Current Ukraine Adoptions?

We are about to sign our contract for adopting in the Ukraine with our agency. Excited and nervous. Not entirely sure what to expect. I know the child will be 5 years+ and given that our biological daughter will be turning 7 this year, we're happy for her to have another sibling closer to her age. I am concerned though because I have read on this site that all children adopted from Ukraine have serious medical issues. However, the story I am getting from our government certified agency is very different.

Hi! How is your process going? We are hoping to submit our dossier soon :) I know of Ukrainian children adopted, over 6/7 years who are pretty healthy-I've found more info on facebook, and searching people's blogs. Good luck to you!

We adopted two from Ukraine in 2012 and both are totally healthy. Good luck.

We just returned from Ukraine without a child.It is true-all children (we were looking for a girl 5-9 years old) adopted from Ukraine have Serious medical issues.

I am so sorry that you had such an unhappy experience. Personally, I don't like the idea of traveling without a referral. It's so much better to be at home, with family and friends, easy access to doctors who can view videos and medical reports, and the ability to seek out information about other resources in your community that might be available to help you meet the referred child's needs. With Ukraine, some of the older school age children may be in decent physical shape, although you have to understand that the older a child is at adoption, the more likely it is that he/she will have had negative experiences while in his/her birth family or in an orphanage or foster home, which can have an impact on his/her psyche. The younger a child is, the more likely it is that he/she will have significant medical issues. Let's face it; the Ukrainian people are very willing to adopt healthy, or nearly healthy, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The children who most need international adoption are the oldest and those with moderate to severe disabilities, although you may occasionally find an available child whose "disability" is primarily that he/she is of Roma (Gypsy) origin, or something of that sort. You also should understand that the Ukrainian government has a strong desire to find homes for the hardest to place children, which is admirable, though its approach is a bit counter-productive. When you show up to review books of available children, you are likely to be shown books containing the profiles of the hardest to place children first. Since you are not allowed to have an agency representative with you to advocate for you, you may not have the ability to convince the authorities to show you other books. You may be told that you have to go home and wait for another invitation. In addition, if you select some children to visit, but find that you probably can't meet the needs of those children you meet, you are likely to be told to go home and return another time to look at books. Many families go home and decide not to return, either for financial reasons or because they are unwilling to risk another disappointing trip. All in all, unless you are quite open to children who have significant special needs, or who are over age ten or in a sibling group including school age children, I really can't recommend Ukraine. Yes, you could be lucky and find a child you can parent, but altogether too many families have had to return home without a child, or with a child whose needs they may find overwhelming -- a formula for disruption. Sharon

Let me also add that I believe that the Ukrainian government is also taking a wrong-headed approach in its desire to limit the role of agencies in the adoption process. The Ukrainian government says that, by reducing the role of agencies, they are helping to keep the cost of adoption down and reduce the chance of corruption. That sounds good, but a reputable agency's help can be worth the expense. Most families would much rather spend a little more and wind up with a child they can parent. And I've heard stories, which I can't verify but which sound plausible, about families offering bribes to look at additional books, which wouldn't happen if Ukraine worked through reputable agencies and used a referral system. Sharon

I am also interested in talking to someone that is just starting the process in Ukraine or going through it now. I am open to a special needs child but I am more concerned about the political unrest over there and the adoptions being closed to US citizens before it is completed. I don't want to waste time, energy, and money only to have to start over with a different country. However, I feel that I am being led to adopt from Ukraine despite the unknowns.

We brought home our son last August and were there in the thick of political unrest and war. The government is not doing referrals for any area that is dangerous and we felt safe the whole time. It sounds weird, but the rest of the country is operating totally normal-there are concerns and fear of course, but life has to go on. I would encourage you to join one of the facebook groups, there are people who just got home, people who are there now, and people who are getting ready to travel and it might help to hear from them too. Feel free to check out our blog-our travel section started in July. [url=http://www.bardandkristin.blogspot.com]The Luippolds[/url]

Hi Tantzevat Thank you very much for sharing your experience! I'd like to ask your advice on Ukraine adoption. What is the best way to reach you? I don't know how to send PM here.

Sure! My email is discokristin@gmail.com and I also blogged extensively about our process, [url=http://www.bardandkristin.blogspot.com]The Luippolds[/url] We started paperwork in March of last year and traveled in July/August, so you have to go back a bit :) Happy to help!

Tantzevat, Was that March and July/August of the same year? If so, that was quick! Glad to see it didn't take forever!! We are just getting started in the process, so I hope it goes as quickly for us!

Yes, last year, although we had our home study pretty much done-for another country-so it just had to be updated when we switched to Ukraine. Although that still seemed to take forever :) The timeline was fairly quick once we got there, but the waiting period for our appointment was about what everyone else was getting at that time. There are a few facebook groups that track that and they are very helpful. I blogged about our process pretty much ever day, you're welcome to read it, it's public, [url=http://bardandkristin.blogspot.com/]The Luippolds[/url] Good luck to you, I hope it goes well!

Yes, last year, although we had our home study pretty much done-for another country-so it just had to be updated when we switched to Ukraine. Although that still seemed to take forever :) The timeline was fairly quick once we got there, but the waiting period for our appointment was about what everyone else was getting at that time. There are a few facebook groups that track that and they are very helpful. I blogged about our process pretty much ever day, you're welcome to read it, it's public, [url=http://bardandkristin.blogspot.com/]The Luippolds[/url] Good luck to you, I hope it goes well!