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We were considering the Ukraine until we spoke to someone who had adopted a child from there about 2 years ago. They travelled to the Ukraine to adopt a 4 year old and were then told there were no healthy kids under 4 to adopt -- so they adopted a child two years older. I am appalled that they would be given an appointment to travel all the way there when there were no kids available. Anyone else had an experience like this?
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My husband and I were headed down the path of Ukraine adoption, before this last slow down. Our agency had also told us that we would have to be prepared to say "no" if they presented a child that was not what we had requested. They stated that in the end, with that in mind, couples that were persistant in that area were successful with their requests. Hope this helps.
Many prospective adoptive parents want children in the 2-4 age range, and often, they want kids who are healthy and typically, they ask for girls. The number of children in the 2 to 4 age range who are eligible for foreign adoption are are reasonably healthy is very, very small. You may turn out to be the ones who get the "last" child in that range, or you may be the ones who turn up when there are no kids that fit your specifications. It is important to be mentally prepared for this. If you are uncomfortable with these odds, Ukraine may not be right for you.
This happens all the time and is happening more often as time goes on. Of course, who knows what will be the reality when the new SDA really gets into a smooth operation and the backlog is cleared out. Ukraine is making a push for domestic adoption and presumably if they get a significant response, then there will be an even smaller number of young children available for adoption. In Ukraine, the 2-4 year old is not really considered an older child.
Do you know for how long most of the parents had to stay in the Ukraine, who did not accept the first referral? We have just recently started the process and will be looking for 2 siblings in the 2 to 4 age range. I'm a bit concerned about the fact that it may take too long if we have to wait around for more suitable referrals. My husband owns his own business so time is a bit of an issue. However, as we are not from the US, it seems if though Ukraine is the only East European country who would consider our application.
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When you get your appointment, Ukraine has no specific child in mind for you. They do not know what kids will actually be available when you come - they just give you the next appontment. It seems people going recently under the new SDA have been shown healthy children.
We adopted in March/April 2006. We accepted our first referral. It took two weeks to court from the date of our appointment. Some people we met did not take their first referral and it took them 5 days to a week more. We came home after court and I went back 10 days later to bring home our daughter.That was our timeline. By the way we adopted from the Crimea which is very far from Kyiv.