Steps for children to become legal residents Sept. 30, 2005 12:00 AM Special for The Republic This information is for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who wish to bring their child to live permanently in this country. The immigration law defines a child as an unmarried person under the age of 21 (a minor) who is: • A child born to parents who are married to each other (born in wedlock). [More...] Scottish-Russian fostering experts exchange September 29, 2005 News@www.adoption-net.co.uk Kibble Education and Care Centre is playing host this week to two visitors from the unique Kitezh fostering community in Russia, reports the Glasgow Evening Times. Kibble is a huge centre, which provides a range of services to “young people at risk”, including the recently founded Intensive Fostering Services. These give specialist support to children and carers involved in the fostering process. The centre is based near Paisley, Scotland. [More...] Class educates the parents of adopted children Life ARLINGTON - On Oct. 8, Dillon International, Inc., will hold a class on the emotional and physical care of newly-adopted children. The workshop, which will focus on internationally adopted children, will be from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 261 of the First United Methodist Church, 313 N. Center, in Arlington. A Dillon International social worker and a registered nurse will present information and answer questions and topics including bonding and attachment issue, discipline, and eating and sleeping habits. The class is recommended for parents in the process of international adoption. The fee for the class is $75 and includes DVD/CD of the class. [More...] Russian children now call Cranberry home Wednesday, September 28, 2005 By Chris Geer, Staff Writer The emotion was clear in his voice as he said it. "Orphans don't ask to be born, they just want to be loved." With a shaved head and large frame, Cranberry Heights resident Frenchy Theberge can be an imposing figure. But as he talked, it was immediately obvious that his heart is even bigger. Frenchy and his wife, Nancy, just completed a journey to adopt two children from Russia that brought them from the suburbs of Pittsburgh to the foothills of Siberia. A trip that took them across 11 time zones -- almost around the world -- Frenchy and Nancy were fueled by a desire to make a difference and give love to those who had none. {More...] Colourful kids September 28, 2005 News@www.adoption-net.co.uk Highland children helped raise hundreds of pounds for Romanian orphans, following a sponsored crazy colour day. The 30 pupils at Roy Bridge Primary School took part in a non-uniform day and wore clothes made up of more than 20 colours. The school hopes to raise about £300 for children’s charity Liberis, which has connections with the village. [More...] Romania Seeks to Reverse a Harsh Era for Its Children Published: September 25, 2005 By NICHOLAS WOOD ARAD, Romania - Seated on a bed in her first-floor apartment here, Katrina Stoica held her 3-month-old daughter, Elizabeth, close and made what might seem like an unremarkable comment. "I'm glad to be with my baby," she said. "I have to be with her. I'm her mother." [More...] Assistant back from long trip for kids Published September 25, 2005 By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer TAMPA - The Bulls got a boost before Saturday's victory with the return of strength and conditioning coach Ronnie McKeefery, who has been away from the team since before the opener. McKeefery and wife Angie have been in the Ukraine, picking up three children - 3-year-old Maya and 5-year-old twins Tyler and Ava - they're adopting. McKeefery flew home after the adoption was given final approval, though his wife will remain in Kiev with the children during a mandatory 10-day waiting period before flying home to Tampa. [More...] Whose baby are you? Sunday September 25, 2005 The Observer In Nobody's Child Kate Adie has written a compelling book about foundlings like herself, says Don Boyd Anecdotal semi-autobiographies from the great and the good are often disappointing. Their authors are invariably economical with the truth and rarely have a self-critical perspective. Publishers have been seduced by the silly notion that because these people are famous, they can write. [More...] Suffer the Children Published: September 23, 2005 By Tom Birchenough "The Italian," an award-winning drama from director Andrei Kravchuk, deals with the hot-button issue of foreign adoptions of Russian orphans. Touching a sensitive subject, Andrei Kravchuk's "The Italian" (Italyanets) offers a hard-hitting portrayal of life in a Russian orphanage. But even as it spares few punches in its observations, the film commendably avoids any moralizing or sentimentality, focusing instead on the emotional realities of its protagonists. [More...] Wells Real Estate Funds' Gregg Dickson Honored as a Congressional Angel in Adoption(TM) September 23, 2005 ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 2005--Gregg Dickson, Director of Document and Content Management for Wells Real Estate Funds, has been selected by U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), as one of 180 congressional Angels in Adoption(TM) for 2005. Dickson and other award recipients were honored last week at a gala in Washington D.C., hosted by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush served as honorary co-chairs