Overview

What’s Involved in Adopting a Child From Ukraine

The international adoption process in Ukraine is a bit different from the processes of other countries: Ukrainian law does not allow pre-identification of children for international adoption. So, unlike other countries, you will not receive a child referral before traveling. Instead, you will be invited to travel to Ukraine after your dossier and paperwork have been received. Once in Ukraine, you will be shown several children and it is up to you to choose which child to adopt.

The National Adoption Center, a part of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, is the only legal Ukrainian authority for adoptions. It maintains a database of children available for both domestic and international adoptions. The National Adoption Center is involved in the international adoption process from the moment prospective parents apply for registration until an adoption hearing is held in court. The National Adoption Center has a policy of direct contact with prospective adoptive parents. Applying parents must send their documents directly to the National Adoption Center. The National Adoption Center will communicate with facilitators only after an application is filed. Translators or interpreters are not available on the staff of the National Adoption Center. Callers or visitors have to speak either Russian or Ukrainian, or have their own interpreters. Ukrainian law does not allow outside adoption agencies to operate or locate a child for adoption in Ukraine. Adopting parents can operate independently or employ facilitators to assist with the translation and interpretation.

Prospective adoptive parents must first register with the National Adoption Center. The National Adoption Center processes the documents submitted by the adoptive parents and enters them into the database within ten days. Once an application is approved, the prospective adoptive parents will receive an invitation to visit the National Adoption Center. When adopting parents arrive in Ukraine, the National Adoption Center shows them information about orphans available for international adoption within the parents' specified age range. The National Adoption Center then issues a letter of referral to allow the prospective parents to visit orphanages to meet, select, and establish contact with a child.

Once the National Adoption Center issues permission for prospective parents to visit orphanages, parents may go and meet a child, check medical records, and establish personal contact with a child. After prospective adoptive parents identify a child they wish to adopt, the file for the case is presented to a judge in the region where the child is from. (Note: The power to approve or deny an adoption rests solely with an individual judge.) The judge's decision to approve (or deny) the adoption is based only on a review of the documents pertaining to the adoption.

The judge's decision usually is announced and issued on the same day as the hearing, and adopting parents must attend the hearing. However, unless the judge grants an "immediate execution," the decision does not take effect for one month. (Such waivers are granted only when there is clear evidence that a delay could endanger the child’s health.) During this one-month period, the adoption can be appealed. Once the decision takes effect, the new adoptive parents are granted parental rights and legal responsibility for the child.

In a Nut Shell

Children Available: Healthy toddlers, both boys and girls, from 15 months of age. Older and special needs children are also available for adoption from Ukraine.

Parent Requirements: Married and single people may adopt from Ukraine.. The difference between the age of the adoptive parent and adopted child must be at least 15 years (although this requirement can be waived for the adoption of a child with special needs). .

Travel Requirements: Travel is required to adopt a child from Ukraine. One or two trips may be required, with trips lasting from two to six weeks.

Time Frame: After your dossier is received, it takes an average of eight to twelve months for child placement.

Number of Children Adopted by Americans in 2004: 723

Additional Information: The children available for adoption from Ukraine are in orphanages. No child referrals are given. Instead, adoptive parents are invited to travel to Ukraine where they meet with several children who match the family profile. The adopting parents then choose the child they think will best fit with their family. Annual reports and dual nationality (maintaining the child’s Ukrainian citizenship) are required until the child is 18 years old.

Credits: The International Adoption Guidebook, © Mary M. Strickert