in 2007? Will Ukrainian adoption be shutdown again next year because about 10% of American families haven't filed their post adoptoin reports? Can single parents adopt, I hear they won't be allowed?

The US Embassy decided to send out a general reply

Notice to American... more

Yesterday's great news is that people are getting their appointment letters. There are many families (around 50?) who know an older child (hosting or met at an orphanage during their first adoption) and are adopting them. The SDA is giving these familiies priority which is why they are getting appointment letters first.

The first few families to get the appointment letters had to pay about $50. SDA sent them COD. However UPS seems to be billing... more

For all those Going Crazy Waiting for Your Ukrainian Appointment Letter, then is hope.

Three families who are adopting older children received their appointment letters today. They received them via UPS as "cash on delivery". The families had to pay about $50.00 to get the letter.

One family is adopting a child they hosted in 2004. Another family registered in March 2005.

GOOD NEWS.... Everyone... more

I just spotted this... Representative Heather Wilson of New Mexico (by the way she is an adoptive parent) introduced H.R. 5888 on July 25, 2006.

To read the bill search Thomas. The bill cannot be found by number yet, so search by Representative's name (Wilson, Heather).

Click here to see Rep Wilson's press release.

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that an individual may file an... more

SDA is processing domestic adoptions now. They will be sticking appointment letters into the mail for international adoptive families starting in August.

If you are one of the 1,200 approved families you are probably going crazy waiting for your appointment to travel to Ukraine... to receive your referral... to met your child.... to adopt.... to expand your family.

The... more

Part 1 was the back story on why and how a 128 page assessment on Ukrainian adoption was produced. This assessment document can be found here.

Part 2 was an introduction... more