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.

By REUTERS
Published: April 9, 2010
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Friday it planned to suspend adoptions of its children by U.S. citizens after an American woman sent her adopted son back to Moscow on a plane with a note disowning him.

Artyom Savelyev, 7, arrived alone at a Moscow airport on Tuesday with a typed letter asking the Russian government to annul the adoption on the grounds that the child was mentally unstable, officials said.

President Dmitry Medvedev denounced the episode as a “monstrous deed,” and called for an agreement with U.S. authorities laying down American parents’ duties in such cases and creating a system to monitor the children’s treatment.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went one step further, saying U.S. adoptions of Russian children would be halted until such a deal was reached.

“The way he was treated was beyond immoral,” Lavrov said in an interview with state-run news channel Rossiya-24. “We have made a decision that the Foreign Ministry will insist on freezing all adoptions by U.S. families until Russia and the U.S. sign an interstate treaty setting out adoption terms.”

Russia is the third largest source of foreign adoptions to the United States with 1,586 in 2009, according to the U.S. State Department.

Artyom was adopted from an orphanage in Russia’s Far East in 2009. After six months, his adoptive mother decided he was not fitting in and bought him a one-way ticket to Moscow.

“The child is mentally unstable. He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues. I was lied to and misled by the Russian orphanage,” said the note, which was shown on Russian television. “For the safety of my family, friends and myself, I no longer wish to parent this child.”

Television pictures showed the fair-haired Artyom nervously waving at a line of cameras. He was undergoing tests at a Moscow hospital on Friday as authorities considered who would take care of him, officials said.

“A VERY BAD FAMILY”

Medvedev said Artyom “fell into a very bad family.”

“It is a monstrous deed on the part of his adoptive parents…(It) is not only immoral but also against the law,” Medvedev told ABC News.

“We should understand what is going on with our children, or we will totally refrain from the practice of adopting Russian children by American adoptive parents.”

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. government was “obviously very troubled” by the case, but hoped that it would not preclude future adoptions.

“If Russia chooses to suspend these adoptions, these are Russian citizens, that is Russia’s right. We would like to see these adoptions continue but we understand the concern that Russia has, we share that concern,” he told a news briefing.

U.S. officials would work with both Russian officials and international adoption agencies to strengthen protections for such children, he added.

Russia’s top investigative body said it was probing Artyom’s adoption to see if any law had been broken. The Kremlin’s ombudsman for children’s rights, Pavel Astakhov, said Artyom had been mistreated by his adopted mother.

Artyom was met at a Moscow airport by a tour guide who had been paid $200 (130 pounds) by his adoptive mother to “deliver him to the Education Ministry like a parcel,” Astakhov said. The ministry runs the country’s orphanages and is responsible for adoptions.

The U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle said U.S. authorities would also check if a crime had been committed.

Russia tightened its adoption process after several Russian children died at the hands of abusive parents in the United States. The additional procedures caused a sharp fall in numbers of U.S. adoptions from a peak of 5,862 in 2004.

(Writing by Conor Humphries; additional reporting by Andrew Quinn in Washington; Editing by David Stamp)

We should have acted yesterday…we must act now.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee have before them The Families for Orphans Act; a bi-partisan bill that would create a State Department office and more importantly a “Champion for Orphans”. This Champion and the Office would build capacity in countries to enable families to raise their children at home or be adopted by loving parents first in their own country or else in another.

Growing up in a family is a basic human right.  The United States has a rich and successful history of protecting such rights all over the world.  When we have stepped forward to provide leadership in an area of great social need, the difference has been measurable.  The orphans of the world need this type of leadership and they need it now.

Call or e-mail to your Members of Congress asking them to become Co-Sponsors of the Families for Orphans Act. You can find your Representative at www.house.gov and your Senators at www.senate.gov. Feel free to use the following text as a guideline:

“As one of your constituents I am requesting that you support the “Families for Orphans Act” by becoming a Co-Sponsor of the legislation now. We would be better prepared to respond to the needs of orphans in Haiti if the leadership it calls for was already in place.  We ask that you stand up for the millions of children around the world growing up in orphanages without the love and support of a permanent family. For information on becoming a Co-Sponsor, please contact Senators Landrieu or Inhofe or Representatives Watson or Boozman.”

