criminal record check

If it was a youthful indiscretion and you have had no arrest/convictions since, the judge most likely will not make an issue of this. Definitely disclose this information, if it appears you are trying to hide it, the record could become an issue.

Thanks! My reason for asking is that we are currently attempting to adopt in Kaz, and have been held up over 6 months due to this exact issue. So, we are considering moving over to Ukraine if we get denied in Kaz (if/when Ukraine gets going again) and are scared we will hit the same issue there.

I was told that if the event was many years before, was not of a violent/serious nature, and you didn't get in trouble after that, that it shouldn't matter. It also depends on how the social worker words it on her report, and whether she feels confident you have "mended your ways.":p

Oh this is good news! Thanks for the responses! The holdup for Kaz is that they now have in their hands a police clearance that says "arrest on record" and they don't seem to care what it is for (they have the arrest record, court disposition and a pleading letter from my DH saying he realizes how stupid it was and will never do anything like that again). And (for Kaz), our social worker didn't even include it in the Kaz homestudy (it was in the INS one), and she did sit and talk it out with my DH and since there is no other arrest since for anything at all on his record, she did consider it trivial and decided it wouldn't affect his parenting skills!