From the Russia Program Director
What agency should we choose?
You will want to make sure that you choose an experienced, professional agency that is accredited in Russia. Some non-accredited agencies are still working in Russia to facilitate so called “independent adoptions.” Based on the fact that several of the latest cases of death to adopted Russian orphans were of children adopted independently, Russia is strongly considering putting a stop to this type of adoption. Additionally, the majority of the regional officials in Russia have made a decision to not even process such cases at all. In addition to being an accredited agency, we believe that it is important to have an agency that will walk you through the entire adoption process. An experienced, professional agency will be responsive, open, and give you the ability to speak directly with a knowledgeable person.
Is Russia a safe program to join right now?
If you are considering adopting a caucasian child, Russia is the best and most stable Eastern European program at this time. Romania closed in 2001 and has no current plans to re-open, Ukraine is restructuring their program and not accepting new dossiers from American citizens, Bulgaria is extremely slow, and other former Soviet Republics are not predictable at this time. See http://www.jcics.org for more details.
We hope this helps in your decision making process. If you have any further questions please feel free to call me at 616.667.0921 or toll-free at 800.677.2367.
Blessings!
Alla Goncharova
Russia Program Director, Adoption Associates, Inc.
