Alert Update – Please review the notices posted by the U.S. Department of State on the latest in adoption news in the Ukraine.

Ukraine: No Moratorium on Adoption

Ukraine parliament has once again postponed voting on a proposed bill to place a moratorium on intercountry adoptions.

The US Embassy in Kyiv encourages any prospective adoptive parents with cases currently open in Ukraine to contact the U.S. Embassy Kyiv Adoption Unit with their case status and contact information. The Embassy maintains a listserv to communicate with U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents and will use this to send updates as information is available.

More info: http://adoption.state.gov/news/ukraine.html.

Our Ukraine Program

Children’s House International has been helping children find homes from Ukraine since 1998. At times the government closed or restricted adoptions and we kept close contact in order continue to help the children as best we could. There have been many changes, but we have a trusted representative working for us in Ukraine. We are happy to help you find your child in Ukraine.

Adoption Forms and Fees

For more information including our application, agency retainer agreement and financial agreements and statistical information on: the number of adoption placements per year for the prior 3 calendar years, the number of placements that remain intact, the number of families who apply to adopt each year, and the number of waiting children eligible for adoption, click here.

For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.com

Adoption Process

Ukraine, like other countries that process adoptions, has its own unique process. This process requires families to first complete their home study, CIS approval (I600 process) and dossier (i.e., documents) and have it notarized and apostilled. We will guide you through each step of the process. The paperwork is then submitted to the facilitator in Kiev, who reviews, translates and delivers it to the State Department for Adoptions and the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SDA) so that the adoptive family may be given an appointment/invitation. Your appointment in Kiev will occur approximately 2-4 months after your paperwork is received and approved. At this appointment in Kiev, the family will meet with the representative of the SDA and be provided with a referral of a child in an orphanage. Perhaps the most unique aspect of Ukrainian adoptions is that referrals are not provided to the family in advance to traveling to Ukraine. In fact, pre-selection of children is strictly prohibited.

Traveling to the Orphanage

Once the family accepts the referral, the translator will travel with them to the orphanage to meet the child. Once there, they will meet the child and also receive more detailed medical and social reports on the child. Our facilitators will assist the family in telephoning and sending photos and/or copies of the medical and social reports to their local pediatrician, family doctor, or medical specialist of choice. A local doctor near the orphanage is also available for consultation.

Length of Stay

Once you decide to accept a child (or children), our associates will guide you through the court and adoption legalization process while you are still in Ukraine. This process will take approximately 4-5 weeks, but you can leave after the initial trip of 10 days and return 2 weeks later for a second 10 day trip. Both parents must travel for the first trip but only one is required for the second trip. On the second trip, once the process is complete, the family along with the child proceeds to the American Embassy in Kiev to apply for their child’s medical exam and US Visa. After this, the family travels to the U.S. along with their newly adopted child who will then be an automatic U.S. citizen. Total time in country will vary from 4-5 weeks.

Length of Process

Any estimate of how long an adoption will happen anywhere is a best-guess given the typical processing at the time this information is given. At the moment, a family could expect a child to be home with them within 12 months of starting the home study process, however, it could take longer if problems or delays arise in any part of the process.

For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.com

Children Available For Adoption in Ukraine

Families should be prepared to adopt an older child in Ukraine. Baby referrals are not usual. Children in Ukraine must be registered for one year before they are eligible for adoption by a non-Ukrainian family. Boys, girls, and siblings are available but there are more boys than girls. Children with special needs are also available for adoption. Families should be prepared for a child’s possible physical and developmental delays associated with previous home history or long stay in an orphanage.

For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.com

Adoptive Parent Requirements

Ukrainian Government Requirements:

• Married couples only between the ages of 25-45 • Average of 3-4 week stay in country (2 trips) • Must have an approved home study • I-600A USCIS /immigration approval • Completed dossier. A list of documents (i.e., dossier) will be provided upon entering the program • Parents must maintain the child’s Ukrainian citizenship until age 18 (along with their US citizenship), register them with the Ukrainian Embassy or Consulate within 30 days of their arrival home, and provide post placement reports on the child’s well-being until the child turns 18.

Approved Home Study

An approved home study preferably completed by a Hague accredited agency social worker ( even though Ukraine is not a party to the Hague Convention) who will ensure that all of the requirements for families are met in the home study process. The home study begins with adoptive parent education and a thorough evaluation of your family that will include several background clearances, medical evaluations and financial stability. Your home study is foundation on which CIS and in country approvals for international adoption are based. They enable adoptive parents to learn, reflect, and prepare for parenting. It involves opening your hearts, minds, and home to a social worker through a series of meetings and gives you the opportunity to ask all the questions you may have as well.

USCIS Immigration Approval

USCIS immigration approval is required for all international adoptions (this includes an FBI fingerprint results). This approval allows your newly adopted child to receive a VISA from the US Embassy and enter the US and become a citizen.

For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.com

Travel Process

We will contact you to let you know that your dossier was approved by the State Department for Adoptions & Protection of the Child (SDAPRC). When your dossier is approved (3 – 6 months), you will receive a letter in which the ministry will notify you in writing of your appointment date to review. Both parents must travel together. Our wonderful representatives there will make all your arrangements, pick you up, guide you through your stay, and most importantly process your case through the Ukraine legal system while you are there. Parents must be prepared to stay in Ukraine for up to 4-5 weeks in total, but this can be divided into two trips. In most cases, both parents stay the entire time. There is a mandatory 10 day waiting period after the court hearing. Some families may choose to return to the U.S. and have one or both parents come back to Kiev on or after the 10 day waiting period or both parents can remain in Kiev visiting with their child during the 10 days. In any case, once the waiting period is over, it only takes a few days to finalize the legal documents (adoption decree, new birth certificate, passport, etc.) before you will have your U.S. Embassy appointment in Kiev. After that, you can depart Ukraine. Families also ask what happens if they choose to decline the first child they see. Families can request a second appointment if there is a significant basis, usually medical, for not accepting the first referral. This will involve going back to Kiev.

For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.com

Waiting Children

The process of adopting a child from Ukraine is a little different than other programs. No child referral is given prior to your leaving for the country. All referrals are given on the spot to the family at the Ministry for Family, Children and Youth. The family then travels to the orphanage where that particular child lives in order to met the child and review the medical and social information. The court process and finishing paperwork happens after that process. Our representative is ready to assist you throughout the process.

For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.com

Country Facts

Information from: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/ukraine-guide/ Roughly the size of Texas, Ukraine borders the Black Sea, with Romania, Poland, and Moldova to the west and Russiaóits political dominatrix for most of the past centuryóto the east. • The peaceful Orange Revolution in 2004 brought hope that the violence, oppression, and mass famines that had dominated so much of the previous century were, finally, things of the past. • Its economy is rising after a long plunge. • Kiev, the capital, and the country’s Black Sea resorts beguile visitors.

Population:

47,110,000

Capital:

Kiev; 2,618,000

Area:

603,700 square kilometers (233,090 square miles)

Language:

Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian

Religion:

Ukrainian Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish

Currency:

Hryvnia

Life Expectancy:

68

GDP per Capita:

U.S. $4,500

Literacy Percent:

100

More Cultural Information:

http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Ukraine.html

Medical Information about Ukraine

http://www.who.int/countries/ukr/en/

Additional Link:

http://adoption.state.gov/country/ukraine.html

Excellent source for current news in English from Ukraine including an extensive link list to other Ukraine websites:

http://www.kievpost.com