WASHINGTON, July 20, 2011 — Last Wednesday, Russia and the United States signed a bilateral agreement that will redefine the adoption program between the two countries and fundamentally change the process for Americans wishing to adopt Russian orphans.
The new agreement requires that American adoption agencies first seek out the Russian government's approval for each adoption and requires that approval be based on compliance with the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoptions.
It also makes psychological testing mandatory for American couples seeking to adopt Russian children.
Further, the agreement permits continued monitoring of the family by the Russian authorities, although the logistics of just how this foreign government would enact this were not spelled out.
The Russian government will now be required to provide detailed information about the social and psychological history of the child.
This bilateral agreement represents a major breakthrough in a relationship that has been fraught with difficulties for the past year when Moscow suspended (and then, later, slowed) the adoptions of Russian children by Americans. The move was prompted by outrage at a mother in Tennessee, who sent her adopted son back to Russia with a note saying that was too violent for her to deal with.
Russia alleges that this was not an isolated incident; rather according to authorities in Moscow 17 (of the approximately 60,0000) Russian children adopted by American families have been killed or died as a result of neglect since foreign adoptions began in the mid-1990s.
At a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the welfare of Russian children placed in American homes is of paramount importance. "We take very seriously the safety and security of children that are adopted by American parents," she stated.
Questions remain as to how Americans who are currently in the system, waiting their referrals for Russian orphans will be affected. Also uncertain is how long implementation of these new regulations will take.
Russian-born children currently account for about ten-percent of international adoptions in the United States.
Andrea is an adoptive mother and a journalist. She is at work on a book, "The Red Thread," a collection of stories told by families united through adoption. She is also owner of Media Branding International, a public relations/media consulting firm.
Read more The Red Thread: An Adoptive Family Forum in The Communities at The Washington Times.
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