Adopting a child from Russia
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Adopting a child from Russia
May 2003
My husband and I are seriously considering adopting a child
from Russia and would very much like to get some agency
recommendations. If you've had a positive Russian adoption
experience, or know someone who has, we'd love to know which
international and local agencies were involved, and how they
helped the process along. Practical advice would also be
welcome, as we are just starting to get the ball rolling here.
Thank you!!!
Sara
First, congratulations on your decision to adopt. It is a very
exciting and sometimes exhausting process!
I can highly recommend HeartSent Adoptions, Inc. (Orinda) as a
great place to start your process. Also, I believe, they offer
a Russian adoption component. Val Free, Executive Director, is
excellent. She is an adoptive parent and a licensed MFT. She
has established an agency which is as caring and supportive as
you could hope for. Also, they offer fantastic courses which
are benefical in the process.
I am a MFT who works in the field of adoption. I have meet with
Val professional and appreciate and respect her very much.
Also, many clients have used HeartSent and have spoken so highly
of their experience. The number is (925) 254-8883. Good luck.
Cindy
Please be careful with an adoption from Russia. Children in
orphanages there are ''rated'' or ''graded'' with A, B, C, etc.
Children who are in the best shape, with no obvious anomalies or
known problems in the family history, e.g., alcoholism (a
prevalent problem), are given a higher grade (A) and not allowed
to be adopted out of the country. There is a higher incidence of
having problems with a child who is ''adoptable'' under these
terms - special education/learning problems from fetal alcohol
exposure, mental health problems, etc.
Signed, ''Experienced with children of adopted families''
If you haven't already done so, I suggest that you look at the
website http://www.eeadopt.org/ and join their e-mail group for
Russia. There you will get to see a variety of e-mails from
people who are in all stages of the process of adopting from
Russia, and you can see what difficulties or suggestions people
have along the way. The website has some agency recommendations,
but you can also post the question to the list to find out what
agencies people recommend. I have not seen the Russian list, but
I am on an EEAC list for another country, and it has really given
me a wealth of information (including people's experiences after
they get their children home).
Traci
this page was last updated: Aug 17, 2003
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