of the gala. [More...] Orphans in floods escape Story published on September 23, 2005 News@www.adoption-net.co.uk A holiday for Romanian orphans came close to turning to disaster when floods hit parts of Eastern Europe last month. Val Newton, who runs the charity Wales Romania Aid from her home near Cross Hands, had been in the region with 105 youngsters when the waters started rising. Torrential rain flooded their campsite, but did little more than give Val and her charges wet feet when water crept into their tents. [More...] Families yearn for Romania to lift adoption ban September 21, 2005 By B. BLAIR DEDRICK Scripps Howard Foundation Wire WASHINGTON - Every night when Laverna Soucie tucks her sons, 7 and 8, into bed, she thinks about the two girls to whom she doesn't get to say good night. Pamela, 4, and Gabriela, 3, are in Romania, in institutionalized care where they have been for the past 2 1/2 years while Soucie waits to bring them home to Chattanooga, Tenn. [More...] Family finds new hope after loss Wednesday, September 21, 2005 By Amy Dalrymple, The Forum DETROIT LAKES, Minn. – Connie Johnson didn’t choose to lose her 6-year-old son. But months after Evan died in a June 2003 hiking accident in Colorado, she felt God calling her to use that tragedy to open her home to someone who needed one. Evan slipped and fell into a deep pool at the base of a waterfall and drowned during a vacation at a campground near Silverton. [More...] 'Somber side' of overseas adoption is overstated 9/20/2005 My wife and I have adopted two children from Ukraine and are in the process of adopting again. Among our close friends, we know at least 30 kids who have been adopted internationally. USA TODAY's article "Overseas adoptions have a somber side," about adopted children's behavioral problems, paints a very negative view of adoption that I believe is overstated (Life, Wednesday). According to the article, 14 Russian children have died in cases where parents were charged or convicted in their deaths. I do not want to minimize these children's deaths, but I wonder how many children die every year in orphanages overseas. In the orphanage where my children lived, a large number died the previous winter when the heater failed and there wasn't money to repair it. I wonder, too, how many U.S.-born children are killed by their parents. [More...] Charity Vegas Night to benefit adopting families Monday, September 19, 2005 By The Porterville Recorder staff Like to eat? Like to gamble with play money? Then you'll want to attend the Operation Homecoming Charity Vegas Night at 5 p.m. Saturday to benefit three families trying to adopt children from Ukraine. "[This fund raiser is] to help raise money for the final adoption expenses," explained Liz Raya, a Porterville resident, who along with her husband, Scott, are trying to adopt Denis from Ukraine. "For one adoption, the total expense is about $15,000." [More...] Festival celebrates adoptions, families Mon, Sep. 19, 2005 ADOPTION: About 150 people attend the celebration. BY MARK STODGHILL NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER They came from China, Russia, Guatemala, Columbia, Mongolia and other points around the globe, but now they're all-American kids and acted like it Sunday on Park Point. They scarfed down hot dogs and cookies, ran in gunny-sack races and wore out a slide while laughing and bringing smiles to their families' faces. Lutheran Social Service hosted the Community Adoption Festival to celebrate and connect people who are adopted, have adopted, are adopting or are interested in adopting. About 150 people showed up on a pleasant day. [More...] Local churches organize summer holiday for 20 Ukrainian orphans © September 19, 2005 The Virginian-Pilot CHESAPEAKE — Before the visit began, Beth Perrenoud was nervous. All she knew of the two young sisters were their ages, first names and the smiling, heart-shaped faces they presented in photos. “Do I think I can have unconditional love for them?” she wondered. Officially, the children had come for a holiday packed with pool parties, cookouts and beach days, all organized by members of local churches [More...] Waiting Parents Protest Romania's Ban on International Adoption Monday, September 19, 2005 By B. Blair Dedrick - Every night when Laverna Soucie tucks her sons, 7 and 8, into bed, she thinks about the two girls to whom she doesn't get to say good-night. Washington, D.C. - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - infoZine - Pamela, 4, and Gabriela, 3, are in Romania, in institutionalized care where they have been for the past 2 ½ years while Soucie waits to bring them home to Chattanooga, Tenn. "It gets harder every time I have to leave them behind," Soucie said. The 42-year-old hospice nurse sees the sisters about twice a year on humanitarian trips she leads to Romania. "It's hard knowing the more years they spend in those institutions, the more damage is done. And some of it is irreversible," she said. [More...] Kalvitis admonishes justice minister for attack on judges 18.09.2005 By The Baltic Times staff RIGA – Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis has admonished Justice Minister Solvita Aboltina for her recent statements alleging corruption among the Riga District Court judges. After meeting with the justice minister on Tuesday, Kalvitis, a member of the People’s Party, told the press that Aboltina, of New Era, should have gotten the facts