Grandparenting: Pros and cons of foreign adoptions Tuesday, March 28, 2006
By Dee and Tom Hardie, and Cousin Key Kidder/ Local Columnist
Q: I thought finally becoming a grandmother would make my life complete until I heard horror stories of people who adopted foreign babies, which is exactly what my daughter has in mind. Friends say people in the baby business bend over backwards to sell foreign children, knowing all the while they’re damaged goods that can make these kids nightmares for families adopting them. Don’t you do better adopting Americans? -- Easton, Md. [More...]

A Battle Fought, and Won 29 March 2006
by Baroness Emma Nicholson
A campaigner against international adoptions would like to move on – but the pro-adoption lobby won’t let her. Successive Romanian governments have made it clear that intercountry adoptions (ICAs) are no longer permitted. The decision to ban ICAs came about because the market in children – following 1997 legislation permitting international adoption – led to rampant corruption that had a negative impact on child healthcare and development in Romania. [More...]

Adoptions [without] borders Sunday, March 26, 2006
Parents say international route presents fewer roadblocks in journey toward happy families
By Terry Rombeck (Contact)
Alena Johnson remembers snapshots from her time in Russia — a caretaker, a playground slide often covered with ice, the Russian word for “hello.” And she remembers the most important detail. “In Russia,” she says, “we didn’t have any parents.” In 2002, Alena, 7, and her sister Anya, 9, found parents half a world away — Jeff and Kathleen Johnson of Lawrence. The girls were among the more than 22,000 children from foreign countries adopted annually by Americans. “It just kind of spoke to us,” Kathleen Johnson says of adopting from Russia. “People say when you meet the guy you’re going to marry, or your spouse, you know. We just felt right about it.” [More...]

Sherwood teen is glad she got a second chance at life
By Greg Rayburn
Editor
There’s an old saying: Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That’s the self-proclaimed motto of Sherwood teenager Katya Lyzhina, 16, who is the adopted daughter of Sherwood resident Jan Scholl. Lyzhina came to Sherwood five years ago from the Russian city of Yekaterinbrg, located near Siberia. Katya said she believes she has a bright future ahead of her thanks to Jan, who adopted her just before Jan became too old to be allowed to adopt a child. Jan, who has another adopted full-grown child, said she felt it is important to adopt children who come from difficult circumstances. [More...]

A world of children
International adoptions grow throughout U.S.
By Samara Kalk Derby
Scott and Sue Swain met their daughter Katie when she was 5 months old. The Swains had just traveled 16 hours by plane - not counting an eight-hour layover in Moscow - to an orphanage in the Russian city of Tomsk and when an orphanage official put the baby in their arms "it was all over," Scott said. Her name was Ekaterina and she "wasn't in the best shape," he said. She had a slight sinus problem and didn't register on U.S. height and weight charts. Three years later, Katie is in the [More...]

Child Citizenship Act Regulations March 3rd, 2006
by Gregory Siskind
The Child and Citizenship Act (CCA) of 2001 amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide US Citizenship to certain children born abroad. In 2004, the USCIS restructured the processing of Certificates of Citizenship for certain children adopted abroad. These procedures target newly entering IR-3 children, children fully and finally adopted abroad, who are automatically US Citizens upon arrival in the US. The changes made by the CCA significantly change nationality laws in the US by allowing automatic acquisition of citizenship and permanent protection from deportation for adopted children of US citizens. This article addresses frequently asked questions and issues surrounding the CCA and the streamlined processing for IR-3 children. [More...]

Local women off to Ukraine to help special-needs kids Monday, March 20, 2006
By Tonya McKiever Staff Writer // tonyam@nwanews.com
BENTONVILLE — Amanda and Jimmie Clark are the parents of three special-needs children adopted from a Ukranian orphanage. Each child — boys, Leks and Dima, and girl Lena — have cerebral palsy. First, they brought the boys home. When they learned Lena’s adoption by another family fell through, Amanda and Jimmie returned to Ukraine to bring Lena home. Because she has watched her children make such terrific progress through the physical therapy they’ve received, Amanda is headed back overseas to help the kids still in the orphanage and a nearby institution. Traveling with Amanda are Kym Hannah and Karen Hairston. Both women are physical therapists at Children’s Therapy Services in Fayetteville. [More...]

