I'm going with the Ukraine! I think! Help!

I think that if you decide to use an agency for an adoption in Ukraine, they will all operate differently and you are best to ask them some specific questions about their process before making a final decision. We are using an agency and are planning on a 3 week trip in which we are hoping the 30 day wait peiod will be waived and we can do everything in one trip. I guess you could do the first part of the trip in 10 days, but I think that would depend on everything going smoothly, including you accepting your fist referral, getting NAC to sign their paperwork and you getting a court date very quickly. If there are delays in any step of the process, your 10 days is going to increase quickly. The way I understand the process, if you can get the 30 day wait waived, then you might as well wait and come home in 1 trip as court will be close to the end anyway. Beware of your agency telling you that there are many healthy children available and that the process is "easy", there are a lot of people that have been recently that have returned without a child, I am not sure if any used an agency or went independent, but I do know of one family personally that used an agency and came home empty handed a couple of months ago. When you travel to Ukraine, the NAC will show you binders containing details of available children and once you have chosen one, you will travel to meet your child. If you do not accept this child, you will have to go back to NAC, request another appointment and wait to start the process again. The advantage of Ukraine is that you can do everything in one trip and you don't stand the risk of losing your child between trips as you do in Russia. Good luck with your decision. PM me if you have any other specific questions. Jane

Thanks Jane, yes I've been doing some research on the weekend and have found that things may not run as smoothly as I was led to believe! I'm still very inteseted in Ukranian adoption though. Thanks for your response.

Sandy,You mentioned in your first post that you had been in the Russian process for a year trying for a baby.What age do you consider a "baby"? Children are not available in Ukraine until after being registered for domestic adoption for 14 months so seldom is a child available for foreign adoption before 15-16mo. Also the average of Ukrainian adopted children is 3.6-4yo.trip length: agency said 10 days and then return in a couple of weeks to finish. very doubtful...#1) 10 days for appt, visit child, start adoption, receive approval back from NAC, and get final court decree is not likely to happen. This alone is normally a 2-3 week process IF you accept your first referral and barring any holidays. #2) if you return it will be only because your 30-days was not waived and then it is pointless to return before 30 days are up since you can't pick up the child or finish the process.The average Ukrainian trip is 3-4 weeks. A few families have finished in under 3 weeks this year and several have finished in 6-12 weeks. Most are in the 3-5 week range.Indy or agency really doesn't matter, once you reach Ukraine everyone follows the same path.

Sandy, I have to agree with the other responses you have received. I just got back from the Ukraine and my stay was 3 1/2 weeks. That time included the initial visit to the NAC to look at the books of available children (they do have many healthy children but those kids are on the older side - Just be prepared, if you are looking for a healthy baby then you may be a little disappointed), visiting the orphanage, Going to the American Medical Center to get a medical screening, going back to the orphanage city to start the adoption proceedings (Lots and Lots of paperwork and signatures), Going back to Kiev to turn in the adoption petition and waiting a week for the signature (they only sign off on Mondays and Thursdays), then going back to the Orphanage city again for the trial, another 3 days of getting the court decree, birth certificate and passport then heading back to Kiev for Visa Medical testing and then finally the embassy to get the visa. We were lucky that the 30 day waiting period was waived. So even in best circumstances with no delays, you are there for a minimum of 3 weeks. I don't want to discourage you because I am so completely happy with my new little boy - he is an amazing child (2 years old). It took 19 months from start to finish and I would do it all again in a heart beat. There are many many many children in need over there and I'm sure you will find the child of your dreams. Best of luck, if you have any questions,please let me know. Cheers -Eric

[font=Times New Roman]My husband and I adopted from Ukraine 9 months ago. The adoption process in Ukraine had no surprises for me since I read so many negative stories about Ukraine adoptions on the Internet. Why did I adopt from Ukraine when I read so many negative stories? Because I had the mistaken belief that I had the most control possible in the selection of a child since referrals are done only once in the Ukraine, and I thought I could hold out until a healthy child was found.[/font][font=Times New Roman] [/font][font=Times New Roman]As the previous reply stated, there are no healthy children in Ukraine orphanages. After we arrived in Ukraine the NAC initially, albeit half-heartedly, tried to refer older children with mental problems and toddlers with AIDs. Then out-of-the-blue my facilitator and the NAC staff found a healthyӔ 2.5 year old girl. I suspect there were under-the-table dealings, but of course I have no proof.[/font][font=Times New Roman] [/font][font=Times New Roman]Upon visiting the orphanage more detailed medical info was provided, which I forwarded to an adoption MD in the US. The US MD advised me the referred child likely had fetal alcohol effects. The orphanage vehemently denied FAS, and suggested I have an independent medical exam of the child by a Ukraine MD.[/font][font=Times New Roman] [/font][font=Times New Roman]The independentӔ exam consisted of me sitting in a room surrounded by four Urkaine MDs berating me for being a cold-hearted American with no room in my heart to mother a child. The MDs never actually looked at the child, who was sitting in the corner of the room with orphanage staff. When I questioned the official medical report stating the child was unhealthy, they stated the child would become healthy once in the US if I took good care of her. Then the facilitator chirped in that the NAC does not look kindly to those that decline a referral of a potentially healthy child, and basically threaten that a subsequently referred child would be even more unhealthy.[/font][font=Times New Roman] [/font][font=Times New Roman]I came to understand that indeed any subsequent referrals were unlikely to find a healthier child, and could even result in a sicker one. I came to this conclusion based on meeting other parents of adopted Ukraine children. I met one family in the US prior to leaving to the Ukraine. When I saw their son I knew immediately he had FAS, there were all the classic facial characteristics. They never consulted with an MD in the US prior to finalizing their adoption, and I suspect they have no clue yet that their son likely has FAS.[/font][font=Times New Roman] [/font][font=Times New Roman]I met another family in Ukraine just before their return to the US. They readily shared that the MD in the US with which they consulted informed them the child has FAS, but they decided to adopt him anyway. They were older, in their 50s, and they felt their options were limited.[/font][font=Times New Roman] [/font][font=Times New Roman]My husband and I too decided to adopt the child referred to us. Our circumstances were such that we had to adopt then and there or else remain childless. We decided it would be better for us to parent a special needs child rather than have no child. Our daughter is doing relatively well in our home given her background, but we will not know the extent of her disabilities until she is older. In the mean time I expend a lot of energy worrying about her future.[/font]