2.  Demand Action

Call or email the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.  Ask them to pass the Families for Orphans Act.

           Senate Foreign Relations Committee Phone: (202) 224-4651
           Chairperson’s Email: click here

           House Foreign Affairs Committee Phone: (202) 224-4651
           Chairperson’s Email: click here

 3.  Speak with One Voice

Sign the Families for Orphans Act petition.  To sign click here.

4.  Get The Word Out

Have a blog?  A Facebook page?  Do you Tweet?  How about an email account?  Send this Call To Action to those who care about children.

• Coordinating emergency response in Haiti
• Creating and distributing a critically important database of families and orphans used to
  • identify children and get emergency relief to them
  • update and inform adoptive parents,
  • update and inform aid & relief organizations, US government efforts and Members of Congress
• Creating and distributing a database of orphanages  used to:
  • direct emergency relief and transportation to the orphanages
  • provide instructions regarding immigration to the US
  • update and inform adoptive parents,
  • inform aid & relief organizations, US government efforts and Members of Congress
• Raising awareness with the public and with government decision makers
• Educating and informing government policy makers including the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security

Overview:
Overview South Korea has had an adoption program for over 50 years. There are rumors that the program may close within the next 5 years, but those are just rumors at this time. The reason for this rumor is that Korea truly would like to end international adoption and is strongly encouraging the populace of Korea to adopt their orphaned children.

At this time, however, Korea remains a rock-solid program. The children are placed in foster families at birth, received excellent medical care and a social background of the birthparents is available. In addition, Korea requires the very least amount of paperwork from adoptive families. For families that qualify, Korea is an excellent choice.

Love The Children has an excellent South Korea program for married couples of  a minimum of 3 years and you must be under 45 years old at the time of referral.

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, and Sol in Korea, is the most important and the longest of all festivals in Asian communities around the world. The date of the new year is determined by the lunar calendar, so festivities begin with the new cycle of the moon that falls between January 21 and February 19 and traditionally lasts for two weeks. Each year is named for one of 12 symbolic animals in sequence. The animals, in their sequential order, are the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar.

During this period, towns and villages are decorated with colored lanterns, floral displays, and brightly colored banners emblazoned with New Year greetings. Preparations traditionally begin in the home the week before the New Year, when families thoroughly clean their houses to symbolically sweep away all traces of misfortune. They also pay off debts, add a new coat of red paint to doors and windowpanes, and decorate the home with flowers. To avoid bad luck, parents warn their children to be on their best behavior and to avoid the use of vulgar expressions. On the evening before the New Year, families gather for a feast of special dishes. Each dish has symbolic meaning, signifying good luck and prosperity. At midnight, families light fireworks to attract the attention of benevolent gods and to frighten away evil spirits. The fireworks last until dawn, although celebrants may sporadically light more fireworks for the next two weeks.

On the first day of the New Year, people put on new clothes to symbolize the discarding of the old year and its misfortunes. Then they take gifts to friends and relatives. The gifts usually include special rice flour cakes and fruits such as kumquats and oranges.

Among the most spectacular festivities of Lunar New Year are the dragon and lion dances. As many as 50 or more people support long dragons and lions made from vibrant paper and cloth while dancing in processions down city streets. The dancers perform to the beating of gongs and drums, while other celebrants perform acrobatic displays. Some of the performers may occasionally reach up to take red money packets or fruits and vegetables hung from storefronts. The celebrations end on the 15^th of the Lunar month; this day is called the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is an event in which merchants hang lighted paper lanterns outside their shops. Many of the lanterns rotate with the heat of the candles they contain. Children often parade through the streets during the lantern festival, carrying lanterns of various shapes and patterns

Leslie Zindulka, LCSW-R adoption Social Worker presents a workshop entitled Keys To School Success- from preschool through high school graduation. This workshop will focus on adoption related school issues, will teach participants how to handle school assignments, advocate for your child’s special needs and how to respond to common myths. Sponsored by the Adoptive Parents Committee Long Island chapter at their meeting on November 15, 2008.