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[font=arial]On May 1, 2006, a new adoption authority under the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports takes over in Ukraine. Adoptions in Ukraine are slowly starting up, under special arrangements, following a suspension. Full operation starts May 1. [/font][font=arial]Adoptions by Americans are held up because about 900 American parents haven't sent in their post-adoption reports. Other countries are similarly affected, with the exception of Canada: all Canadian reports have been received and Canadian files are being processed. [/font][font=arial][/font][font=arial][/font][font=arial]On April 19, 2004 the U.S. Embassy in Kiev started processing immigrant visas for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens in Ukraine, using a new technology -- machine-readable immigrant visas, which are put in the child's passport. Accompanying documents will be hand-carried in a separate packet for presentation to immigration inspectors at U.S. ports of entry. The only change for parents will be that a frontal facial photo of the child will now be required in addition to the three-quarter photo. [/font][font=arial]Halt for about two months -- Ukraine will temporarily stop accepting applications by foreigners to adopt children, the government said Monday, calling the move necessary while it creates a new department to better protect children's rights. It's expected to be operating within two months, at which time applications will be accepted again. Parliament is expected to consider the measure to create the new department and to ratify Ukraine's participation in The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption this week. [L.A. Times, latimes.com, June 13, 2005] [/font][font=arial]Licences for intermediaries -- The General Office of the Public Prosecutor has started licensing adoption intermediaries. "Mediatory activity must be licensed, this question is to be decided on legislative level," said the deputy prosecutor general Tatiana Korniakova. She said there are 300 officially registered middlemen in Ukraine, who demand four-nine thousand euros for their activity from foreigners. She also mentioned that several criminal cases had been instituted in connection with illegal activity of middlemen. [Forum, Ukrainian Internet Newspaper, [url="http://www.for-ua.com/"]www.for-ua.com[/url], July 18, 2005] [/font][font=arial]Adoptions suspended temporarily -- According to the July 11 decree of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, by Sept. 1, 2005 Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers should submit draft legislation to transfer adoption authority from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports and create a new National Adoption Center there. During the transition period, Ukraine will temporarily suspend intercountry adoptions. The U.S. government has urged Ukraine to institute the planned changes as quickly as possible to allow for a prompt resumption of intercountry adoptions. [U.S. State Dept., [url="http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2544.html"]travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2544.html[/url], July 20, 2005] [/font][font=arial]On Sept. 19, 2005 Ukraine's National Adoption Center stopped accepting new adoption applications from the U.S. and five other countries, because too many adoptive parents from these countries hadn't sent in their post-placement reports. [/font][font=arial]In its [url="http://www.child.gov.ab.ca/whatwedo/adoption/page.cfm?pg=What%27s%20New%21"]November 2005 posting[/url], Alberta Children's Services reported on a meeting with the National Adoption Center (NAC). At the Nov. 24, 2005 meeting with the Canadian Embassy the NAC director announced a partial resumption of adoptions to countries where there were suspensions, but only for older children (over ten years old) with disabilities, and for reasons of family reunification. The director justified this action on the grounds that these children were very difficult to place, and that NAC did not wish to preclude a possible adoption for them during the suspension period. [/font][font=arial]With respect to Canada, NAC said they are still missing reports on ten children adopted before 2004. The Head of the Adoption Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed that MFA would get confirmation from their Consulate General in Toronto that outstanding reports were submitted, and then the suspension on Canada would be lifted. [/font][font=arial]In a [url="http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2827.html"]notice in February 2006[/url], the U.S. State Department informed Americans who had adopted from Ukraine that Ukraine had halted adoptions because some of them had not submitted post-placement reports. It asked them to carry out their reporting obligations, to ensure that other Americans will be able to adopt from Ukraine. [/font][font=arial]The Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports is scheduled to take over responsibility for adoption processing on May 1, 2006. The minister, Yuriy Pavlenko, said that Ukraine is missing reports on nearly 900 children adopted by U.S. citizens between 1996 and 2004. Minister Pavlenko said he can't reinstate U.S. adoptions until American parents whom Ukraine views as delinquent have filed their missing reports. [/font][font=arial]In its [url="http://kiev.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_notice_0201_eng.html"]Jan. 31, 2006 notice[/url], the U.S. Embassy in Kiev announced that on Jan. 31 President Yushchenko signed the law giving interim authority over adoptions to the National Adoption Center (NAC) at the Ministry of Education, until authority for adoptions is transferred to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports on May 1, 2006. Until the transfer, NAC will process adoptions in Ukraine, including suspended cases and cases previously scheduled through Jan. 31. [/font][font=arial]The Kiev embassy notice answered frequently asked questions about what will happen to adoptions during the interim period. NAC will reschedule appointments which were cancelled during the suspension. NAC will accept new adoption dossiers, but under severe restrictions, because of Ukraine's concern about American adoptive parents who haven't sent in their mandatory post-adoption reports. NAC will accept dossiers only for these categories of orphans: siblings of previously adopted children; older children; and children with serious health problems. For children outside those categories, parents are advised to submit applications when the new adoption authority is open and operational, after May 1, 2006. [/font][font=arial][url="http://www.child.gov.ab.ca/whatwedo/adoption/page.cfm?pg=What%27s%20New%21"]Alberta Children's Services[/url] wrote in January 2006 that the law has passed giving interim authority for adoption processing to the existing National Adoption Center. NAC will resume full processing during the transition period, including new registration of prospective adoptive parents and of children available for adoption, and continued processing of existing cases. [/font][font=arial]Alberta Children's Services spelled out the NAC's priorities: first to reschedule the appointments of families whose December 2005 and January 2006 appointments were delayed, and second to schedule appointments for priority cases involving children with severe medical problems, older children, and sibling groups. Any dossier not scheduled for an appointment during the transition period will be transferred to the new adoption authority. [/font][font=arial]Officials of Ukraine's Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports continue to recommend that parents submit new applications only when the new State Authority for Adoption and Protection of Children's Rights becomes operational (after May 1, 2006). Ukrainian adoption officials stress that most children available for adoption from Ukraine are special needs children -- prospective adoptive parents should be aware of this. [/font][font=arial]Alberta Children's Services also noted that NAC now has all post-adoption reports from Canadians who adopted from 1996 to 2003. As a result, NAC has lifted the suspension on processing Canadian dossiers. For the other countries subject to the September 2005 suspension, restrictions stay in place. (The suspension happened because some parents failed to file post-adoption reports ... sending countries need the reports to assure politicians and officials in their own country that intercountry adoption is in the best interests of their children.) [/font][font=arial]On March 25, 2006 the Ukrainian government ordered the creation of a new adoption authority under the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports. It's called the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Childrens Rights (SDA), located at #14 Desiatinna Street, Kyiv. The National Adoption Center will be dissolved and its files sent to SDA. [/font][font=Arial][/font] [font=Arial]This info found at [url="http://www.familyhelper.net/news/ukraine.html"]http://www.familyhelper.net/news/ukraine.html[/url][/font][font=arial][/font]
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