A person I know has been trying to adopt siblings from Russia for over a year now. Has visited the orphanage, met with them, bought them thousands of dollars in clothes, toys, etc. in the expectation that the children would come home soon. Here's the latest update from the director of the adoption agency who went to russia to find out why things are taking so long. You think our courts suck? Russia's suck worse.
I would say that, in over 10 years of adoption work, this was perhaps the
most difficult trip I have experienced regarding children and adoptions.
All of Russia seems to be changing weekly and in fact many Russians
expressed to me that they are concerned that the country is back sliding
again as Putin puts more and more controls onto society.
In terms of the adoption process in (name of city in russia), one family asked me if
there is hope for all of this to work out. I know that it is emotionally
draining and hard to keep your spirits up when you feel like there is no
end in sight. Several of you have said that it feels like the judge is
just playing with your emotions and does not seem to have the best interest
of the children in mind at all. I want you to know that there is
definitely hope. The process has become cumbersome, long, costly and
exasperating. With that said, I do believe that you will get your child,
and your child is depending on you to stay focused on the goal. Do I
think that your child will come home this year? As long as we can get the
paperwork to the judge next week AND if she says that it is complete to her
satisfaction, then she promised to give you a court date. This is why it
is critical to get the paperwork done as quickly as possible, and to do
exactly what she is requesting (no matter how ridiculous it might seem to
all of us!).
The judge had wanted to come to the USA for a two week vacation in
December. Fortunately, her boss has said NO as there are too many court
dates that must happen. We have done all we can to increase the odds of
your child coming home soon. At this point we are all frustrated by the
lack of concern for the children. Truly these children are the fortunate
ones who will get to America into a loving family; those that remain behind
will be the ones that truly do suffer.
summary:
1. Judge
a. She has only approved four adoptions in the last month
b. She is not willing to risk her job or have a scandal, so
therefore is coming up with as much proof as she can to protect
herself. She says that it is in the best interest of the
children but frankly it is clear that she is protecting
herself.
c. Her requirements are not constant. She is changing them
anytime she comes up with a new idea. During my time in
Ekaterinburg she changed a particular form twice. This means
that when documents are in court, even though she says that
they are done, they are not finalized until the actual court
date. We are doing our best to make sure that everything is
perfect before you go to court, so that you will not have
problems in court.
d. She will not give a court date until ALL documents are in her
court and have been approved. Even then, she has the authority
to change her requirements and can request new documents at any
time. Her comment was, "What and whom I approved last week
doesn't matter as this is a different week with new
information".
2. Document Requirements
Generally speaking she is trying to make sure that the prosecutor
as well as inspectors of internal police controls (that would be
formally KGB type people) that oversee her, have nothing that
would cause her trouble. She is going overboard in protecting
herself in the name of protecting the child.
a. Proof of Residency: This in an example of overdoing it:
i. Deed
ii. Tax assessment record
iii. Pictures of the child's living quarters
iv. Proof from a government agency/authority
saying that you actually live there (drivers license does
not work since it could have been issued more than one
year ago)
b. The family who lives on Falling Tree Avenue and their tax
assessment shows that they live on Falling Tree Street?the
judge will not accept this and she says it must be two
different addresses since one says Street and the other Avenue.
The Judge is reviewing EVERY single word of every document for
accuracy and completion.
c. Paperwork is sent to Russia and then it takes about one week to
get it translated and notarized BEFORE it is submitted to
court. After it is submitted, the Clerk of Courts will review
it and THEN if it passes her it is sent to the judge.
d. After the Judge reviews it and approves all paperwork, then and
only then will a definite court date be given. The court dates
are not determined by who made their first trip first, who has
been waiting the longest, the age of the children, or even by
the level of need of the children in most cases. As far as the
judge is concerned, the court dates are solely determined by
when documents are submitted and approved.
That being said, we will continue to advocate and push for
families to be reviewed and approved according to need. However,
the judge will not give you a court date until ALL of the
documents that the judge has requested for your family have been
submitted. We completely understand your want and need to plan
your lives and to have some kind of estimate of when your court
date might happen. However, based upon the current process, I'm
sure you can understand why it is almost impossible for us to give
you that estimate until ALL of your documents have been submitted
and approved. Gone are the days when we could "reserve" court
dates ahead of time and have families hand carry documents for
court. It is a different world now.
