Estonian adoption and agencies

I have never heard of your agency. As an Estonian American, I looked into adopting from Estonia, as people of Estonian ancestry are given priority in international adoptions. I discovered that it was not right for me. Very few Americans have adopted from Estonia because there are few children available, young children under age 5 are adopted domestically, and waits are very long. Acccording to the State Department adoption guide, a mere handful of Estonian orphans have been adopted by US citizens in recent years: FY-1997: IR-3 immigrant visas issued to Estonian orphans adopted abroad - 0 IR-4 immigrant visas issued to Estonian orphans adopted in the U.S. - 0 FY-1998: IR-3 Visas - 4, IR-4 Visas - 2 FY-1999: IR-3 Visas - 2, IR-4 Visas - 1 FY-2000: IR-3 Visas - 5, IR-4 Visas - 2 FY-2001: IR-3 Visas - 9, IR-4 Visas - 1 This is because in Estonia "the number of children that can be adopted by foreigners is quite limited (only about 20 children a year)." The age of children eligible for int'l adoption is 5 and over. My understanding is that most of the children available for international adoption have very serious special needs due to a history of severe parental neglect or abuse. The Estonian state feels that orphaned children who are healthy or who have minor special needs are better served by remaining in their country of origin. As a result of these limitations, the wait for young, reasonably healthy sibling groups eligible for international adoption could be years long, as all foreign applicants are placed on a waiting list until the state agency that handles international adoptions is able to match them with available children. I have heard of a few people who have braved these odds, and perhaps you could become one of them. Good luck! MM

MM, Thanks for your insight. In our search we did not start the process by picking a single country, but rather establishing a short list and then ruling countries in or out based upon information we receive about the defined processes for that country. We have been praying about all of our efforts that the Holy Spirit would lead us and make our decision making clear which so far he has. Thanks and God bless

Hi, If all goes OK and God allows we should be heading to Estonia soon to meet a 5 yr old refferal. We just paray everything will be OK.

Hi, We have also searched different Eastern Europian counties and now are adopting from Azerbaijan a 5 y.o. boy. There are an older children here available ages 4 and up and they are healthy. There is no chance of Fetal Alcohol Sindrom, which is extremely important to us. It is an Islamic country and women are not drinking an alcohol. There are two short trips required. Any questions you have, feel free to e-mail me Good luck, Ken mevael44@yahoo.com

Please see the article on Estonian adoption on the website of the U.S. State Department, at [url]http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_379.html[/url]. One thing the article will tell you is that very, very few children are ever adopted from Estonia by Americans. The main reasons are that: 1. Because of Estonian adoption law, only children whose parents are dead or who have been removed from parents by a court of law may be adopted. There are very few such children -- too few even for the Estonian families who want to adopt and who are given preference over foreign families. 2. Because of Estonian adoption law, healthy children may NOT be adopted internationally. International adoption is reserved for children whose needs cannot be met in Estonia. The article states that you should not try to find an adoptable child on your own, because you will probably focus on children who are not adoptable under Estonian adoption law or eligible for an adoption visa under U.S. immigration law. It states that you should use an American agency that has signed an agreement with Estonia's Ministry of Social Welfare. Before signing with an agency, you should ensure that it has a written agreement with Estonia. It also states that Estonia is now a party to the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption. Since the U.S. has not yet ratified the Hague Convention, some countries that have ratified are not eager to work with Americans. I don't know for sure that the Estonians have reacted this way, but it is a possibility. Always check out agencies carefully. Besides ensuring that an agency has an agreement with the Estonian government, you should: 1. Check references carefully. You can talk to people whose names are given to you by the agency, but go beyond those people. After all, the agency is likely to give you only the names of its most satisfied clients. And be very specific in your questions. Don't just ask, "Did you have a good experience?" Focus on issues that are important to you, such as medical information, travel support, etc. 2. Check to see that the agency is licensed and not-for-profit. While it by no means guarantees that you will have a good experience, licensure does hold agencies accountable for their conduct. An agency is going to be cautious if a state can yank its license because families are treated badly. 3. Contact the licensure bureau and the Better Business Bureau in states where the agency is licensed. Ask about the volume of complaints, the nature of the complaints, the resolution of the complaints, and so on. Many times, you will get useful information. Just remember that a single complaint doesn't necessarily mean that an agency is bad; it just might not be right for that family. Look for a pattern of complaints. 4. Check to see if the agency is a member of respectable organizations that advocate for ethical international adoption. The primary such organization is the Joint Council on International Children's Services, which has its membership directory on its website at [url]www.jcics.org[/url]. However, you can also see if it is a member of the National Council for Adoption and similar organizations. In addition, check to see if some of its staff have presented at conferences put on by reputable organizations. This often suggests that the staff are held in high regard by the adoption community. 5. Know the country's rules and the U.S. rules well. Then compare them against what the agency tells you or says on its website. Run away from an agency that makes claims that seem inconsistent with the rules, or that sound too good to be true. 6. Go for experience. Select an agency with a lot of experience, not just in Estonia but in international adoptions in general. Ideally, the agency will have been in business for a long time. However, a younger agency can be good if it was founded by an adoption professional with years of experience in another agency, or if it has very experienced program managers for the countries of interest to you. Sharon

We are trilled waiting for court day! Hopefully soon!

In less than nine months as a single American male, I was able to adopt four boys from Estonia. I do not know if the fact that the boys were ethnic Russian rather than native Estonians had any part but the process was straight forward from beginning to end.