Lifelink International opens local office Monday, October 31, 2005
Downtown church helped bring adoption agency to area
By SARAH ANTONACCI
STAFF WRITER
Local families seeking to adopt children from other countries have a new way to do it: closer to home. On Sunday, First Christian Church, 700 S. Sixth St., cut the ribbon for a Lifelink International office in Springfield. "This will give people in central and southern Illinois more central access to Lifelink's services," said the Rev. Richard Irwin, senior pastor at the church. [More...]

Residency a breakthrough in bid to adopt Romanian child 31 October 2005
Alana Cleland has had the breakthrough she needs to adopt her Romanian foster son, Iani Lingurar, and return to New Zealand. The New Plymouth woman has been granted Romanian residency, meaning she can begin the process of adopting seven-year-old Iani. Miss Cleland, 29, who is the only mother Iani has ever known, received the good news by letter from the Bucharest Foreign Office early on Saturday morning, New Zealand time. "I'm really excited. It means I now qualify to officially adopt Iani," Miss Cleland told the Taranaki Daily News by telephone. Only Romanian residents or citizens are allowed to adopt Romanian children. Tomorrow, Miss Cleland will apply for her residency identification card from the visa office in Timisoara, where she lives. That process is expected to take about a month. {more...]

Adoption an enriching, but costly experience Oct 29, 2005
By Janine Anderson
RACINE - Kymberlea Richtmyre calls it being pregnant on paper: This period between when she and her husband, Ed, have been assigned a baby to adopt, and when they can actually bring her home. This is the second time the couple is adopting a girl from Guatemala. They expect to bring Sinise home sometime after Nov. 10, when they get the call that the adoption has been finalized and they can come pick her up. [More...]

Russian Orphans Left Behind Created: 27.10.2005
Antonina Frolenkova
The Moscow News
According to Moscow ZAGS (Citizens Status Registration Department) statistics, 1,034 children were adopted in the past eight months, which is 200 kids less than in the same period of the previous year. This annual reduction in the number of adoptions has been the trend for the past 10 years. Some believe that Russians don’t want to take children into their families due to financial difficulties, while experts say that reason is important but not decisive. After all, the most active adoption period in the city’s latest history was in the mid 1980s, when Muscovites were definitely poorer than today. “People’s reluctance to help orphans is a myth from which some officials profit,” Maria Ternovskaya, director of Children’s Home 19, asserts. [More...]

Adopting Kids, Foolishly Oct. 27, 2005
Worried about adoption? It may not be as daunting as you think.
By Selena Maranjian
If you've ever thought about adopting a child but assumed that you couldn't afford it, think again. It may not be as expensive as you think, and there are ways to shrink the bill. For starters, your employer might have an adoption assistance program, which can help with expenses. For example, if you work at Intuit(Nasdaq: INTU), you may be able to take advantage of up to $3,500 in adoption expense reimbursement, paid time off, and immediate health insurance for the new family member. (And that's per child.) [More...]

Angelina Jolie Escapes Law Jungle October 27, 2005
Angelina Jolie is relieved she didn’t have to re-file adoption paperwork after a woman claiming she was the biological mother of the Ethiopian baby girl Zahara came forward to thank the actress for giving her child a better life. An Ethiopian judge has ruled that Angelina Jolie is the legal guardian of her baby daughter Zahara, according to Contactmusic. Judge Dadnachew Tesfaye, who investigated the case, said the actress did nothing wrong and the baby in now legally hers. "The adoption is legal and still stands. The evidence presented to the court shows the child was an orphan. That is sufficient", the judge declared. [More...]

Adopting two girls from Russian orphanage Wednesday, October 26, 2005
By Jim A. Bartd Why would parents with five children of their own, ages 3 to 11, want to adopt two children from another country who can hardly speak our language? That's the common question James and Mary Hausladen receive when they tell people about adopting two girls from an orphanage in Russia. The Hausladens, who live in the country just across the Carver County line in McLeod County, say the number of their own children is not the reason to adopt. [More...]