first to prove her allegations and only then blame the whole judiciary of corruption. The prime minister said that Aboltina had acted in a similar way previously when she accused Children and Family Affairs Minister Ainars Bastiks, a member of Latvia's First Party of being interested in the adoption of Latvian children abroad. “Taking into account your statements about the work of Children and Family Affairs Minister Ainars Bastiks, as well as your statements about the work of the Riga District Court, I reprimand you for repeatedly voicing statements which are unacceptable for the high office of minister,” Kalvitis said. “A minister, especially a justice minister, must refrain from making unsubstantiated hints, suggesting without any grounds the involvement of a particular individual in serious criminal offenses,” the prime minister said. Society: Nobody's Child by Kate Adie September 18, 2005 REVIEWED BY LESLEY WHITE NOBODY'S CHILD: Who Are You When You Don’t Know Your Past? by Kate Adie The abandoned baby tunnels direct to the heart. Orphaned and unwanted children are poignant enough, but the child intentionally left to the kindness of strangers (we rarely countenance the possibility of maternal indifference) somehow belongs to us all. The story of foundlings is one of mothers too poor or ashamed or incapable to cope; it is also, as Kate Adie shows in this mix of historical research and contemporary interviews, a sharp critique of societies divided by time, ideology and degrees of human sympathy. [More...] Romanian adoptions end U.S. parents' hopes September 16, 2005 By B. Blair Dedrick (AXcess News) Washington - Some parents who were registered by the Romanian government as adoptive parents and assigned a child are starting to realize a worse potential than the endless waiting. Julie Murrell of Guam, learned her assigned child, Cristina, 5, was adopted in Romania. She is one of the unlucky four or five who waited years, only to find that their children have new homes in Romania. "I have been vocal, involved with her and I have been to Romania," Murrell, 44, said. Cristina was adopted six months ago, two days before a friend visited the placement center, carrying presents a nd clothing for her. Murrell, whose family owns an automotive distribution, wholesale and retail business in Micronesia, has a son, 10, she and her husband, Dan, adopted in Hawaii. [More...] Children Refused to Go to United States // American Mormons were denied adoption of Russian children The court of Voronezh district denied the petition of Mormon couple Carl and Martha Chapman from Utah State, USA to adopt four Russian children from the foster homes. The court explained its refusal by the fact that American couple could not provide guaranties for full physical and spiritual development of the children. Carl and Martha Chapman from Utah found in Voronezh Region four girls for adoption through an American agency accredited in Russia. Sisters Anastasia (17), Olga (14), and Galina (9) whose parents were denied the parenthood rights, are living and studying in Borisoglebsk special foster school for children with no parents. And 11 years old Kristina studies at Bogucharsk special foster school. All four girls were present at the court session and only Olga was agree to go to her new American parents [More...] Adoption celebrated at gala September 16, 2005 The Angels in Adoption gala was planned originally to honor more than 190 parents who have made a special effort to open their homes to adopted children. It's a pet cause of first lady Laura Bush and sponsored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), a foster care advocacy group. The real stars Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt, however, were hundreds of children wearing braces, Brooks Brothers suits and crinoline dresses, dining on chicken fingers, french fries, ginger ale and Shirley Temples -- and staying up way past their bedtimes. [More...] ALL IN THE FAMILY Friday, September 16, 2005 By JEANETTE CALO Herald Staff Writer STILLWATER — Numerous bicycles littering the lawn of a township home are fitting signs of the life inside. The home of Paul and Bonnie Loza is filled with the noise that only 14 children, four horses, two dogs, several cats and a parrot can make. "We don't think about it much," said Bonnie Loza, as several of her children trooped in from the bus stop, kissing her and reaching for cookies. "It's just a natural part of our lives." "I don't think we're any more overwhelmed than some people I've seen with two children," Paul Loza added. Having adopted nine of their children from China, Cambodia and Russia in six years, the Lozas are adept in the process. Bonnie Loza, an international adoption program coordinator for Florida Home Studies and Adoption who recently returned from work for her agency in Vietnam, is officially an expert. [More...] Don't End Their Hope of a Home By Ann Hornaday Friday, September 16, 2005; Page A31 When Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the White House today, he and President Bush are expected to discuss such global issues as the environment, trade agreements, nuclear weapons and terrorism. But I hope that at some point they get around to talking about Alexei, Katya, Roma, Misha and Victoria. Alexei and Katya are just two of the 50,000 children who have been adopted from Russia by American families since 1991. Roma and Misha are just two of the estimated 30,000 