FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    July 11, 2005

International Adoption:  A Demonstrable History of Success

    Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption Chair Karen Klein Berman made the following statement as investigators continue to probe the beating death of 2-year-old Nina Hilt of Wake Forest, North Carolina.  Her mother, Peggy Sue Hilt, has been charged with second-degree murder in the case.

“Thousands of adoptive families have provided safe and loving homes to tens of thousands of children from the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries over the last decade and a half.   The loss of any child is a tragedy of tremendous proportions and the death of Nina Hilt strikes at the heart of any parent.  Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption, FRUA, continues to work on its mission of educating and supporting adoptive families and families considering international adoption, as well as advocating on behalf of adoptive children at home and children still living in orphanages abroad.

Adoptive parents, social workers and medical professionals all know first-hand that there is no road map to international adoption.  The fact remains, though, that international adoption has a demonstrable history of improving the lives of children. The tragedy of Nina Hilt suggests that the international adoption process should continue to be the subject of a rigorous review.  That review, however, invariably has to take into account the sacrifice, love, hard work and dedication of the moms, dads and extended family members who have made a new and secure home for thousands upon thousands of children of international adoption.”

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 additional information, log on to www.frua.org.  

Editor’s note:  For more information, contact John Perry, FRUA Advocacy and Outreach Chair at (517) 256-8516 or via email at john@frua.org.