‘I owe my fa mily to Catholic Charities’ 3/16/2006
Laura Kiritsy
lkiritsy@baywindows.com
When I heard the news of Catholic Charities’s decision to discontinue providing adoption services rather than facilitate the placement of children with qualified same-sex parents, I felt like I’d just learned that someone close to me had died. That the Archdiocese of Boston, which has put barring same-sex couples from the institution of civil marriage at the top of its agenda, chose once again to negate the worth of gay people certainly wasn’t surprising. Neither was the disregard for the welfare of children inherent in the move by Catholic Charities, given that the Archdiocese for decades shuffled known pedophile priests between parishes — and has subsequently failed, since the abuse scandal exploded four years ago, to fully institute safeguards to prevent future abuse. But as one who has benefited from the good work of Catholic Charities’s adoption services, its decision to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, caused me a profound personal sadness. [More...]

MOC-FV coach waiting on adoption word By Terry Hersom Journal sports editor
DES MOINES -- The call could come at any time and Loren DeJong will have to drop everything. DeJong is just thankful it didn't happen while his MOC-Floyd Valley basketball team was playing in another state tournament. The defending Class 3A state champs reached the tourney semifinals with a dramatic 65-62 win Wednesday over Cedar Rapids Xavier. They'll face Grinnell at 8:15 tonight. Meanwhile, DeJong and his wife, Patt, are basically on-call, awaiting word on when they can take the next step in their bid to adopt two orphaned children from Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. [More...]

South Fort pole vaulter Russian-born, but soaring in America March 15, 2006
JASON NUTTLE jason.nuttle@scripps.com
TROPICAL FARMS — South Fork pole vaulter Alex Merritt doesn't remember much of the Russian language. Just a few simple phrases, including "Do svidaniya." In English, the term means goodbye. English. "I've lived here long enough to forget Russian," he said. Sheldon and Dana Merritt adopted the trio from Siberia and brought them into a family that already included two teenage children. They lived in Jupiter at the time but moved to the Stuart. "They basically picked me out," Alex said. "I love them very much, and they love me very much. They've supported me in what I do, especially in sports and in school." [More...]

From Russia with love March 15, 2006
BCC hopes fundraiser helps spark interest in adoptions from abroad
Drive past Brevard Community College's Prevatt Pavilion in Melbourne between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. today and you'll encounter an extraordinary fundraising theme: the plight of Russian orphans. "You can't hear these stories without being affected," says BCC-Melbourne dean of student services Hep Aldridge. "This is a humanitarian effort, and the students wanted to try to do something that would help make a difference." [More...]

Moscovici: I truly hope the adoption issue will be solved in the coming months Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Denisa Maruntoiu
The vice president of the European Parliament (EP), who is also the EP rapporteur on Romania, Pierre Moscovici, believes that the EU lawmakers' vote in December on his report on Romania's progress towards EU accession clearly underlines that the members of the EP support the resumption of international adoptions, especially in the cases of the "pipeline" children. What's more, Moscovici labels the vote as marking a turning point in the position of the EP, which until recently appeared to be a genuine supporter of the former rapporteur on Romania and leader of the most forceful anti-international adoption campaign, Baroness Emma Nicholson. [More...]

Dream of a lifetime Making room for Russian boy Sun, Mar. 12, 2006
By GENELLE HOBAN For Times Leader
We knew within a couple of days that we wanted to adopt him.” Judy Perry She and her husband, Bill, began the process of adopting the 1 1-year-old boy from Russia that they met through Volunteers of America’s Summer Dreams program He’d eat five bananas in one sitting, and he picked a backyard apple tree dry, stuffing his pockets with the fruit he feared would disappear. At least initially, he turned up his nose even at pizza. [More...]

Alleged adoption scam still stings March 13, 2006
By Richard D. Walton
richard.walton@indystar.com
Indy-area couples say woman facing charges offered a false hope of adoptive parenthood
Jeff and Annie Atkinson wanted to adopt, but somehow their attempt through a traditional agency never quite worked out. So when the Noblesville couple learned about a Carmel woman with connections to a Ukrainian orphanage, they jumped at the chance. Victoria Farahan seemed to be the real deal. The Atkinsons met her through their church youth minister. A respected local physician also vouched for her. The couple paid Farahan $5,000, and she found them a baby girl. "We had the nursery all laid out," Jeff Atkinson recalled. "I had this little girl in my heart." But the baby never [More...]