Worldwide Orphans Foundation First Benefit Raises Awareness, Funds October 25, 2005
Special Guest, Angelina Jolie, Shares a Dream and Pledges Support
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2005--Worldwide Orphans Foundation (WWO) drew a crowd of 650 supporters at its First Annual Benefit Gala last night at Capitale in New York City. The gala helped WWO to raise more than $775,000. The mission of Worldwide Orphans Foundation is to identify the immediate and long-term medical, developmental, social and emotional needs of children living in orphanages and to provide direct services to improve their quality of life. Special Guest, Angelina Jolie, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador and adoptive mother of two, attended the Gala to show her support and honor the work of WWO and its founder, Dr. Jane Aronson. [More...]

Russian Woman Jailed for 6 Years for Selling Daughter for Body Parts 25.10.2005
MosNews
A Russian woman was sentenced to six years in jail for selling her daughter for $10,000 even after being warned that the child’s organs would be sold, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday. An official release posted on the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office web-site said that Olga Zelentsova had been found guilty of human trafficking of a minor committed with the intent of the victim’s exploitation or withdrawal of the victim’s organs or tissues. [More...]

St. Paul effort meets adoption's challenges October 24, 2005
by Bob Reha, Minnesota Public Radio
About 2,000 children are adopted by Minnesota families every year. For the past four years the St. Paul Public Schools have been providing classes that allow families with adopted children to meet and learn from each other.
St. Paul, Minn. — Soft cheers are the greeting for a group of young children and their parents who convene every Tuesday evening at the Eastside Community Center in St. Paul. The class is one of many early childhood education classes offered by the St. Paul Public Schools. What sets this class apart from the others is that all of the children here are adopted. [More...]

Utahns host Ukrainian kids Sunday, October 23, 2005
Visit may bring new lives for 31 youngsters from orphanages
By Angie Welling
Deseret Morning News
For weeks, Annie Soderberg has been telling her classmates about her new sisters. She's been taking pictures of the two girls to school and talking about when they would finally make their way to Utah. Late Friday, the 6- and 8-year-old girls — Olena and Galyna — and 29 other Ukrainian children arrived in Salt Lake City, meeting the families that will host them for the next two weeks in hopes of their eventual adoption. [More...]

Thirty-one Ukrainian Orphans Hope To Make Utah Home October 22nd, 2005
(KSL News) -- The "Welcome Wagons" were at the Salt Lake airport late last night for some pretty special visitors. Thirty-one orphans from Ukraine were greeted by Utah families who may be adopting some of them! After adopting two daughters of their own, Vern and Nanette Garrett started a charity called "Save a Child". They're helping other Utah families cut through the red tape of adoption, and have arranged for these children, ages 5 to 15 to come for a three week visit to Salt Lake so families have a chance to get to know the child. [More...]

Truly a life-changing experience
SHALINI UMACHANDRAN
My Temporary Son: An Orphan's Journey, Timeri N. Murari, Penguin, Rs. 250.
EXPERIENCES are so often described as "life-changing" that the adjective seems clichéd, almost valueless. But Timeri N. Murari's book My Temporary Son: An Orphan's Journey is about a truly life-changing experience — the story of a child bringing magic into two lives and teaching lessons of resilience and love. It is a warm story of a little boy, an orphan with a fairly serious health problem, who takes over the lives of an elderly, childless couple who believe they have seen, done and experienced pretty much everything. [More...]

Loomis teen travels to orphanage in Romania where he spent his infancy Thursday, October 20, 2005
Samuel Canty performed volunteer service and met his birth mother
By: Michelle Miller, Journal Staff Writer
Seventeen-year-old Samuel Canty of Loomis sometimes thinks how different his life would have been had he remained an orphan in Romania. He got a glimpse of what might have been when he returned to Romania a few weeks ago to volunteer in the very orphanage he came from and meet his birth mother for the first time. [More...]

