US and Russia Sign Bilateral Adoption Agreement UPDATED
As anticipated in our Monday update, the US and Russia did sign the bilateral adoption agreement today, June 13, 2011.
The US government announcements are extremely general compared to the Russian and US press articles that we detailed in our June post and to those detailed below. Hopefully the Department of State will clarify things over the next few weeks.
In addition to this post, we recommend that you consult our June post and updates for possibilities of the changes. The last update from the Wall Street Journal gives the most details about four social worker visits in the first three years.
DOS Announcement/Notice
The Department of State announcement and notice found here and here state the following:
“The Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security announced today, July 13, 2011, that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed a bilateral adoptions agreement that will strengthen procedural safeguards in adoptions between our countries.
The United States is committed to working with the Russian Federation on implementing the provisions laid forth in this Agreement as soon as it enters into force.
The Department of State will publish criteria, procedures, and clear guidance related to the Agreement on adoption.state.gov prior to the Agreement’s entry into force.
For additional FAQs on the agreement, please visit adoption.state.gov.”
USCIS Questions and Answers
Click here for the official statement pasted below.
“The Agreement between the United States of America and the Russian Federation Regarding Cooperation in Adoption of Children
Fact Sheet and QA
Introduction
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State announced today, July 13, 2011, that Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed a bilateral adoptions agreement that will strengthen procedural safeguards in adoptions between our countries.
This Agreement will provide additional safeguards to better protect the welfare and interests of children and all parties involved in intercountry adoptions. Under the Agreement, only adoption agencies authorized by the Russian Government will be able to operate in Russia and provide services in adoptions covered by the Agreement, except in the case of an adoption of a child by his or her relatives. This will largely eliminate independent adoptions from Russia and create a better defined framework for intercountry adoptions between the United States and Russia. The Agreement also includes provisions designed to improve post-adoption reporting and monitoring and to ensure that prospective adoptive parents receive more complete information about adoptive children’s social and medical histories and anticipated needs.
The United States is committed to working with the Russian Federation on implementing the provisions laid forth in this Agreement as soon as it enters into force.
USCIS and the Department of State will publish criteria, procedures, and clear guidance related to the Agreement on www.uscis.gov/adoption and http://adoption.state.gov prior to the Agreement’s entry into force.
Questions & Answers
Q. What does the Agreement mean for the U.S. adoption program in Russia?
A. This Agreement strengthens the protections in place for the children and families involved while preserving a robust adoption program between the two countries. It creates a framework for a system in which the family will receive more complete information on the child earlier in the process so that the prospective adoptive parents can receive targeted preparation and training before the adoption. The Agreement also improves post-placement follow-up to ensure that the adopted child and family receive the support they need so that they all can thrive.
Q. Now that the Agreement has been signed, will there be any interruption in the processing of cases for U.S. families adopting from Russia?
A. We do not anticipate any interruption in the processing of adoptions from Russia as we move to implement this Agreement or once it has been fully implemented.
[Rally comment: Except it sounds like there are some big questions if you are adopting independently and didn’t get your dossier submitted in the “right” timeframe.]
Q: When will the Agreement enter into force?
A. The Agreement will enter into force upon the exchange of notes from the U.S. and Russian governments. The exchange of notes will take place only after both sides have completed internal procedures necessary for entry into force, which for Russia means approval by its Duma and establishment of other internal procedures for implementing the Agreement.
The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will provide on their websites procedures and clear guidance related to the Agreement prior to its entry into force. Please monitor www.adoption.state.gov and www.uscis.gov/adoption for more information.
Q. Can families continue to file Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, and Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, now that the Agreement has been signed?
A. Yes. Pending entry into force of the Agreement prospective adoptive parents may continue to file Forms I-600A and Forms I-600 with USCIS under existing procedures, in accordance with the form instructions. USCIS will inform the public of the date that the Agreement will enter into force and what additional or different steps may become necessary at that time.
Q. If a family began adoption proceedings before the Agreement enters in to force, will they have to restart proceedings upon Agreement execution?
A. The Agreement specifically allows cases which have had their dossier already submitted to the Russian authorities to continue under the pre-Agreement system. Prospective adoptive parents who have not submitted dossiers upon Agreement execution may need to change adoption service providers, as not all providers will remain authorized. However, families will not be required to file a new Form I-600A if their Form I-600A was filed or approved while working with the previous adoption service provider and remains valid.
Q. If a family is working with an adoption agency that does not receive authorization to continue working in Russia after the Agreement enters into force, will they be able to complete their case?
A. Yes, but the family may have to transfer the case to a new adoption service provider that is authorized to work in Russia. If a case is covered by the transition provision, it may be completed under the pre-Agreement procedures.
Q. How will we know which cases may proceed under the pre-Agreement procedures and which cases must follow the new procedures?