Couple struggles to build family Sunday March 12, 2006
By DAVID MEKEEL
Staff Writer
Lebanon Daily News
Brian and Stephanie Carpenter know how difficult adopting a child from overseas can be. Eight years ago, they dove into the process head-first, bringing home a 17-month-old Russian girl named Sasha from an orphanage in the small town of Ulyonovsk on Sept. 24, 1998. Two years ago, thrilled with the experience of raising their first adopted daughter, now a third-grader at Lititz Area Mennonite School, the South Lebanon couple decided to try it again. [More...]

British citizen supports Nicholson's vision Monday, March 13, 2006
Dozens of people have contacted our newsroom following yesterday's story on international adoptions. Nevertheless, only one person, British Brian Douglas, expressed a similar position to the one of Baroness Emma Nicholson. And as Bucharest Daily News has promised to publish all opinions no matter if pro or against international adoptions, in today's' edition you can read Douglas' full answer. [More...]

Woman admits killing childMar 2, 2006
BY MATTHEW BARAKAT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
She beat to death the adopted 2-year-old Russian orphan; said she couldn't bond with girl
MANASSAS -- A woman who adopted a 2-year-old girl from a Siberian orphanage and complained that she was unable to bond with the child pleaded guilty to beating her to death. Peggy Sue Hilt, 33, of Wake Forest, N.C., entered her plea to second-degree murder yesterday in Prince William County Circuit Court, avoiding the possibility of a first-degree murder conviction and life sentence. [More...]

From Ukraine,with love THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2006
Hartselle couple traveloverseas in search of children
Tanya Hollingsworth wanted her husband, Richard, with her that day in late 1999 at The University of Alabama Hospital at Birmingham. She wanted him to share the joy when she surely would learn that in vitro fertilization was a success. Years earlier, the Hartselle couple went through fertility treatments at UAB. Nothing worked. Now she was 39, and he was 50. This would be their last chance. [More...]

European parliamentarians change the course of international adoptions in Romania Thursday, March 9, 2006
Denisa Maruntoiu
In spite of the general belief among Romanians that the European Union fully supports the law banning international adoptions, Bucharest Daily News found out a significant number of EU lawmakers fight a tough battle to persuade both the European Commission and the Romanian government that such adoptions are a viable alternative for orphaned children. [More...]

Father's Dream Brings Russian Orphans To Central Fla. March 7, 2006
LADY LAKE, Fla. -- A miracle is defined as an event that can't be explained by the laws of nature, and a miracle is exactly what a Lake County man claims happened to him. Rick and Stephanie Silanskas had four almost-grown children and thought their family was complete, WESH 2 News reported. But on a December night in 2002, Rick had a dream so vivid it changed their lives. "I felt like a father whose child had been abducted or missing. That's the only way to describe this to you," he said. [More...]

Meeting on Russian adoption scheduled SATURDAY MARCH 4, 2006
By Dan Lavoie
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD NEWS
FRANKFORT — In the airy sanctuary of a Frankfort church Saturday, nearly a dozen Southland families may decide to open their hearts and homes to a young stranger. The families are considering the adoption of a Russian child, one of thousands living in grim orphanages, said Michaelyn Sloan, the international adoption coordinator for St. Mary's Services. Sloan, based in Frankfort, helped arrange the meeting for prospective parents Saturday as part of the Bridge of Hope program that brings older Russian orphans to the United States for the summer in the hopes of matching them with "forever families." [More...]

Albers couple open their hearts to adopted family Sun, Feb. 26, 2006
BY MAUREEN HOUSTON
News-Democrat
The front door is open, but no one responds to the ring of the doorbell. A few moments pass. A voice from inside calls, "Come on in. Come on in." Cindy Heimann is leaning over a crib in a room off the foyer, changing her 2-year-old's diaper. Dark-eyed Katrina smiles angelically as Dad Tim rushes in to grab the dirty diaper. Six months ago, the baby room with the crib was Cindy's office. She and Tim were self-described high-energy workaholics, running [More...]

Mother Admits Killing Daughter Thursday, March 2, 2006
By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Death of Russian Child Could Imperil Future Adoptions
Peggy Sue Hilt, standing in a Manassas courtroom yesterday, admitted killing her adopted Russian daughter, punching and kicking the 2-year-old so much that the tiny body was bruised all over. Between her eyes, on her chin, across her back and stomach. Hilt had been enraged, she told police, and she had never bonded with the child. [More...]