Realtor(r) Magazine Announces Winners of Sixth Annual Good Neighbor Awards 10/20/2005
To: National Desk, Business Reporter, Real Estate Reporter
Contact: Sara Geimer of National Association of Realtors, 312/329-8296 or sgeimer@realtors.org ; Web: http://www.realtor.org
CHICAGO, Oct. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- REALTOR Magazine, the official publication of the National Association of Realtors(r), has announced the names of the five recipients of its sixth annual Good Neighbor Awards. ...............The 2005 winners of REALTOR(r)Magazine's Good Neighbor Awards are David C. Forward, Weichert, Realtors(r), Medford, N.J., who founded the International Children's Aid Foundation, which supports more than 200 orphans in Romania; Howard G. [More...]

Washington should respect Russia's interests in post-Soviet space- ambassador 20/ 10/ 2005
MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. ambassador to Russia William Burns told a State Duma session dedicated to Russian-American relations Thursday that Washington should better recognize the importance of Russia's interests in the former Soviet republics..............Burns also touched on another sensitive issue, a recent adoption scandal involving the death of a Russian child at the hands of her American adoptive mother. He urged closer cooperation to prevent similar tragedies in the future. [More...]

Russian orphan still needs home Posted: 10/19/05
DALLAS—Oksana, a 13-year-old orphan from St. Petersburg, Russia, still needs a family after visiting North Texas last summer through Buckner Orphan Care International’s ‘Angels from Abroad’ program. Oksana lived with a volunteer host family for two weeks as part of the ‘Angels’ initiative, designed to help raise awareness about the needs of older children living in Russian orphanages and Buckner’s programs to improve their lives. The urgent nature of the adoption need is both physical and emotional, said Mary Ann Hamby of Buckner International Adoption, also an adoptive parent. [More...]

Today's Community Calendar Wed. October 19, 2005
WIDE HORIZONS FOR CHILDREN, a private non-profit adoption agency, is celebrating its 30th year and will be hosting a Program Introduction meeting on Russia from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Bedford office at 116 South River Road, Building D, Unit 2. There is no cost for these meetings, however, registration is required by calling 792-2030, Ext. 100 or online at http://www.whfc.org/ [More...]

Adoption fraud case sent to Primorye court Oct 18 2005 11:49AM
VLADIVOSTOK. Oct 18 (Interfax) - The prosecutor's office of Vladivostok's Leninsky district has sent to court its criminal case opened following the adoption of two Russian-born children by U.S. citizens. The press service of the Primorye prosecutor's office told Interfax on Tuesday that Vladivostok's Children's Hospital No. 2 employee Yelena Luchnikova, who is suspected of arranging the adoption, has already been charged. [More...]

Hausladen family set to adopt two Russian girls Oct. 17, 2005
Herald Journal
By Ryan Gueningsman; Staff Writer
Two orphans from Russia will have a chance at a better life if James and Mary Hausladen of rural Winsted are able to adopt them. During August, the Hausladen family spent a little more than two weeks with Yana, 15, and Ksenia, 11, two sisters who are living in a Russian orphanage. The Hausladens have lived on their farm, located between Winsted and New Germany, for about 15 years. James, who farms full-time, is a graduate of Holy Trinity of Winsted, while Mary is a Dassel-Cokato graduate. Mary is also a full-time student at Crown College in St. Bonifacius, studying psychology. [More...]

Girl with ‘problems’ is no problem By Joe Pinchot
THE HERALD (SHARON, Pa.)
SHARON, Pa. —
Emily is chewing on her dad’s ballcap while playing with a big yellow ball. The Sharon, Pa., girl says “Hi” to everyone and greets people with a smile seemingly larger than her 13-month-old body. She cruises about the room chewing on books, trying to sneak away from her parents, Ronald E. Powell II and Tammy Marie Powell. But she doesn’t stray too far and protests that mom and dad are talking to a visitor, not her. [More...]