2. Court Dates
a. Court dates are once a week for more than 30 agencies.
b. Waiving of the 10 days. In the past we have been able to get
the judge to waive the 10 days ( actually we can pick up the
decree only on the 11 days which must be a
working day and then we need at least three days to process the
adoption)
i. We will still have you get a letter
from your child's doctor when we have a court date
assigned saying that the child must be seen ASAP in the
USA but we are not hopeful that this will work.
ii. The fact that there is an
outbreak of chicken pox in the past has always helped to
get the 10 days waived. The Judge said that she will not
allow this factor to influence her in waiving the 10
days.
iii. It would be best to assume that
at this point in time the 10 days will not be waived.
You may either return home and come back or stay the
additional time. Keep mind that this would mean, for
example, if you arrived on a Sunday, court was on Tuesday
and the 10 days were not waived, you might be in country
for about 20 days). The cost of returning home might be
less than staying. We absolutely cannot predict the
waiving of the 10 days until we have a court date and
then at that time I will tell you what the judge is
saying at that moment.
c. Court dates have begun for some families who have documents in
( like the family who got the Mayor of their town (they know
him personally) to write that they live in this house, and he
will guarantee that they are trustworthy people
4. Cost
a. The dollar has fallen and all prices are now based on the Euro
which will be valued at the time of the adoption
b. When I spoke with officials about the extraordinary cost burden
that this is putting on families, one official said that the
family should not consider adopting and then said if costs are
an issue then they should not be approved to adopt.
c. I tried to explain that the travel and hotel costs seem to be
about $5,000/ per trip and that this means that families are
spending so much each time that they go but would be willing to
"donate" some of these costs if they could have the 10 days
waived or make it in one or two trips. I was told that they
would not consider this.
5. Timing
a. The fact that it has taken so long?. It is hard not only on the
family but that the children suffer as well. In fact some of
the children must have medical procedures and it is critical
that they come to the USA urgently??I was told that until the
court is complete the child is the responsibility of Russia and
that they can in fact take care of their children .
6. Orphanage
a. The orphanage director is frustrated too, as families are not
coming as quickly as they like and they are overflowing and are
unable to take new children. When I asked if she "blamed" any
of our work, she said no but that it is clear to them that the
court system has been asked to slow down their work
Bottom Line:
1. I do believe that you will get your child, albeit not as quickly as
any of us would like.
2. Do not give up hope!
3. I will be sending you pictures of your child
4. I will call you by the end of this week to update you on your status
5. No one is happy and all of us are frustrated, but we are working very
very hard to get you and your child home.
:|
I would say that, in over 10 years of adoption work, this was perhaps the
most difficult trip I have experienced regarding children and adoptions.
All of Russia seems to be changing weekly and in fact many Russians
expressed to me that they are concerned that the country is back sliding
again as Putin puts more and more controls onto society.
In terms of the adoption process in (name of city in russia), one family asked me if
there is hope for all of this to work out. I know that it is emotionally
draining and hard to keep your spirits up when you feel like there is no
end in sight. Several of you have said that it feels like the judge is
just playing with your emotions and does not seem to have the best interest
of the children in mind at all. I want you to know that there is
definitely hope. The process has become cumbersome, long, costly and
exasperating. With that said, I do believe that you will get your child,
and your child is depending on you to stay focused on the goal. Do I
think that your child will come home this year? As long as we can get the
paperwork to the judge next week AND if she says that it is complete to her
satisfaction, then she promised to give you a court date. This is why it
is critical to get the paperwork done as quickly as possible, and to do
exactly what she is requesting (no matter how ridiculous it might seem to
all of us!).
The judge had wanted to come to the USA for a two week vacation in
December. Fortunately, her boss has said NO as there are too many court
dates that must happen. We have done all we can to increase the odds of
your child coming home soon. At this point we are all frustrated by the
lack of concern for the children. Truly these children are the fortunate
ones who will get to America into a loving family; those that remain behind
will be the ones that truly do suffer.
summary:
1. Judge
a. She has only approved four adoptions in the last month
b. She is not willing to risk her job or have a scandal, so
therefore is coming up with as much proof as she can to protect
herself. She says that it is in the best interest of the
children but frankly it is clear that she is protecting
herself.
c. Her requirements are not constant. She is changing them
anytime she comes up with a new idea. During my time in
Ekaterinburg she changed a particular form twice. This means
that when documents are in court, even though she says that
they are done, they are not finalized until the actual court
date. We are doing our best to make sure that everything is
perfect before you go to court, so that you will not have
problems in court.
d. She will not give a court date until ALL documents are in her
court and have been approved. Even then, she has the authority
to change her requirements and can request new documents at any
time. Her comment was, "What and whom I approved last week
doesn't matter as this is a different week with new
information".
