EXPANDING YOUR FAMILY:
ADOPTING FROM UKRAINE
Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe and is bordered by Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, and the Black Sea to the South. The capital and largest city is Kyiv. Only slightly smaller than the State of Texas, Ukraine is a strikingly beautiful country with many variations in climate and terrain.
THE CHILDREN WE SERVE
Ukrainian children of all ages, boys and girls, need families. However, it is expected that there may be more boys than girls available. Their reasons for needing a new home vary from abandonment to relinquishment. In this program children can be as young as 15-24 months at the time of assignment.
WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Hope Cottage accepts applications from families and single women in Texas and throughout the United States who wish to adopt. The maximum age difference between adoptive parents and adopted children cannot exceed 45 years. Couples should be legally married for two years at the time of application.
THE ADOPTION PROCESS
Once the home study is completed, travel to select and adopt your child can occur in 12 to 14 months. Longer waits are possible depending on the time dossier preparation takes and the number of applications being processed at any one time. Singles may expect a longer wait for young children because of a preference for placement with couples. In 2007, Ukraine is limiting dossiers from US families to 558 during the calendar year. It is expected that 2008 will also have an announced number limit.
Adoption Process Specific to Ukraine
With the help of your dossier specialist at Hope Cottage, you will work on the documents required by the Ukrainian government for international adoption. When your dossier is complete, it is sent by Hope Cottage to our Ukrainian representative for translation and submission to the State Department for Adoptions and Protection of Rights of the Child (SDAPRC). Approval of your adoption application by the SDAPRC will allow you to receive an invitation with appointment date to visit the SDAPRC.
Our Ukrainian facilitator will meet you in Kyiv, get you to your accommodations and take you to the SDAPRC for your appointment at the scheduled time. Your facilitator is not allowed to be with you as you review the information about children available for adoption but she will prepare you prior to the appointment for what you should expect. When you have selected a child, or children, you will travel to the child’s location, get more complete medical and social information and visit the child. You will be given time to ask questions, consult with a medical expert here in the US and make an informed decision before you accept a referral. If it is necessary to return to the SDAPRC for another referral, the same procedure will occur.
After you accept the referral, the facilitator will take all the steps necessary for your paperwork to move through the legal procedures necessary for adoption. A court hearing will be scheduled at which both parents must be present. While you are waiting for the hearing date, you will have time to visit regularly with your child. This is a good time for attachment to begin so that your child will be comfortable traveling with you when you all come home.
If the thirty day appeal period is not waived after the court hearing or if there are delays with the Ukraine passport processing, both parents may decide to return home and make a second trip when the child is ready to leave the country. Alternatively, one parent may return home while the other parent stays in Ukraine. This is a personal decision best made at the appropriate time.
Prior to entering the United States with your child, an appointment must be made for your interview at the American Embassy in Kyiv. An embassy approved medical exam for your child will be scheduled prior to this appointment. Your child will receive an “IR-3” visa in their Ukraine passport and your child will become a US citizen upon arrival in the US. Parents should plan to be in Kyiv for this process at least 3 business days (US Embassy business days). Travel out of the country should be planned the day after receipt of the child’s visa.
BENEFIT FROM OUR EXPERIENCE
Hope Cottage provides supervision and support to families for two years after adoption. We will assist with the first two annual post-adoption reports and pictures that must be sent by adoptive parents to the Ukrainian adoption authority until your child is 18 years of age.
ADOPTION FEES
Contact Hope Cottage for an explanation of the fees involved in an adoption from Ukraine.
We are currently accepting families in this program. For an individual or group orientation meeting, please contact us.