Ukraine Suspends Foreign Adoption of Children Created: 14.10.2005
MosNews
Child adoption by foreigners has been suspended in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Education and Science Ministry’s center of children adoption has temporarily stopped receiving documents from U.S., Italian, Spanish, German, French and Canadian citizens who want to adopt Ukrainian children. The center’s director, Yevgenia Chernyshova, quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency, said the reason was the lack of information on the fate of children adopted earlier by citizens of those countries. She added that adoptions would be resumed in each of the countries separately when the information appeared. [More...]

Congress honors couple's efforts on behalf of kids, parents Friday, October 14, 2005
By DEENA YELLIN
STAFF WRITER
Carol Ann Tesoriero figured God was sending her a message. She and her husband, John, had delayed having children until they were in their late 30s. But when they were finally ready, they had difficulty. Doctors suggested fertility treatments but the Tesorieros weren't interested. "We thought, maybe God is telling us something. We wanted a child, and there are children out there who need homes," Carol Ann said. [More...]

Adoption option Friday, October 14, 2005
Families share the joys and tribulations they encountered in bringing baby home -- from Russia, China or right next door
Dawn Yun, Special to The Chronicle
Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Rosie O'Donnell, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Bob Geldof, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kirstie Alley share more than wealth and celebrity. All have adopted children. [More...]

After $80,000 and 4 trips to Russia, Novato couple's family is complete Friday, October 14, 2005
Dawn Yun, Special to The Chronicle
For Lori Williams and her husband, John Maliano, it is impossible to put a price on family. But if they had to add up the costs, it would come to something like $80,000 to adopt their two young daughters, ages 2 1/2 and 13 months, from Russia. In fact, they had to refinance their house. "A lot of people go out and buy a new car for more than it would cost to adopt a child and don't blink an eye," Maliano said, putting the cost into perspective. "The value is so much more with a child than in spending money on your next luxury item like a car or a boat. How can you put a cost on a lifetime of happiness with a child?" [More...]

Government of Ukraine reins in adoptions due to non-compliance with post-adoption reports by American families BRAMA, Oct 12, 2005, 4:00 pm ET
Посольство України у Сполучених Штатах Америки
Embassy of Ukraine
3350 M St. NW ۰ Washington, DC 20007
(tel) 202-333-0606 ۰ (fax) 202-333-0817
ukraineinfo.us
Open Letter of the Embassy of Ukraine to the USA
Starting September 19, 2005, the Children Adoption Center of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine suspended the acceptance of new adoption dossiers from the US citizens. According to the Children Adoption Center, the decision to stop accepting certain dossiers was based mainly on the past non-compliance of some families with post-adoption reports, which are required by the Ukrainian law. According to the Children Adoption Center, the new procedures do not affect dossiers that have already been accepted, unless [More...]

Renee Zellweger Wants to Adopt
By: Mihaela Stroia, Entertainment Editor
"Renee still has to meet the same ten conditions as everybody else," and adoption agent said
Following Angelina Jolie's example, actress Renee Zellweger wants to adopt an orphan baby, because she feels too lonely after splitting up with her husband and she doesn't know if she will have a child of her own some day. As it was rumored weeks ago, Renee Zellweger split up with Kenny Chesney because he didn't want children. Apparently, the 36-year-old actress is said to have mentioned Chesney's reluctance to become a dad, even though "her biological clock is ticking loudly”. [More...]

To adopt, it can be tough to adapt Tuesday, October 11, 2005
BY GREG STEWART OF THE JOURNAL STAR
Acquiring a foreign baby isn't easy; ex-IVC football coach and his wife know FIRST OF FOUR PARTS CHILLICOTHE - Troy Webb always wanted to be a football coach. And after he got comfortable on the sidelines, he was motivated to take his teaching to the classroom. "Coaching is what prompted me to get into teaching," said Webb, a native of Pike County who is a junior high language-arts and social-studies teacher at Chillicothe Elementary Center. "And I always had aspirations to be head coach." [more...]

