Independent Ukrainian Adoption

After I decided to adopt from Ukraine, I started looking for an adoption agency and ran into situations that made me uncomfortable. For example:

• All the agencies refused to explain the “international fee”. I wanted to know exactly what service I was paying for.
• One agency refused to tell me anything about their program until I paid their $100.00 application fee.
• One agency actually asked me for more information on the “Ukrainian adoption process”. The agency has just started doing Ukrainian adoptions and were open to any suggestions. AND THESE FOLKS WANTED ME TO PAY THEM!
• One agency told me that I could adopt a perfectly health child under 2 years of age. And they had a picture of that child if I would put down a deposit.
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FYI: Adoption agencies are illegal in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government is the only organization that legally can provide adoption referrals. And they can only provide referrals to registered adoptive families. No one can guarantee a referral for a specific child.

There are some folks advocating for special needs children. They are looking for homes and will specifically identify the child. However the children aren’t being held. If the child is available when you arrive in Ukraine you may have a chance to adopt them.

I know one family who traveled to Ukraine to adopt a special needs child. They arrived at the orphanage just in time to see another family adopt the child.

Any agency that promises you a health 2-year-old child… Run away from them. The average age of the adopted children is 5 years of age.

And children can only be referred for international adoption after being registered as available for adoption for 14 months. If the child has a major health issue like cancer or missing limbs this 14-month waiting period can be waived.

The Ukrainian government has the longest waiting period in the world. It is there to give Ukrainian citizens a chance to adopt the child before international adoption is considered.

And then I learned that about 50% of Americans adopted from Ukraine without an adoption agency. This is called independent or self-directed adoption.

There are 3 basic flavors of independent adoption.

1) You can go totally independent and hire people, as you need them. Even if you speak Russian or Ukrainian you will need a translator. Documentation needs to be translated by a certified translator. Depending on the situation you may have to hire a laywer or driver while in Ukraine.

I know families who have gone this route. Typically their adoptions take twice as long. If the typically Ukrainian adoption means you are in country for 5 weeks, then it will take 10 weeks during it by yourself.

This is because hiring someone who knows the adoption process…. Hiring someone who knows what documentation needs to be filed and when it needs to be filed, saves the adoptive parents time.

2) You can hire a facilitator. They are like subcontractors. They hire everyone that is needed to handle the adoption process. Just google for “independent Ukrainian adoption” or “Ukraine adoption Facilitator”

This is the route that I picked.

3) You can hire a company to facilitate your adoption. This can be similar to hiring an adoption agency.

An US adoption agency has no involved with the referral process. They are there to provide support, help with paperwork, etc..

I know many families who were pleased they hired an adoption agency. And I know many families who were pleased with their independent adoption.

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