Orphan Reunited With N.Y. Relatives Friday, March 3, 2006.
By Ula Ilnytzky
The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- For six long years, Raisa Skakun lived in an orphanage in Odessa, waiting for word that would reunite her with her grandmother and brother in Brooklyn, New York. Then, a twice- rejected application to bring the 12-year-old to the United States was suddenly approved. On Tuesday, Raisa, who wore a denim skirt, her ponytail poking out from a turquoise cap pulled low over her forehead, smiled broadly at a luncheon to celebrate the happy outcome -- life in Coney Island with her grandmother, Larisa Bebeshko, 65, and her 17-year-old half brother, Alex Krylov. [More...]

Woman admits killing child Mar 2, 2006
BY MATTHEW BARAKAT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
She beat to death the adopted 2-year-old Russian orphan; said she couldn't bond with girl
MANASSAS -- A woman who adopted a 2-year-old girl from a Siberian orphanage and complained that she was unable to bond with the child pleaded guilty to beating her to death. Peggy Sue Hilt, 33, of Wake Forest, N.C., entered her plea to second-degree murder yesterday in Prince William County Circuit Court, avoiding the possibility of a first-degree murder conviction and life sentence. [More...]

Woman enters plea in child death Thu, Mar. 02, 2006
MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press
33-year-old had said she was unable to bond with the adopted girl
MANASSAS, Va. - An N.C. woman who adopted a 2-year-old girl from a Siberian orphanage and complained that she was unable to bond with the child pleaded guilty Wednesday to beating her to death. Peggy Sue Hilt, 33, of Wake Forest entered her plea to second-degree murder in Prince William Circuit Court, avoiding the possibility of a first-degree murder conviction and a possible life sentence. [More...]

Unwanted babies deserve a fighting chance March 01, 2006
Postview
Children's rights form a rare common ground shared by all political spectrums, religions and nationalities. Though ideal solutions to unwanted children differ, no sane adult believes any child should grow up without a nurturing home. As the Czech Republic begins adopting a technological ground-level solution in the form of heated, alarm-equipped baby boxes at private hospitals, the country finds itself wrestling with questions that do little to bring about meaningful solutions. It's inherently chilling to encounter a metal door in the wall that looks to all appearances like a library book deposit chute and imagine a parent placing an infant inside and walking away forever. But the consequences of a system that provides no options or resources for unwanted and orphaned children are far worse. [more...]

Mother Admits Killing Daughter Thursday, March 2, 2006
By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Death of Russian Child Could Imperil Future Adoptions
Peggy Sue Hilt, standing in a Manassas courtroom yesterday, admitted killing her adopted Russian daughter, punching and kicking the 2-year-old so much that the tiny body was bruised all over. Between her eyes, on her chin, across her back and stomach. Hilt had been enraged, she told police, and she had never bonded with the child. Her court appearance was brief -- just long enough for a detective to describe the abuse and for Hilt to whisper a guilty plea to second-degree murder -- but the child's slaying has caused an international uproar. [More...]

U.S. woman pleads guilty of murdering adopted Russian daughter 01/ 03/ 2006
WASHINGTON, March 1 (RIA Novosti) - An American woman pleaded guilty of murdering her adopted two-and-a-half year-old Russian daughter in court Wednesday. At a court session in Manassas, Virginia, Peggy Sue Hilt, who was facing a charge of second-degree murder, confessed to having killed Nina Hilt. The child, originally named Viktoria Bazhenova, had lived in an orphanage in the Siberian city of Irkutsk before the adoption. Hilt, 33, now faces a prison term of 5-40 years. The court will announce the verdict on May 25. [More...]

Woman pleads guilty in death of adoptee Wednesday, March 1, 2006
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MANASSAS, Va. -- A woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to beating to death a 2-year-old girl she had adopted from an orphanage in Siberia. Peggy Sue Hilt, 33, of Wake Forest, N.C., choked back tears as she entered the plea to second-degree murder. She could get up to 40 years in prison at sentencing May 25. The little girl, Nina, died in Manassas last summer after the family came to Virginia for the Fourth of July. A detective testified that Hilt admitted that she became upset with the girl for crying and dropped her on the floor, kicked her and jumped on her abdomen. [More...]

Mother to plead guilty in death Mar 01, 2006
Adopted girl was beaten, later died
Jennifer Brevorka, Staff Writer
A Wake Forest mother accused of fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter last summer is expected to plead guilty to second-degree murder today in a Virginia courtroom, prosecutors said. Peggy Sue Hilt will be sentenced after a hearing this spring, said J. Regan Wilson, assistant commonwealth attorney in Prince William County, Va. Hilt's family and friends will speak at the sentencing hearing before a judge determines how much time, if any, Hilt should spend in prison, said her attorney, William Stephens. [More...]