Ruth Ann Stratman - To and from Ukraine with love Monday, Oct 10, 2005
By LISA YORKGITIS
News Tribune
Ruth Ann Stratman spotted a book about drawing superheroes and set it aside to show her 11-year-old son, Luke. "This is cool, Mom," he told her. Stratman encouraged her son to check it out himself, but he resisted. Finally, he walked toward the counter. Stratman followed, staying a few steps behind. [more...]

Ex-Trappers adopting child Sun, October 9, 2005
By SCOTT ZERR -- Edmonton Sun
There are all sorts of topics up for discussion in the locker rooms and around the batting cages of major-league baseball. Over the course of the 2005 season, Matthew LeCroy was often the cause of much banter. True, the former Trapper of the Year created a great deal of the buzz with his penchant for unsightly dancing and on a few occasions for the long drives he'd smoke out of ballparks. But on many afternoons, LeCroy was sought out by fellow Minnesota Twins, players from other teams and even a good number of fans who were curious about adoption [More...]

Ultimate wish is granted for coach Published October 9, 2005
Jemele Hill
TAMPA -- It won't feel real until he hugs them. He won't believe it completely until he takes them home, shows them their new rooms and new toys, which are just small tokens that symbolize their brand new lives. Excuse USF strength and conditioning coach Ronnie McKeefery for being the only Bull in the Tampa area who still isn't basking in USF's improbable rout of Louisville on Sept. 24. Sorry, the biggest victory of McKeefery's life wasn't spanking the then-No. 9 team in America, which gave the Bulls their first victory ever against a Bowl Championship Series team. [More...]

Chosen ones Sun, October 9, 2005
By SCOTT ZERR, EDMONTON SUN
Ex-Trappers star Matthew LeCroy, who has played for the Minnesota Twins, and his wife Holly have gone the route of adoption There are all sorts of topics up for discussion in the locker rooms and around the batting cages of major-league baseball. Over the course of the 2005 season, Matthew LeCroy was often the cause of much banter. True, the former Trapper of the Year created a great deal of the buzz with his penchant for unsightly dancing and on a few occasions for the long drives he'd smoke out of ballparks. But on many afternoons, LeCroy was sought out by fellow Minnesota Twins, players from other teams and even a good number of fans who were curious about adoption [More...]

Judge fondly recalled 10/08/2005
By Jennifer Harr, Herald-Standard
On Friday, it was impossible to walk through the Fayette County Courthouse without hearing mention of former President Judge William J. Franks. His death from cancer early that morning prompted tears and heartfelt emotions about the man who was one of the most genuine people in the county's legal community. Nearly everyone who spoke of the 73-year-old called him compassionate and fair, both personally and professionally. .....Of the latter, he said his favorite part was presiding over adoption hearings. Franks said people who took in children and made them a part of their family warmed his heart. [more...]

Int’l conference “Women and Democracy” opens in Petersburg 06.10.2005, 11.23
ST. PETERSBURG, October 6 (Itar-Tass) - The fourth international conference “Women and Democracy” is opening in St. Petersburg on Thursday. Its agenda includes issues connected with men, women, authority, alternative to violence, harmonization of family life and career, as well a range of other problems. Leading political scientists, scientists, leaders and activists of public organizations from the Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as Central and Eastern Europe will take part in the three-day forum organized with support of the Council of Ministers of Nordic Countries and the St. Petersburg government. Some 700 delegates are expected to attend it. [More...]

Baby-beating case gets international attention Wednesday, October 5, 2005
Rob Seal
Potomac News
As far as international media events go, Peggy Sue Hilt's hearing was kind of a bust. The Winston Salem, N.C., woman was scheduled to be in a Prince William County courtroom Tuesday morning for a hearing on charges that she beat her 2-year-old adopted Russian daughter to death. Outside the courthouse, television cameras were set up, with broadcast trucks pointing satellites at the sky. In the hall outside the courtroom, reporters -- including some from major Russian television networks -- waited for the hearing to start. [More...]