2. Document Requirements
Generally speaking she is trying to make sure that the prosecutor
as well as inspectors of internal police controls (that would be
formally KGB type people) that oversee her, have nothing that
would cause her trouble. She is going overboard in protecting
herself in the name of protecting the child.
a. Proof of Residency: This in an example of overdoing it:
i. Deed
ii. Tax assessment record
iii. Pictures of the child's living quarters
iv. Proof from a government agency/authority
saying that you actually live there (drivers license does
not work since it could have been issued more than one
year ago)
b. The family who lives on Falling Tree Avenue and their tax
assessment shows that they live on Falling Tree Street?the
judge will not accept this and she says it must be two
different addresses since one says Street and the other Avenue.
The Judge is reviewing EVERY single word of every document for
accuracy and completion.
c. Paperwork is sent to Russia and then it takes about one week to
get it translated and notarized BEFORE it is submitted to
court. After it is submitted, the Clerk of Courts will review
it and THEN if it passes her it is sent to the judge.
d. After the Judge reviews it and approves all paperwork, then and
only then will a definite court date be given. The court dates
are not determined by who made their first trip first, who has
been waiting the longest, the age of the children, or even by
the level of need of the children in most cases. As far as the
judge is concerned, the court dates are solely determined by
when documents are submitted and approved.
That being said, we will continue to advocate and push for
families to be reviewed and approved according to need. However,
the judge will not give you a court date until ALL of the
documents that the judge has requested for your family have been
submitted. We completely understand your want and need to plan
your lives and to have some kind of estimate of when your court
date might happen. However, based upon the current process, I'm
sure you can understand why it is almost impossible for us to give
you that estimate until ALL of your documents have been submitted
and approved. Gone are the days when we could "reserve" court
dates ahead of time and have families hand carry documents for
court. It is a different world now.
2. Court Dates
a. Court dates are once a week for more than 30 agencies.
b. Waiving of the 10 days. In the past we have been able to get
the judge to waive the 10 days ( actually we can pick up the
decree only on the 11 days which must be a
working day and then we need at least three days to process the
adoption)
i. We will still have you get a letter
from your child's doctor when we have a court date
assigned saying that the child must be seen ASAP in the
USA but we are not hopeful that this will work.
ii. The fact that there is an
outbreak of chicken pox in the past has always helped to
get the 10 days waived. The Judge said that she will not
allow this factor to influence her in waiving the 10
days.
iii. It would be best to assume that
at this point in time the 10 days will not be waived.
You may either return home and come back or stay the
additional time. Keep mind that this would mean, for
example, if you arrived on a Sunday, court was on Tuesday
and the 10 days were not waived, you might be in country
for about 20 days). The cost of returning home might be
less than staying. We absolutely cannot predict the
waiving of the 10 days until we have a court date and
then at that time I will tell you what the judge is
saying at that moment.
c. Court dates have begun for some families who have documents in
( like the family who got the Mayor of their town (they know
him personally) to write that they live in this house, and he
will guarantee that they are trustworthy people
4. Cost
a. The dollar has fallen and all prices are now based on the Euro
which will be valued at the time of the adoption
b. When I spoke with officials about the extraordinary cost burden
that this is putting on families, one official said that the
family should not consider adopting and then said if costs are
an issue then they should not be approved to adopt.
c. I tried to explain that the travel and hotel costs seem to be
about $5,000/ per trip and that this means that families are
spending so much each time that they go but would be willing to
"donate" some of these costs if they could have the 10 days
waived or make it in one or two trips. I was told that they
would not consider this.
5. Timing
a. The fact that it has taken so long?. It is hard not only on the
family but that the children suffer as well. In fact some of
the children must have medical procedures and it is critical
that they come to the USA urgently??I was told that until the
court is complete the child is the responsibility of Russia and
that they can in fact take care of their children .
6. Orphanage
a. The orphanage director is frustrated too, as families are not
coming as quickly as they like and they are overflowing and are
unable to take new children. When I asked if she "blamed" any
of our work, she said no but that it is clear to them that the
court system has been asked to slow down their work
Bottom Line:
1. I do believe that you will get your child, albeit not as quickly as
any of us would like.
2. Do not give up hope!
3. I will be sending you pictures of your child
4. I will call you by the end of this week to update you on your status
5. No one is happy and all of us are frustrated, but we are working very
very hard to get you and your child home.
:|
