FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 6, 2006
Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption is encouraging families that adopted children from Ukraine since 1996 to make sure they have provided a complete set of post-placement reports on their children to Ukrainian authorities.
The Ukrainian government suspended the acceptance of new adoption dossiers from United States citizens, except under special circumstances, in September 2005. Ukrainian authorities say that about 15% of the post placement reports on 5,760 children adopted by U.S. citizens are delinquent.
ÒFRUA families know very well the importance of filing post-placement reports and the connection those reports have with the future of international adoption,Ó said FRUA chair Karen Klein Berman. ÒParents who adopted children from Ukraine knew the requirements when they brought their kids home. Now itÕs their job to make sure that other children in Ukrainian orphanages can have forever families.Ó
Ukrainian law stipulates that parents must file post-placement reports annually for the first three years after a child is adopted, and every three years after that until the child reaches the age of 18.
ÒAdoptive families, whether they brought their children home several years ago or are waiting to meet their child for the first time, share the common focus of improving the lives of childrenÓ Berman said. ÒThe post-placement reports help build a bridge between current and future adoptive families and help ensure that todayÕs children will have homes tomorrow.Ó
FRUA is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, all-volunteer organization founded in 1994. It now has 2,300 members across the United States with 39 chapters and nearly 100 alliance members. FRUA families have adopted children from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Belarus, the Georgian Republic, Romania, Kazakhstan and neighboring countries.
For more information, contact John Perry, FRUA Advocacy and Outreach Chair, at (517) 256-8516 or via e-mail at John@frua.org.