Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Sign Adoption Agreement

The Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security announced today, July 13, 2011, that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed a bilateral adoptions agreement that will strengthen procedural safeguards in adoptions between our countries.

This Agreement will provide additional safeguards to better protect the welfare and interests of children and all parties involved in intercountry adoptions. Under the Agreement, only adoption agencies authorized by the Russian government will be able to operate in Russia and provide services in adoptions covered by the Agreement, except in the case of an adoption of a child by his or her relatives. This will largely eliminate independent adoptions from Russia and create a better defined framework for intercountry adoptions between the United States and Russia. The Agreement also includes provisions designed to improve post-adoption reporting and monitoring and to ensure that prospective adoptive parents receive more complete information about adoptive children’s social and medical histories and anticipated needs.

The United States is committed to working with the Russian Federation on implementing the provisions laid forth in this Agreement as soon as it enters into force.

The Department of State will publish criteria, procedures, and clear guidance related to the Agreement on adoption.state.gov prior to the Agreement’s entry into force.

For additional FAQs on the agreement, please visit adoption.state.gov.

In order to promote special needs child adoption and guarantee the basic interests of the orphaned and disabled children, CCAA decides to accept the adoption applications from female single applicants to adopt according to the requirements listed in this notice, starting from March 15, 2011:

• Female single applicants are allowed to adopt special focus children listed on the special Needs System of CCAA.
• One applicant can only adopt one special focus child at a time, with an interval of at least one year between two adoptions.
• The applicant shall have reached the age of 30 years and are under 50. For applicants over 50, the age difference between the child to be adopted and the applicant shall be no more than 45 years.
• The applicant shall provide her civil status certificate. Unmarried applicants shall provide certification for being single and non-homosexual; divorced applicants shall provide the divorce certificate of the last marriage; and widowed applicants shall provide the death certificate of their ex-spouse.
• The reason of being single and attitude towards marriage. Applicants shall have clear indication of willingness to appoint male figures as role models for the adopted child, and welcome male friends to join family gatherings.
• Applicants shall have received inter-country adoption training and training specifically for special needs child adoption so as to understand fully the physical and psychological needs of special needs children.
• Detailed nurturing and rehabilitation plan. Applicants shall be qualified personally and socially for caring special needs children and have wide social and family supporting network which can provide assistance any time.
• Guardians appointed by the applicants shall provide written statement as consent to act as the guardian of the adopted child. X. If the applicant has a stable relationship and lives with a male partner, t he requirements of couple applicants shall be applied.
• Applicants shall be healthy both physically and mentally according to the requirements by CCAA for prospective adoptive couples.
• Applicants shall be law abiding with no criminal records, and have good moral quality and conduct
• The family annual income shall reach $10,000 per family member, including the prospective adoptee and the family net assets value should reach $100,000.
• The applicant shall have good medical insurance which can cover the medical expense of the adopted child.
• Applicants shall be experienced in child caring or be occupied in child-related fields, such as doctor, nurse, teacher, child psychological counselor, etc. It’s best that the applicants have already had successful experience in caring for special needs children.
• The number of children in the applicant’s family under the age of 18 years shall be no more than two, and the youngest one should have reached the age of 6 years old.
• Applicants shall be fully prepared for adopting a special focus child.
• Social workers shall provide the following information fully and timely in the home study reports besides family visit interviews: Adoption motive. The decision to adopt a special focus child shall be well-considered. Applicants shall be capable of caring for a special need child and be responsible for the well-being of the child.

Cecelia K. Park, Executive Director of Love the Children International Adoption Agency

 It is with a very heavy heart that I write today to let everyone know that Cecelia K. Park passed away in her sleep on Saturday, February 19, 2011.  Services will be held on Saturday, February 26, 2011 in Pennsylvania @ 11:00 am. I will post the details as soon as they are finalized. Everyone is welcome to attend.

I ask that you do not call the LTC office.  To all waiting families, rest assured that the agency will remain open and will continue to place children and bring your babies home to you.             

Excellent, much needed course:

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We recognize that many prospective adoptive parents are concerned about the recent news reports citing a potential hold on adoptions of Russian children by American families. Please be advised that U.S. Embassy processing of I-600 Orphan Petitions and U.S. Immigrant Visas for adoption cases is continuing as usual. Russia has suspended the license of an individual adoption agency, but has not taken any broader action. We will update this website if any changes occur. If you have further questions or concerns, please email the U.S. Embassyadoptions unit at MoscowConsularR@state.gov.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues

The Department of State has received no information to confirm a suspension of adoptions from Russia to the United States.  Our Embassy in Moscow and other Department of State officials are talking with Russian officials to clarify this issue. 

 The Department of State is sending a high-level inter-agency team to Russia this weekend to meet with senior Russian officials, including officials from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Justice.  The U.S. delegation will emphasize the importance of this issue to the United States, and will discuss our mutual concerns about how to better protect the welfare and rights of children and all parties involved in intercountry adoptions.  

 Many thousands of Russian children have found loving, safe and permanent homes in the United States through intercountry adoption.   Families in the United States have adopted more than 50,000 children from Russia. 
If you have completed an adoption in Russia and have an immigrant visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow:

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is continuing to schedule and issue immigrant visas for adopted children using normal processing procedures.  Contact the Embassy at MoscowConsularR@state.gov to schedule an appointment.  Please also stay in close touch with your adoption service provider. 

 If you have a court appointment to finalize your child’s adoption in Russia:

Many adoption cases are continuing to move forward in the courts.  We have heard of cases in which a court appointment has been postponed.  If your court appointment is postponed by the court, please provide this information to us by email at RussiaAdoption@state.gov and MoscowConsularR@state.gov. We will work with the Russian authorities to try to resolve any problems.

 If you do not have a court date yet to finalize an adoption in Russia, but are in the process of adopting from Russia: 

Please stay in close contact with your adoption service provider, and check the adoption.state.gov website regularly for current information about intercountry adoption from Russia.

 The Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues has established a special e-mail box for inquiries or comments about adoptions from
Russia.  Prospective adoptive parents with concerns about adoptions from Russia may send their questions to RussiaAdoption@state.gov. 

State Dept: No suspension of adoptions from Russia
(AP) – 1 day ago

NEW YORK — The U.S. State Department says there has been no suspension of adoptions of Russian children by Americans.

Reports of a suspension circulated Thursday based on comments in Moscow from a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman. He was reacting to the case of an American woman who sent her 7-year-old adopted son back to Russia on a plane by himself.

The U.S. State Department’s consular affairs office, however, says it has confirmed with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Embassy in Washington that adoptions are still being processed. The office says there has been no suspension.

A U.S. delegation plans to meet with Russian officials next week to discuss a possible adoption treaty. Russia says such a treaty much be signed if adoptions to the U.S. are to continue.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Russia, April 15, 20010:

During a press conference today, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko stated that intercountry adoptions with the United States have been suspended until a bilateral agreement with the United States is signed.

At this time, the Ministry of Education (the ministry responsible for intercountry adoption) has not confirmed the suspension nor issued a statement. The MoE MUST confirm this statement for the suspension to be truly active.

A delegation from the U.S. Department of State, lead by Ambassador Michael Kirby, will travel to Moscow and conduct meetings with Russian officials on April 20, 2010.