Russian Adoption Research Paper

Being from Russia and being adopted, this topic really hits home for me. I think it is absolutely appalling what the Russian government has done towards this issue. Two years later and American families still can’t adopt a child from Russia:

I do not believe that cross-cultural adoption should be sanctioned, but it is an extremely controversial issue. I believe adoption agencies throughout the world and their governments must work together to create rigorous policy to ensure the safety of the children, and set a quality standard for parents looking to adopt. Sanctions are to impose a penalty, or threaten with a penalty for disobeying rules (Dictonary.com, 2017). I believe imposing sanctions on those looking to adopt would deter them from adopting at all, and that child may never be placed in a home. I believe that if cross-cultural adoption is an option for couples, then the culture heritage of that

If the adoption is going to be from another country, where the child is from another race and culture, the adopting parents should get to know about that race and culture before taking care of that child. So while raising this child, they can also teach them about their culture so they won’t be cut out of their original heritage. Because these children are banned from knowing about their culture and customs, it wouldn’t be good to take that away from anyone. So this can be a bad thing about taking in a child from another country, and the process would take up a lot more time and money to do this.

Consequently, the total costs of adoption alone sum up to roughly 15,800 dollars (Horin). Most parents don't have that money lying around because they have other children or a career they invest a lot in. In addition, they might not have money at all but know that the children need help and decide to make a difference. The government realized the problem, why many parents are not adopting is because it’s very expensive. Therefore, in order to promote adoption the government provided the adoptive parents a tax credit to help with their financial shortages. For parents adopting domestically, they would be able to claim a credit worth up to 11,700 dollars. The positive part of the credit is that within the same year of the adoption, parents can claim it (Block). Although it may take a chunk of the total cost off, parents would still have to pay 5,000 to 15,000 dollars that still remains of the whole cost. The costs should be lowered to more affordable amounts so the tax deduction would be more effective. Even though the tax credit

Ion Iliescu, former president of Romania created this law thinking that it is better for the children to be in state run orphanages, foster homes or to be adopted domestically. One thing I’m sure he didn’t take into consideration is the fact that most abandoned children are gypsies, most Romanian’s will not adopt a gypsy child. This means that until they open adoption internationally again, many children will not be getting the loving homes they deserve. It’s a shame because there are so many people who want to adopt from there and can give those children a better home than they could ever imagine in Romania.

Parents wanting to adopt an out of country (foreign) child into Idaho, must receive permission from the State of Justice Department in the U.S in order to bring the child into the states. This can be done by following the adoption laws by both the foreign country the parents are adopting from, and also the state where the parents live. This rule is also used in Idaho. An Idaho resident would adopt a child according to the laws of the foreign country.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will sign a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, an apparent retaliation for an American law that places visa and financial sanctions on Russian officials” (The Washington Post 2012). This law doesn't just affect families/couples who wanted to adopt children from Russia, it affects the children in foster care because if children aren’t adopted each year the amount of children not adopted starts to add up and then they aren’t being cared for as thoroughly as before, had they been

The adoptive Family Relief Act passed on the 16 of October in 2016 was enacted to provide relief for adoptive family’s form immigrant visa fees in certain situations. It amends the immigration and Nationality Act to refund or waive renewal or replacement fees for an immigrant visa that was issued on or after March 27, 2013, for a child who has been lawfully adopted or is coming to the United States to be adopted by a U.S. citizen. This is used if a child is unable to use the original immigrant visa during its valid period due to extraordinary circumstances. This includes situations like denial of an exit permit. Under these kinds of circumstances, parents or adopting parents have no control, thus, making this act necessary. In 2012, around nine thousand immigrant children were adopted into the United States. That means about nine thousand adoptive families have to renew the validity of their adopted child’s visa every six months. In addition to this expense, families have to pay an extra renewal fee after the Democratic Republic of Congo’s suspension of issuing exit permits. Renewing a visa costs $325 and on top of this the child must complete a medical exam that costs $200. But these expenses are not the end, many families must also pay for monthly childcare or foster care fees. Keep in mind that these expenses are per child and many families adopt more than just one child. These constant burden of

