Even with the new treaty, Ukraine is a safe and affordable
alternative to Russia for adoption. The relationship between
Russia and the US over adoption has been extremely strained.
Adoptions were put on hold for several years and new regulations
make adoptions more and more expensive in Russia. $66,204 was
reported as the average cost for 2011 from Adoptive Families
poll). This is much more than the average of just over $42,000.
Working with Adoption Services International, on an independent
Ukrainian adoption, your expenses would be just $20,000 for
adoption expenses plus your travel costs. Check out all the
advantages to adopting in Ukraine on our website FAQ
page.www.adoptionservicesinternational.com
Article by: The Voice of Russia's Ilya Kharlamov
From now on the adoption of children from Russia will be carried
out in compliance with stringent legal requirements and with due
regard to the interests of each child involved.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on the
ratification of agreements with the United States and France,
which should ensure control over the fate of Russian children who
are brought up in foreign families and to prevent cruel treatment
of children.
These documents, especially an agreement with the US, are
Moscow's initiative: such was its answer to a series of tragic
events involving adopted Russian children. The case of a
seven-year-old boy, Artyom Tarasov, who was put on a plane
heading for Moscow from Washington on April 8, 2010 by his
adoptive mother Torry-Ann Hansen, became the straw that broke the
camel's back. Unfortunately his story is not the most
heartwrenching. Another Russian boy, Vanya Skorobogatov, adopted
by the Cravers from the US, died after having been beaten in
2009. Although the judges acknowledged that the adoptive parents
were guilty, they released them in the courtroom because the year
and a half they had spent in prison waiting for the verdict was
counted into the sentence. An equally soft verdict was given in
the case of Theresa McNulty who abused her adopted Russian
daughter and was sentenced to only 2 years in prison.
And one more thing here. The lawyers of the Craver spouses made
an attempt to prove that the boy was insane, which became the
reason for his death, and Torry-Ann Hansen filed a lawsuit
against the Russian Ombudsman for Children's Rights, Pavel
Astakhov, because he called her a "foster mother". Moscow has
emphasized more than once many instances where US courts have
issued extremely light sentences to US adoptive parents, to the
detriment of the Russian children involved. Ombudsman for
Children's Rights in Moscow Yevgeny Bunimovich says:
"These are very important documents. As you know, the US has not
ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Therefore it
is not clear what documents were used to regulate the adoption
process earlier."
The agreements with the US and France have been worked out with
due regard to the Russian legislation and taking into account
positive experience with Italy in this field. They say that all
candidates should undergo special training and give information
about their social status and psychological condition,
Vice-President of the Moscow-based Foundation for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Children Alexander Spivak said:
"In view of the above-mentioned, the ratification of the
agreements on the adoption of Russian children could only be
welcomed because the legislation standards regulating such issues
in Russia and the US are different. The new agreement will create
common ground in relations between the two countries in the field
of adoption. And one more thing here. Such agreements are helpful
in resolving conflict situations. This is a great step forward."
And still, Russia's Foreign Ministry has doubts about the
responsibility of the US regarding the adoption process. The
point is that there are hundreds of Russian children in the US
now who were adopted by US citizens, and the fate of many of them
remains unknown. Another incident involving a Russian boy, Daniil
Kruchinin, occurred in the US a week ago. The boy who ran away
from his adoptive parents was later discovered by the local
police. The policemen discovered traces of abuse on his body. A
lawsuit has been brought against his adoptive parents in the US
but there is no guarantee that they will be punishable by law.
There is no doubt that a legal basis enabling Russia to control
the fate of adopted children is a dire necessity. It should make
the adoption process more civilized and the life of adopted
children safer. Russia plans to achieve this, acting within the
framework of the Hague Convention on Parental Responsibility
which it joined this May.
Photo is by: © Flickr.com/Robert Crum/cc-by-nc
If you or someone you love want to welcome a child into their
lives and families, as my husband and I did, we can help.
Call us to help compare the Ukrainian adoption program with other
international programs.
www.adoptionservicesinternational.cominfo@asi-adoption.com908-444-0999
No comments:
Post a Comment