kids who are living homeless on the streets and in the train stations of Moscow. They, along with more than a dozen of their friends, are the subjects of "The Children of Leningradsky," a wrenching documentary that will be televised on the Cinemax cable channel Sept. 28. [More...] Woman seeks Romanian OK for adoption European nation's ban blocks pleas by Louisvillian, others By James R. Carroll jcarroll@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal WASHINGTON -- While Karen Barrentine of Louisville was volunteering in a Romanian orphanage in 1999, a little girl plopped down in her lap. "Mama," said Elisabeta Andreea, who was not yet 2. "She was born in my heart that day," Barrentine said. She began the adoption process within months. But six years later, "Beta" remains in Romania [More...] Oversees adoptions can be difficult Sep. 14, 2005 at 7:48PM Many children adopted in the United States from abroad have physical and emotional problems hidden in brief visits to orphanages. More U.S. families are learning that children adopted from Eastern Europe have startlingly common behavior problems. Many of the problems arise because the children have spent long periods of time in poorly run orphanages without much attention, education or proper nourishment Russia is a top nation for Americans who adopt abroad. Last year U.S. parents brought home more than 5,000 Russian children. Of those, 14 have been killed because the parents lost control as they tried to cope with unruly children. [More...] Romanian Adoption Policy Examined as Human Rights Issue 14 September 2005 Congressional panel criticizes EU adoption ban pressure on Bucharest By Jeffrey Thomas Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- Contemporary child development research shows unequivocally that placing infants in hospital or orphanage care for longer than 4-6 months permanently damages them in terms of their cognitive, emotional and behavioral development, an expert witness told a congressional hearing September 14. “A reasonable estimate is that an infant loses 1-2 IQ points per month and sustains predictable losses in growth as well as motor and language development between 4 and 24 months of age while living in an institutional environment,” said the witness, Dr. Dana Johnson, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and director of the International Adoption Clinic. [More...] Overseas adoptions have a somber side Posted 9/13/2005 8:27 PM Updated 9/13/2005 8:36 PM By Steve Friess, Special to USA TODAY Danielle Alexander thought she had adopted a happy, healthy son. He sure seemed that way in pictures and in her visits to his squalid orphanage in Russia. It didn't take long to discover how wrong she was. Within weeks of arriving in early 2004, the 3-year-old started crying uncontrollably, striking his older sister, breaking furniture and deliberately urinating around the house. Months into his adoption, the boy seemed unwilling or unable to learn even a small amount of English [More...] Russia Finds It Takes More Than Love to Aid Orphans New Parents Are Drawn By Financial Help, Ads By Peter Finn Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, September 13, 2005; Page A22 KALUGA, Russia -- For years, Marina Guseva longed for a child, but last year when the dollmaker turned 44, she and her husband realized it wasn't going to happen the usual way. So the couple began to consider bringing home a child from one of the many orphanages in this city, located about 110 miles south of Moscow. "At first, I didn't know where to go or who to ask," Guseva said. But then a friend pointed out one of the posters that had begun to pop up around this city of 360,000 people. They featured pictures of children, from infants to teenagers, with the words "I want a mother." Guseva called the number listed on the poster last January, and in June, 8-year-old Masha Yakovleva came home with her as a foster child. [More...] Top Russian Prosecutor Reports Foreign Adoption Violations Created: 13.09.2005 15:34 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:34 MSK MosNews The Prosecutor General’s Office has submitted a report to Education Minister Andrei Fursenko on violations in the accreditation of foreign child adoption organizations, Interfax reported. Prosecutors found serious violations in the prolongation of accreditation to most of the organizations authorized to assist in child adoption in Russia. “It has been stated that 31 out of 52 offices of foreign organizations received accreditation in violation of current legislation,” said the report, signed by Deputy Prosecutor General Mikhail Fridinsky. [More...] Duma Makes Adoption Call Monday, September 12, 2005. The Associated Press The State Duma on Friday called on the government to better protect children adopted by foreigners, advising that it conclude bilateral agreements with other countries that would help Moscow monitor the children's treatment. The Duma expressed concern about the 64,000 Russian children who had been adopted and were living abroad and said the foreign adoption process was accompanied by "a high level of commercialization and criminalization at all stages of the process." [More...] Boy may soon have a family By Wes Franklin / Daily News Staff Writer GOODMAN -- It wasn't supposed to be permanent -- or at least that's what they thought at first. When Mike and Tammy White agreed to open up their home to Slava, a 9-year-old orphan