The Tennessee woman who put her adopted son on a plane back to Russia isn’t the first parent to have trouble with an adopted child. Chip and Julie Harshaw had also adopted a son from Russia. At first, he seemed like a great kid, but before long he was displaying extreme and dangerous aggressive behavior.

“He has threatened their 5-year-old biological daughter with a steak knife and a two-by-four, and held her underwater in a pool… Therapeutic programs have ejected Roman for kicking, biting, hitting…” (Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

Roman was eventually diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and brain damage. His IQ is just 53, and it’s unlikely that he’ll ever be able to live independently. The Harshaws have sued the agency that facilitated their adoption of Roman, claiming the agency failed to fully disclose his condition. The Harshaw’s troubles raise questions about the degree to which adoption agencies disclose physical and mental health issues in children.

Labels: international, Russia, health, hard-to-place youth

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

After years of being foster parents and applying to formally adopt one of their foster kids, a Dayton, Ohio, couple is having second thoughts. They recently asked Dr. Gregory Ramey if he felt it was too late – or even appropriate – for them to back out.

“It’s unclear if your expectations are unrealistic, or if your 4-year-old is truly having problem that may require professional help. I’m more concerned about your apparent lack of commitment to this little boy. If you and your husband feel you are unable to completely commit to this child, you need to have a frank discussion immediately with the child’s caseworker.” (Source: Dayton Daily)

Adoption is obviously a serious decision. And, as Dr. Ramey says to this couple, commitment to a child must be absolute – in both good times and bad. For those who are considering adoption, it’s OK to decide that it’s a commitment for which you’re not ready. But it’s also a decision that should be made long before the process is started.
 

Labels: foster care, adoptive_parents

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

An adoption agency in D.C. is asking a Tennessee court to investigate the adoptive mother who sent her son back to Russia unattended. Specifically, the adoption agency wants to know if the boy was abused.

“The World Association for Children and Parents filed the petition Tuesday in the Circuit Court of Bedford Country saying it was concerned no one was investigating claims the boy had been abandoned last month when he was put on the plane.” (Source: Associated Press)

World Association is the agency that placed the boy with Torry Hansen of Tennessee, who is refusing to talk to police. The agency’s petition was filed against Hansen and her mother – the adopted child’s grandmother.

Labels: international, Russia, abandonment

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South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has signed a bill meant to ease the adoption process. It creates new timelines for foster parents wishing to adopt, and places less emphasis on keeping biological families together where mental illness or substance abuse is an issue.

"I think this is a very significant step forward with regards to the adoption process in South Carolina," Sanford said. "Foundational to the larger notion of quality of life is this notion of a home for every child." [Source: SCNow.com]

The legislation also allows for quicker termination of parental rights in certain situations. There are currently over 5,000 children in South Carolina living in foster care. Last year, over 500 foster children were adopted into permanent homes. The state hopes this new law will help increase that number in the coming years.

Labels: laws

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

ara Rigge, of Trinidad, California was recently filling out her 2010 U.S. Census form, when she found herself faced with a dilemma. She’s adopted, and her original birth certificate is sealed, making it impossible for her to accurately answer questions about her ethnicity.

“Can you imagine not knowing your ethnicity, your race? Now imagine walking into a vital records office and asking the clerk for your original birth certificate only to be told, ‘No, you can’t have it, it’s sealed.’ How about being presented with a ‘family history form’ to fill out at every single doctor’s office visit and having to put ‘N/A Adopted’ where life saving information should be?” [Source: The Humbolt (CA) Beacon]

Some states have already passed laws making original birth certificates and biological family histories available to adoptees. But 44 states still permit the sealing of birth certificates, preventing hundreds of children and adults from having any connection to their biological history.

Labels: adopted children

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The story of the young Russian boy whose American adoptive mother sent him back to his birth country has sparked seemingly countless stories about adoption, and U.S.-Russia relations. But there’s another story emerging: one of adoption agencies glossing over the medical and mental conditions of children they’re trying to place.

“In the first videos her future parents saw, Abby looked like a sweet timid child. The couple expected some challenges but didn’t realize how much Abby suffered from attachment disorder. After the adoption was completed, the orphanage gave the couple more videos showing a very different child – much angrier, almost menacing.” [Source: BBC]

In other instances, full medical recorders aren’t released to adoptive parents until the day the adoption in finalized. U.S. and Russian officials are working together to create a more open adoption process, and to make support systems more readily available to parents who are having trouble. Though Abby’s parents were surprised by what they saw in the second group of videos, they say Abby has adjusted well to her new life in the U.S.