Feds plan changes to make adopted babies instant citizens October 3, 2005 - 19:47
ALEXANDER PANETTA
OTTAWA (CP) - Foreign-born children adopted by Canadians would be made instant citizens under legislation about to be announced by the federal government. Ottawa says the move is about treating adopted children equally and erasing legal distinctions that make them different from biological children. Immigration Minister Joe Volpe confirmed Monday that he will introduce a bill this fall and said he hopes opposition parties will agree to pass it immediately. [More...]

A glass of something bright October 3, 2005
Shauna Farnell
VAIL - Imagine the wave of artistic inspiration that followed the fall of Communism in the former Soviet nations of Eastern Europe. In the world of glass, deep yellows, blues and reds began to emerge in a full dose of vibrant color to coincide with the countries' newly found freedom. {More...]

Omagh bomb widower finds wedding joy in adoption plan Mon, Oct 03 05
A MAN whose wife was killed in the Omagh bomb atrocity is to marry the Romanian mother of a child they tried to adopt. Kevin Skelton (50) will wed Maria Nedelcu at a registry office in the Co Tyrone town next week. Ms Nedelcu (39) has already moved to the North with two of her three daughters from her former home in Fagaras, central Romania. The couple met when Mr Skelton, whose wife Mena (49) died in the August 1998 Real IRA massacre, travelled to eastern Europe. [More...]

INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE PARENTS
Russian Federation
During the past 10 years unprecedented political and economic reforms have swept the country formerly known as the Soviet Union, then the Commonwealth of Independent States and finally the Russian Federation. Increased energy has been directed toward social reforms and the implementation of laws governing the adoption of Russian children by foreigners. Russia loves its’ children and accordingly has implemented laws, and amendments along the way, which place the interests of the children first. Most of the time, changes in the Russian adoption law have not caused significant delays. [More...]

Couple Adopts Twin Boys from Struggling Coun try
International adoptions offer hope to couples and loving homes to orphaned children
From: Castle Comments, November 1999 By Elizabeth Slagel, Public Affairs
After months of discussing and planning adoption, the answer came for Mark Kessinger and his wife Renee after sitting down and watching the evening news. The television screen illuminated with graphic pictures of overcrowded orphanages, filled with children surrendered by parents unable to feed them after the economy collapsed last year in an unstable Russia [More...]

Adoption unites Tri-City firefighters Sunday, October 2nd, 2005
By Genoa Sibold-Cohn, Herald staff writer
Firefighters Dan Cochran and Ken Buechler have battled Mid-Columbia blazes together, but they hadn't officially met until this week. Although the Richland men didn't know each other, they both share passions for firefighting and children. Cochran, 37, and Buechler, 41, have both worked for Tri-City fire departments for nearly two decades. But even more unusual is that the men and their families are in the process of adopting boys under age 5 from Russia. [More...]

Lakeview woman to travel around the world to adopt Monday, October 3, 2005
LINDA MASTERS
Bulletin Staff Writer
For information on what the U.S. Department of State can do concerning international adoption, visit http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/adoption_485.html and click on Children's Services under Other Services
The room is ready. The walls are painted pink, furniture is in place and clothes are tucked away and hanging in the closet. Like any expectant mother, Lisa Drake of Lakeview is ready for the arrival of her daughter. But Drake will not become a mother by a trip to a local hospital. Instead, she will journey halfway around the world to fulfill her dream of motherhood. [More...]

Investigation Launched into Angelina's Adoption of Zahara Sunday, October 02
Outraged Angelina Jolie has vowed never to give up her baby girl after African authorities ordered an investigation into claims that eight-month-old Zahara was illegally adopted. An Ethiopian government official told The National Enquirer that the 30-year-old Tomb Raider star may face a new court battle if the probe confirms the alleged irregularities. The devoted mom may even be asked to return to Ethiopia and reapply for Zahara's adoption. The shocking new development will stun the star, who has nursed the baby back to strength since bringing her to America in July. "Angelina spent a lot of time trying to ensure everything went smoothly," said a source close to the star in Los Angeles. "She is certain no laws were broken — but she will not risk going back to Ethiopia with Zahara. There is no way she will ever give up that child. She would rather give up her life." [More...]