The fall of the Soviet Union gave childless American couples the opportunity to adopt needy, white children. Thousands upon thousands of children from Russia and Eastern Europe were adopted in New York during the 1990’s and 2000’s, and the vast majority of these adoptions produced genuinely happy families. The children were excited to have loving families and the adoptive parents were excited to have a child to love. However, some children had difficulty transitioning to life in the United States while others were victims of abuse. Almost every adoptive case I worked with had a happy ending. Every adoptive case except for one. I hesitate to say that the “child” in question was actually a child. Sometimes I think that I legitimately was dealing with pure evil in human form.

There is no place in the world that is without children who are in need of assistance, whether they be adoption or not. In China any child that is abandoned or lost is considered an orphan (Andrew 124). In Russia nearly every mentally or physically handicapped child is sent to “baby homes”, an orphanage for newborns to three year olds (Characteristics of Children). In Guatemala political, social, and economical forces have prevented many biological parents to care for their children (Yemm). Everywhere the predicament of children, who have no control over their own lives, has been brought to many figures of authority to plead their cause. The United States has a particularly strong bond with China, when it comes to adoption. This is because

Many people believe that international adoptions are a positive thing, and help provide a brighter future for the children they adopt. However, many countries have strict laws on international adoptions. The article Home Alone ventures to say that, "poor countries should fix their adoption systems so that, once domestic possibilities have been exhausted, foreigners can step in" (Home Alone). International adoptions can sometimes be tricky. Many countries have constantly changing laws on international adoption. "Adoption laws change from year to year, and from country to country. Changes in intercountry adoption bans and regulations in different countries may cause unexpected challenges for prospective international adoptive parents." (Child Welfare Information Gateway). Often times many international adoptions can become corrupt. Children are sometimes smuggled across borders. "If the children travel through an official border the adult who accompanies them needs to have paperwork, but in its absence a bit of money in an envelope does the trick"

The image of an American family has changed dramatically over the last fifty years. American families are no longer modeled after the Cleavers. International adoption has contributed to this changing family view, bringing in children who are not biologically related to their parents and often of a different race. This new American image has helped eliminate race related issues. So, what is the controversy with international adoption? Children are the future of a country; children are human resources. If a country is losing their children to international adoption; the county is losing the gifts and talents that are irreplaceable in those children. Intercountry adoption should not be a viable adoption source because this process does not adequately benefit those involved, international adoption exploits poor children and hurts their countries of origin.

There are two types of adoption; these are out of country and in country adoption. Out of country adoption is when you adopt a child or baby out of the country that you live in. In country adoption is when you adopt a child or baby in the same country that you are a citizen of. Adoption is a long and stressful process with both types. There is two ways for both with an agency and with a lawyer/private.

At the height of Americans adopting from China almost 8,000 children were adopted from China in 2005. In 2006, the Chinese government began tightening the requirements for American parents. The new regulations included - a requirement that applicants have a body-mass index of less than 40, no criminal record, a high school diploma and be free of certain health problems like AIDS and cancer. All couples must have been married for at least two years and have had no more than two divorces between them. The restrictions also have financial barriers that families must meet. All adoptive parents must have a net worth of at least $80,000 and income of at least $10,000 per person in the household, including the prospective adoptive child (Belluck & Yardley, 2006). The number of children adopted from China in 2015 was 2,354 down from 7,903 in 2005 (Statistics, 2016). Even with restrictions in place celebrities are among the adoptive parents of Chinese and Asian

Adopting a child is an experience that promises to bring great joy as it changes a couple or individual’s life forever. But what happens if the mother of that child wants to endorse their child? Those are the issues that many adopting parents and birth-right mothers are facing today. Many biological mothers want their child back. There are many concerns for adopting parents to know- that there is the possibly that the birth mother may file for the child. As a birth mother or the adopting parent one must realize consequences that could lay ahead.