Labels: international, Russia, parental_rights

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The petition filed this week by Washington State-based adoption agency World Association for Children and Parents takes adoption and court officials into unchartered territory. The petition asks court authorities to launch an investigation into potential abuse and abandonment on the part of a Tennessee woman who “returned” her 8-year-old adopted son to Russia.

Larry Crain, a lawyer for the adoption agency, told the Associated Press that they went to court out of frustration that no one was investigating claims that the Hansens abandoned and endangered the child.

Crain said they wanted to send a message to Russia that somebody is the U.S. cares about what happened to the boy [Source: Shelbyville (TN) Times-Gazette]

The WACAP is also asking the court to appoint a guardian for the child, who may need medical or psychological attention. The agency wants the court to place child support requirements on Hansen, who is still technically the boy’s mother.

Labels: international, Russia

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

Oksana is just four years old. She is one of more than 83 children who call Russia’s Orphanage Number 59 their home. And, according to a CNN report, she’s one of the few who has a real chance of being adopted.

“[Darya Tatarenko] estimates that children at this orphanage, who range in age from 3 to 18, have only a 30 percent chance of being adopted by Russian families," CNN reported. "Tatarenko says that’s because potential parents in Russia often prefer blond and healthy children.”

Children’s Home No. 59 has been open for ten years, and during that time, only four children have been adopted out. Many of the children here are older. Many come from homes where they’ve experience drug and alcohol abuse, emotional and physical abuse, and other traumas.

The workers there hope that, despite what they hear on the news, Americans will continue to adopt children from Russia. Often, they’re the only ones willing to welcome older or less-than-healthy children into their homes.

Labels: international, Russia

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U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. and Russia plan to negotiate a new adoption agreement that addresses concerns raised after an American woman sent her adopted Russian son back to his home country.

Crowley said U.S. and Russian officials had a positive meeting on the matter on Thursday in Moscow and that the U.S. "committed to pursue an agreement that strengthens the processes of adoption of Russian children and American families." [Source: The Associated Press]

The next meeting between U.S. and Russian officials will be May 12 in Moscow.
 

Labels: international, Russia

Posted By: Adoption Issues 0 Comments

Technically, this coming Sunday will be Kristin’s second as a mother. But this time last year, though she had a child, she hadn’t seen him yet. Binyam, her soon-to-be-adopted son, was still in Ethiopia.

“On March 2, 2009, a full year after we’d submitted our paperwork to the adoption agency, I got ‘the call.’ When I hung up the phone, I looked at my mother in wonderment and said, ‘I’m a mom.’ I will never, as long as I live, forget that feeling.” [Source: MSNBC]

It took several months to complete the process and get Binyam home with his new forever family. It took several more months for parents and child to adjust to each other. Kristin says that, while she tried to teach her son a lot in the few months they’ve been together, she’s learned a lot from him, too.

Labels: international, mothers

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In a long-awaited statement bringing clarity to the U.S. adoption of Russian children, a Russian official has said that adoptions will continue. Andrei A. Fursenko, Russia's Education and Science Minister, has said that no formal or legal suspension of adoptions has been put in place.

“Mr. Fursenko appeared to contradict the assertions of Russian foreign ministry officials, who said last month that there would be no adoptions until the United States and Russia reached an agreement on new regulations. But Mr. Fursenko’s comments would appear to carry more weight because of his agency’s role in the adoption process.” [Source: The New York Times]

The Education and Science Ministry oversees international adoptions, and therefore has more influence over adoption policy than other ministries. In addition, no single ministry has the authority to halt adoptions. That kind of sweeping change can only be enacted by law, as the result of a majority vote of the Russian parliament.

Labels: international, Russia

Posted By: Adoption Issues 0 Comments

Changes to federal health care law have been the catalyst for a lot of division and controversy. But one section that has received widespread support reduces adoption costs for families.

“The law increases the federal adoption tax credit by about $1,000 to more than $13,000 for the costs of finalizing a domestic or foreign adoption. It also aims to help lower income families adopt. The credit was due to end this year until the new health care law extended it until December 2011.” [Source: Austin (TX) Daily Herald]

Adoption can cost $25,000 or more, according to the Children’s Home Society of Minnesota – a price tag that can either delay or prevent adoption for some families. The initial tax credit was passed in 1996 and was aimed at encouraging foster care adoptions. However, the credit can be used towards adoption of any type.

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