By Alex Sverdlov

Adopting Russian children becomes easier or more difficult?

Regulations for foreign adoptions organizations that work in Russia have recently changed. Mixed opinions as to the effectiveness of party-dominated legislation have emerged. Some consider these rules liberal, while others believe they impose more stringent requirements.

Among the highlights of the reform is the simplified registration procedure for the adoptions entities. No longer would it be necessary for foreign organizations to present documents to Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science on yearly basis. A one-time registration will be required only of new adoption programs.

Adoptions agencies so far have expressed much satisfaction with the reduction in bureaucratic red tape. Valentina Krasnova, head of a U.S.-based organization Cradle Society noted that it used to take half a year to prepare the documents for annual re-registration procedure that created a considerable burden for the agency. According to the new law, accreditation certificates will remain valid for a term not shorter than five years.

At the same time, control mechanisms for verifying the qualifications of foreign firms have been tightened. More thorough procedures for insuring the wellbeing of adopted children were also put into place. The latter innovations come as a response to the widely-publicized cases of neglect and abuse that some Russian children adopted abroad have experienced. The amendments to the federal law got enacted after the slaying of a Russian girl Viktoria Bazhenova at the hands of her American “mother” Peggy Sue, who was later convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

In order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the Russian government took a number of measures. For one, international adoptions agencies will be required to pre-sent recommendation letters issued by state authorities from the countries, where they have already established their operations. Secondly, only organizations that have been working with international adoptions for more that five years will be allowed to come to Russia. For purposes of obtaining full accreditation, the agency will also need to disclose the exact services that it renders, as well as a detailed breakdown of all costs. Grounds for denying registration include insufficient documentation requirement compliance, poor socio-economic or environmental conditions in the destination country, and the inadequacy of child protection statutes.

Based on the logic of the new law, stricter oversight will insure the safety of Russian children living in other countries. Adoptions agencies’ representatives will be required to file four reports on the living conditions of the children in the first three years with Russian authorities. The government of the region where a particular child is adopted will be able to demand such reports in subsequent years.

To begin their activities, all foreign organizations would need to open their own representative offices in Russia. The only two kinds of legal entities permitted to engage in adoption activities within Russia are non-profit associations and governmental organizations. The Russian Family Code prohibits the rendition of any mediatory services in the field of adoptions. As an additional precaution, employees of educational and medical establishments that take care of orphaned children are not allowed to work for foreign adoption companies. Similar provisions apply to their relatives.

Today, ninety foreign organizations are active in Russia. With their assistance, nearly ten thousand Russian children find themselves families abroad every year. It used to be the case that most adoptions were made by the citizens of the U.S. and Western European countries. After the imposition of greater regulations on the adoptions process, however, the number of American and European parents adopting children from Russia decreased twofold.

It is, without doubt, important to look more closely at the lives of children abroad in order to avoid dealing with tragic stories. At the same time, the problems of orphaned children in Russia need to be addressed in the most efficient manner. Currently, there are 800 thousand orphans and children abandoned by their parents in Russia. The state takes care of around 260 thousand of these kids, while the others are raised in foster families or by their legal guardians.

Altogether, about 100 thousand children are either adopted or taken into foster care in Russia every year, while the number of kids without parents stays at around 180 thousand. Of the total number of adoptions, only ten percent of the children receive parents from abroad. Greater involvement of the Russian people in the adoptions process continues to stay problematic, as present economic conditions frequently do not allow for long-term financial security and certainty. Russia could use the assistance of eager foreign parents in helping the lives of its misfortunate children.

Russian politicians from time to time discuss the safety issues of children living abroad. One of the arguments made is that children are more protected if they stay in their home country. In Russia, for example, only three adopted children suffered fatal injuries from the abuses of their new parents within the last five years. In the U.S., more than ten Russian children were killed by their families in the past decade. While these numbers apparently reflect the dangers associated with foreign adoptions, from a statistical viewpoint, as cynical as it may sound, the figures do not show substantial significance.

The question of what country would be best for the adopted children to live in most likely does not have an answer, as every case is specific to each particular individual. Clearly, the changes to the adoption law were necessary in order to close the gaps that have widened over the years. What should be the greatest priority for the lawmakers, though, is that the new amendments not make the situation worse for the children themselves. The children need not know any legal technicalities; they simply want to be happy.