Ukraine Adoption, Eastern European Adoption - Brouhaha on the Adoption_from

10/24/06

Brouhaha on the Adoption_from_Ukraine Email List

Posted by : Angela in Ukraine Adoption Blog at 06:05 pm , 376 words, 95 views
Categories: Issues

I know that I haven't posted in close to a week... partly because I was trying to decide what I think about the recent (kind of depressing) Ukrainian news. And I have been sick and tired. I caught a virus from my darling daughter Natasha.

So I have a lot of news to share.. I am going to start with the big brouhaha on the Adoption_from_Ukraine Email List. It centered around a woman named Mary who decided to leave the email list because she was being picked on.... At least I think that is why she is quiting again. She has joined and quit this email list at least 3 times during the last 3 years.

Like most brouhaha's it is mostly a soap opera and many folks tune it out. But it brought out several prominent oldies (people who adopted many years ago) out from lurkerdom to reply to Mary. I didn't post because I really didn't want to pile onto Mary.

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But there are several points that I want to make, so here I am.... blogging away.

It is illegal under Ukrainian law to preselect a child. The Ukrainian government 100% controls providing a referral to a specific child. The Ukrainian government is HIGHLY sensitive to anything that seems like preselection due their baby selling scandal in 1992/93.

Yes, you can met children via hosting programs.

Yes, you can met children via charity trips to orphanages.

No, Ukraine doesn't have to let you adopt that specific child you met. And yelling at the SDA staff won't improve your odds of adopting a child. Recently several families traveled to Ukraine and discovered the child they requested (met via hosting) had a sibling.

Ukraine mostly refuses to split siblings. This is a good thing for the children.

I understand why the families feels like the system betrayed them. They sent a letter to the Ukrainian government (SDA) asking to adopt a specific child. And they didn't found out about the sibling until they traveled to Ukraine. But yelling... that is a very stupid move.

It is a really bad idea to yell at USCIS workers (US Government immigration) too.

So maybe the lesson is... don't yell at people who hold your life in the palm of their hand.

2 comments

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Jan Baker [Member]

· http://birthfamily-search.adoptionblogs.com/

Thanks for an informative post, Angela. I did not know that the Ukraine did not allow people to choose children from photos. I guess the way I think of it, people that have bio children take what they get so to speak, and that usually works.

Picking a child from a photo? Hmmm, the idea bothers me. A child's appearance is such a small part of who they are, right?

Permalink 10/25/06 @ 08:05

Comment from: Angela [Member]

· http://ukraine.adoptionblogs.com/

There are some adoption agencies that still try to provide photos to adoptive families... Tell them that they have this great little blond Gerber baby.

Everyone trying to adopt from Ukraine should run away from these agencies. They will just rip the adoptive parents heart out and get paid for it.

Ukraine doesn't want any of their children's photos to be posted on the internet as adoptable.

And I agree that a photo doesn't clearly express who a child is...

Permalink 10/25/06 @ 08:20

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