Adoption Process

Dear readers,

This is Julie writing - I thought some of you might be interested in the details of the process David & Freda are going through during this adoption journey.  Here is a brief outline of the basic steps they must take for each child, as I understand it.  I'm sure there are additional steps between these that I do not know about!  (They have pretty much finished steps #1, #2 & #3.)  Some of the steps will be done simultaneously to help speed up the process:

1. Appointment on February 4, 2009 at the State Department for Adoption (SDA) in Kiev, Ukraine, to request a referral for two children, Alina & Tanya.  This referral allowed them to pursue the adoption of these girls.

2. Travel to the child's region where a government-appointed inspector (similar to our child advocates), had to document their first meeting to make sure the child is comfortable with them.   :)

3. Get approval from the director of the orphanage, the local city official over adoptions, and from the child. These approvals must be cleared with the SDA in Kiev.  Normally, a "disconnect" paper needs to be obtained from any existing siblings.  Alina has none, Tanya's sibling's whereabouts is "unknown", so I'm not sure how that works.

4. Have a "trial" set with the local court in the town of the orphanage where the judge must approve the adoption.  At this point, I believe they become the legal parents of the child, but they may not have custody until after the next step.

5. Enter a 10-day waiting period.  (This is a legal requirement that is usually imposed by the local judge to allow for a final notice to known relatives, etc., although their whereabouts are often unknown.  In Alina's case, both of her parents are deceased.  This 10-day wait can occasionally be waived for medical purposes, if applicable, but from what I've seen, it usually isn't.)  At the end of the 10 days, they can pick up the official court papers, complete more paperwork at the orphanage, and then...

6. Take custody of their new daughter!!  Praise God!!  Now they will need to

7. Get a new birth certificate with their names on it as the parents!  This is done in the city each girl was born.  They will also need to take care of any property issues the girls may have.

8. Travel back to Kiev.

9. Both girls must have medical physicals.

10. They will each need a new passport with their new names.

11. They will have to visit the US Embassy for more paperwork.

12. And once all this is done, they get to FLY HOME!  We can hardly wait!!  The girls will become US citizens when they arrive on US soil!  (Ukraine requires them to also remain Ukrainian citizens until they turn 18.)

Please join me in praying that these requirements don't drag out, and that they are able to keep the same pace they have had so far!

I haven't received the photos that Freda tried to send me, I will post them when I get them!  

In the meantime, please leave comments for Freda & David - I know it will be very meaningful to them!