from Russia, it was only to be for a short two week period. "We just thought it would be fun to bring two weeks of joy to a little boy who didn't have much to live for," Tammy explained. What the Whites weren't counting on, however, was that in those two weeks Slava would endear himself in such an unforeseen, emotionally powerful way to their family. So much so, in fact, that the Goodman couple are now making efforts to adopt him, and in about a year -- if prayers come true -- a lonely, friendless boy will have something he has never before experienced: a loving home. And it all began at the Newton County Fair. [More...] To Russia with love Posted on Sun, Sep. 11, 2005 Local volunteers construct home, donating profits By Rosa Salter Rodriguez The Journal Gazette The house at 16618 Amethyst Parkway looks like a lot of other newly built, medium-priced homes in Fort Wayne. It’s made of brick, has a covered porch with columns framing the front door and boasts three bedrooms and a three-car garage. But it’s a safe bet that this house isn’t like any other in Fort Wayne. After all, how many Fort Wayne homes are constructed with donated materials and professional labor and have part of the sale proceeds donated to help orphanages in Russia? It’s only icing on the cake that this home was purchased by a couple who are in the process of adopting at least two Russian orphans. [More...] Duma calls for urgent measures over child adoption 10.09.2005, 09.34 MOSCOW, September 10 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian parliament's lower house State Duma sent a written statement to Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov on Friday in connection with the need to take urgent measures for state protection of rights and interests of Russian children when they are adopted by foreigners. Lawmakers noted that it was necessary to create a system for adoption of orphans by Russia families first of all. State Duma members stated that they were concerned over the fate of about 64,000 small Russians adopted by foreign citizens and living abroad. When there is no mechanism of state control over observance of rights and legitimate interests of adopted children, the state cannot protect their citizens properly outside the Russian Federation, the legislators said. [More...] Local Infant's Death Leads Russian Parliament To Seek Better Protection For Adopted Children September 9, 2005 MOSCOW -- Russia's lower house of parliament is calling on the government to better protect children adopted by foreigners. Part of the call involves concluding bilateral agreements with other countries that would help Moscow monitor the children's treatment. The developments come after a Wake Forest woman was charged with murder after acknowledging that she assaulted her 2-year-old girl in July. Police said Peggy Sue Hilt lost her temper with her daughter Nina Hilt, shaking the girl, dropping her to the floor, kicking her and punching her. The girl died the next day during a car trip. [More...] U.S. official apologizes for the death of Russian-born adopted children killed in the U.S 09/09/2005 18:50 Representatives of U.S. nongovernmental organizations share the concern of the Russian authorities regarding the death of Russian adoptees Representatives of U.S. nongovernmental organizations share the concern of the Russian authorities regarding the death of Russian adoptees in the U.S. However, they believe that international adoption should be continued. "We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Russian government and Russian people with regard to the death of several Russian adopted children in the U.S. Meanwhile, international adoption should not be shut down due to those facts," said President and CEO of the National Council for Adoption Thomas Atwood at the end of a Moscow meeting with Russia's General Prosecutor Deputy Sergei Fridinsky. [More...] Scandal of newborn babies stolen from their mothers September 10, 2005 Women in Ukraine tell how their children were taken from them in the hospital delivery room, never to be seen again IT SEEMED, at first, to be an uncomplicated birth. After two hours of labour, Svetlana Pusikova delivered her firstborn at 4am on November 4, 2002. Medical staff whisked the baby out of the delivery room, leaving the 22-year-old waitress to recover in Maternity Hospital No 6 in Kharkov, eastern Ukraine. She never saw the child again. Seven weeks later Yelena Stulnyeva gave birth at the same hospital. She says she saw her baby girl wriggling and heard her crying before medical staff took her away. [More...] State Duma tells government to protect children adopted by foreigners 15:53 | 09/ 09/ 2005 MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) - The government must take measures to protect Russian children adopted by foreigners, Russia's lower chamber of parliament said in a statement Friday. "Parental violence against adopted children has become more frequent," the State Dua's statement said. In the United States, 13 adopted Russian children have died from parental violence, including an 8-year-old boy who died of starvation in August. The deputies expressed their concern that they learn about these facts only from press reports. "Other instances of physical or psychological violence against Russian children, citizens of Russia, could be unknown," the deputies said. [More...]
Steps for children to become legal residents Sept. 30, 2005 12:00 AM
