News
April 15, 2010: Russia Halts Adoptions to U.S.
Posted on 04.15.2010 | Filed as Bulletin
Update: (Thursday afternoon, April 15, 2010) The U.S. Department of State is now saying that earlier reports of a suspension of adoptions from Russia are untrue—that adoptions are still being processed. Apparently the announcement of the suspension originated with the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, but decisions on adoptions in Russia are made in the Ministry of Education and Science. When State Department officials contacted the Education and Science Ministry, they were told that adoptions to the U.S. have NOT been suspended. We’ll keep you posted as news develops.
Original Report:
Several news organizations have reported today (April 15, 2010) that Russia has officially halted adoptions to the United States. A spokesman for the Russian government stated that adoptions of Russian children by American families have been suspended “until rules covering them can be hashed out with U.S. officials.” This development comes in response to the return to Russia last week of a little boy adopted by a Tennessee family six months ago. The adoptive mom affixed a note to the child that said, in part, “To Whom It May Concern: This child is mentally unstable. He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues/behaviors. I was lied to and misled by the Russian Orphanage workers and director regarding his mental stability.” Following the announcement by the Russian government, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, urged American families who are in-process to adopt from Russia not to worry. He said that our government is working on this issue, and that he doesn’t believe there will be any long-term impact on American adoptions from Russia.
We, The Shepherd’s Crook, have lately been seeing an increase in the number of completed adoptions falling through. This is called a dissolution, because the legally completed adoption is thereafter legally dissolved, and the adopted child is again placed for adoption. This is always a sad situation, both for the adoptive family and, especially, for the adopted child. But it is important to note—and this may be the essential lesson from the tragedy of the little boy from Russia—is that there are processes available to the adoptive family if it turns out that the adopted child does not seem to be who or what the family expected, or if the adoption doesn’t seem to be “working.” The first step for the adoptive family should be, almost without exception, to contact the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption. U.S. adoption agencies can and will offer help to struggling adoptive families. And if the adoptive family ultimately concludes that the adoption must be dissolved, the agency can and should help in finding a new home for the child. Sending the adopted child back to his or her birth country should not be considered an option.
If you have questions about this, please feel free to contact us.