The Needs of Children in Russia and Eastern Europe

Children are drastically affected by economic distress in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet bloc.

By the age of 17, only 10% of all children are considered healthy, according to a report published by Russia’s Ministry of Health. More than two-thirds of children suffer from iodine deficiency-related health disorders. Many are afflicted with chronic diseases. Mental disorders among children and adolescents have increased. More than 2.5 million children live on the streets - many of them abandoned by parents who cannot afford to raise them, others fleeing from alcoholic parents. Among boys, suicide and murder rates have doubled.

The Orphans

An estimated 600,000 children live "without parental care". About one-third of these are in institutions; others live with guardians, in shelters, or under police jurisdiction.

According to Human Rights Watch, thousands of children in orphanages suffer "appalling levels of abuse and neglect." Children in some orphanages have been found in bare, dark rooms, tied to cribs, sometimes victims of beatings and sexual abuse.

Some families who have adopted in the last several years report that orphanage conditions have improved. As in many other countries, economic strain hurts orphaned children, but there are some men and women committed to using their limited resources to do the best they can for the children. Love and cruelty, integrity and corruption, advocacy and indifference – are all mixed together in orphanages.

Adoption from Russia

In recent years, Russia has been second only to China in its number of internationally adopted children. However, adoption from Russia is currently in transition.

One recent law states that all adoptions must be conducted through a government-accredited adoption agency. Adoptive parents either work directly with one of these accredited agencies or work with a local adoption agency that works with an accredited agency.

Also under a new Russian law, foreign adoption agencies are required to register as non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Agencies whose government accreditation expires before they can register as NGOs will not be able to continue doing adoption work in Russia until they are both registered and reaccredited. The Russian government has not yet announced the specific procedures, requirements or timeline for registration, so the situation is uncertain.

Two groups of children are typically available for adoption: babies relinquished in the hospital at birth, and older children who are removed from their families because of neglect. Some sibling groups wait to be adopted together.

When a referral is made, a videotape of the child usually accompanies other documents. A doctor with experience in adoption can use this to glean more information about the health of a child. Two trips to Russia are required (from most regions of Russia), the first approximately one week and the second 2-3 weeks long.

Adoption from Ukraine

Social conditions for children in Ukraine are similar to those in Russia.

Ukraine was the fifth-largest country for overseas adoptions to the U.S. in 2005. However, as in Russia, there have been major changes in Ukrainian adoption recently, including the establishment of a new department (in July 2006) to replace the previous National Adoption Center. The main focus of this new authority is to promote domestic adoptions within Ukraine. Because of this, Ukraine will accept no new adoption dossiers from non-Ukrainian adoptive parents before January 1, 2007. The Embassy is working on obtaining more information and will announce specific changes as soon as the Ukrainian authorities make this information available.

Adoption from Romania

In 2001, citing allegations of corruption, Romania imposed a moratorium on foreign adoption. The adoptions of about 1,100 children were put on hold when this moratorium started.

In 2004, Romania passed a law banning adoptions by all foreigners except relatives of the children. This law, the Romanian child welfare law, also prohibits children under the age of two from being placed in orphanages. Since then, thousands of babies and young children have been stranded in hospitals. Without enough foster families, hospitals are forced to house large numbers of abandoned infants. Although the law was intended to end the practice, the rate of child abandonment has not dropped. UNICEF reports that nearly 10,000 children are abandoned annually at Romanian hospitals.

The European Union has indicated their decision to be more proactive with Romanian childcare issues. In May 2006, the European Parliament wrote a declaration that calls on Romania to re-open the pending cases of international adoption and to authorize international adoption where appropriate.

Please pray for families hoping to adopt children from Ukraine and Romania. It can be agonizingly difficult to be caught in the middle of an adoption law overhaul when you are waiting for a child.