Work on foreign adoptions in Russia came to a halt on Thursday as the licenses of dozens of adoption agencies expired. Many of the agencies have applied for license renewals, but recent changes in the approval process have created a bottleneck.

"[Sergei] Vitelis [an official at the Education Ministry's department in charge of adoptions] said 76 foreign adoption agencies have applied to operate in Russia, and their applications must be reviewed by the Education Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Health Ministry's oversight agency."

Russian officials estimate that it will be at least two months before adoption agency applications are approved. The changes took place in light of reports that some Russian children who were adopted by foreigners were being abused. The Russian Education Ministry says that 11 Russian children who have been adopted by U.S. families have died from abuse since 1991. Read more online.

Labels: inter-country_adoption, international, Russia