As many know the Adoption Center is going to close in 2006. And authority over adoptions will be transfering to a new Department on Adoption and Child Rights Protection on May 1, 2006.

Deborah who has adopted from Ukraine twice (2002 and 2005) translated from Ukrainian some information about this new department. She posted her translation to the email list:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Adoption_from_Ukraine/.

I have known Deborah since 2002 and she gave me permission to post her translation here. She wanted me to mention that she learned the Ukrainian language from her son. Neither Ukrainian nor English is her native language, but I believe she did a good job of translating.

If you are reading this, thanks Deborah.

She translated from:

http://ua.for-ua.com/ukraine/2006/02/06/151821.html

By May 2006 will be created under the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports, a new States Department for Adoption and Defense of the Child's rights. This is what Yuri Pavlenko, Minister for family, youth and sports, said at a Press conference

He indicated that this administrative organ will replace the NAC which is now functioning under Ministry of Education and Science. From what he said, the corresponding changes have been included in the Family Code.

As Pavlenko said, and in accordance with these changes, full responsibility for adoption questions will have to be transferred on the local level from services and departments of education towards services in charge of minors.

Pavlenko also informed that as of April 4th, the services in charge of minors at all levels will start to be in charge of adoption of children and of taking them under curacy, whether it is in children's housing with a family setting or in foster families.

This is a change. After you received a referral for your child, a family visits the orphanage inspector who worked for the Department of Education. I believe the inspectors are assigned to work with orphanages in their district (think county). The inspector would give permission for the adoptive parents to visit the orphanage. With my adoption in 2000, I was able to visit the orphanage before I met the orphanage inspector. But regardless the inspector had to approve the adoption.

Starting April 4, 2006, adoptive families will deal with the Ministerium of Family (sluzhba u spravakh nepovnolitnikh) in the oblast. They are like Department of Children Services in the United States. This change makes sense. The Ministerium of Family investigates child abuse complaints, tracks down run aways, helps with children who use alcohol or drugs.

Anyone who has dealt with DHS in the United States may be groaning now. DHS is not known for prompt service. The staff in the Ministerium of Family have no experience with processing adoptions. It will be a learning experience for the adoptive families and the Ministerium of Family on April 4, 2006. I have a feeling it will be a mess at first.

Deborah brought my attention to this phrase.

children's housing with a family setting

This is a house with up to 10 children and a primary caregiver. The Ukrainian government is starting to think about putting children into a family setting. Maybe they are moving away from the orphanages with a 100 children or more?

Here is the rest of the translation.

The minister indicated that the primary goal of the Department will be the defense of the rights of the child.

According to his words, the creation of this department will permit to concretely realize the right of each child to be educated in a family, the furthering of national adoption, the ordering of international adoption, the collaboration with consulates and Embassies and also the quick determination of the legal status of the orphaned child or the child deprived of parental rights.

Pavlenko is convinced that the Department will support the greater responsibility of the local and central organs of the executive power so as to confer to the orphaned children and to the children deprived of parental rights a form of upbrining IN A FAMILIY as well as a better legislation.

The mission of this organization is to reunite all these functions and to carry the responsability for the entire period of development and growing of the orphaned child - said the Minister.

He stressed that to achieve this, during 3 months the adoption functions are remaining with the NAC. During this period, the NAC will have to transfer to the new Department all ongoing adoption processes, the database of adopted children, and all documents.

This concerns firstly the adoption of ukrainian children by foreigners, said Pavlenko.

"What is at stake is not the foreign citizens, said Pavlenko, but the ukrainian children who have already started to consider them as their parents, since the entire procedure takes close to 1 year and a half".

Just one more piece of information from Ann Potthast on this subject. She adopted 2 kiddos from Ukraine and I have known her since 1999. I find her information to be trustworthy. Besides she is a very nice person. She posted information to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Adoption_from_Ukraine

On Feb 7, 2006 on Ukrainian TV, Mr. Pavlenko introduced Mrs. Volinets as the head of the new department on Adoption and Child Rights Protection.