Adopting Infants

Russian Adoptions

9th December, 2008 - Posted by admin - No Comments

Russian Adoptions

There are children available for Russian adoptions who range in age from 6 months to 6 years and up.  The ethnicity of these children will vary widely, many come from Asian, Mediterranean and Caucasian races. Many of these children are behind in growth and development because they have been institutionalized.  When these children are brought into a family environment they will adapt quickly.  In Russian adoptions there are children from both sexes available, but usually there are more boys available than girls.

Children in Russia will remain on an adoption list for 6 months before they will available for international adoption.  This will allow Russian families a chance to adopt them first.  Due to teenage pregnancies, many of these children will come from Russian orphanages, although a few are truly orphans.  Some of these children will be placed in orphanages because their family could not afford to care for them.

Russia is second on the list of countries that Americans adopt from.  The Russian adoption program has remained stable, however, the Russian government has began a review of the adoption procedures and changes are expected to occur.  Adoption fees will vary from agency to agency but they usually fall between 20-25,000 dollars.  There other costs involved such as travel, visa, document preparation and immigration filing.

People who are considering an adoption in Russia, will need to choose an adoption agency that deals in international or Russian adoptions.  It is important to research these agencies and request information from the ones you might want to use.  Only married couples or single women are allowed to adopt children from Russia because they believe the woman will be the main caregiver.

Russian adoptions will usually take about nine months to complete.  The first step is a home study, which is basically a report about what the social worker assigned to the case has found out about the adoptive family. Once the home study has been completed, a dossier will be compiled which is the paper work required by the Russian government.

When a child is available for adoption your agency will notify you that a referral is waiting.  Previously, they just sent a picture and travel information, but that was changed in  April of 2000.  Russia now requires the adoptive parents to receive their referrals personally, by the Russian Ministry on Education.  Your referral should include a video and any medical history available on the child.  If for some reason you are not satisfied with your referral, your adoption agency should work with you until you are.

When you are happy with your referral, your adoption agency will contact the Russian authorities to begin preparing the documents required for the adoption to proceed.  When all the documentation is complete, you will be contacted about a departure date and any travel information you may need to know.  Once you accept a referral you will make two trips to Russia.  Most Russian adoptions will take about 6 months to complete once a family has been found for the child.

Your second trip to Russia will take about 10 days.  The adoptive child will be able to leave 10 days after the court hearing.  If you get along well with your Russian facilitator, it will make it much easier for another Russian adoption in tne future.