A. Once the Agreement enters into force, USCIS will coordinate with the Department of State (DOS) and the Russian authorities to identify all cases that can be processed under the pre-Agreement procedures and we will provide additional guidance at that time.
Q. When will guidelines and instructions about the new procedures be available?
A. We anticipate that the United States and Russia will need additional time to discuss implementation procedures for the Agreement once the Russian Duma has ratified it. After ratification and completion of implementation discussions, USCIS and DOS will publish specific guidance.
Q. We understand that under the Agreement, the Russian Government may institute a “pre-approval” requirement for U.S. families adopting from Russia. Would this procedure lengthen the processing time?
A. Although we do not anticipate that a pre-approval step will lengthen the process significantly for most cases, there are two instances in which delays could occur: 1) If there is a delay in the receipt of the detailed medical and psycho-social history of the child from the Russian authorities, or 2) If USCIS finds, during the pre-approval review, that the family does not appear to be prepared and/or has not been evaluated by the home study preparer as capable of meeting the needs of the specific child they intend to adopt.
Q. Why is a pre-approval process helpful?
A. Under the current system, USCIS cannot review information about the child being adopted until after the parents have completed adoption proceedings in Russia and become legally responsible for the child. Many times prospective adoptive parents only receive full medical and psycho-social information about the child immediately before the court proceedings to complete the adoption. Parents then have a very brief time to decide whether to complete the adoption or obtain an amended home study and Form I-600A approval, if necessary. Pre-approval will allow USCIS to make a preliminary determination on a child’s orphan status and to flag any concerns before the adoption takes place.
Q. Would pre-approval guarantee that the Form I-600 will be approved once the adoption is finalized in Russia?
A. Pre-approval cannot be taken as a guarantee of final approval, because it is always possible that new, additional information will come to light that ultimately prevents the approval of the Form I-600 petition. However, in other countries where pre-approval systems have been in place, experience shows that pre-approval allows for problems to be addressed earlier in the adoption process creating a more streamlined process for the family.
Q. The Agreement will require to adoption agencies to report when an adopted child received U.S. citizenship. How will the adoption agency know that the child has received U.S. citizenship?
A. The Agreement is crafted to cover only adoptions of children who will ultimately be granted IR-3 immigrant visas. When a child with an IR-3 immigrant visa lawfully enters the United States with his or her adoptive parents with the intent to reside permanently in the territory of the United States, that child, by operation of law, acquires U.S. citizenship upon entry.
For additional questions and answers on the agreement, please visit http://adoption.state.gov .”
New Russian Article
We have highlighted in red the statements not covered in the US announcements:
“Also to be signed is a long-awaited treaty on child adoption, which, Mr. Lavrov said, would guarantee reliable protection to children adopted by the U.S. families:
Sergei Lavrov continues his visit to US
[The Voice of Russia 7/13/11 by Yelizaveta Isakova]
New Radio Free Europe Article
We have highlighted in red the statements not covered in the US announcements:
“The agreement is due to be signed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on July 13
It would require that American couples seeking to adopt Russian children undergo psychological testing. It would also give Russian authorities the right to monitor children adopted by U.S. parents until their 18th birthday. Adopted children would also keep their Russian citizenship.
Moreover, adoptions would be handled only by American agencies certified by the Russian authorities and which are in compliance with the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoptions.”
Russia-U.S. Adoption Treaty Introduces Stronger Controls
[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 7/13/11 by Nikola Krastev]
New US Articles
We have highlighted in red the statements not covered in the US announcements:
“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed the accord in a ceremony in Washington.”
““We take very seriously the safety and security of children that are adopted by American parents,” Clinton told reporters. “This agreement provides new important safeguards to protect them. It also increases transparency for all parties involved in the adoption process.”
The deal stipulates that agencies can operate in Russia only with the authorization of the country’s government, except in cases where a child is being adopted by relatives. Better information will also be provided to prospective parents about the social and medical histories of children.
“Russian officials have claimed that at least 17 adopted Russian children have died in domestic violence in American families.”
[Rally comment: Who is disputing the 17 that have died? I am tired of seeing this written as a “claim”. They are DEAD. Here is a link to their stories http://nobodyisforgotten.blogspot.com/. The sad part is the “at least” qualifier. No one really knows how many as no data has ever been collected. Up to 400 Russian children adopted to the US may be missing.]
US, Russia sign adoption accord spurred by American mother who returned Russia boy
[Washington Post 7/13/11 by Associated Press]
“Mr. Lavrov suggested that Russian negotiators had encountered difficulties with American adoption laws, which differ from state to state, unlike in Russia where adoption is federally regulated. He did
not discuss points of disagreement, but the government-run Ria Novosti news agency said that laws in some states granting same-sex couples the right to adopt were a particular sticking point. Russian officials insisted that same sex couples not be allowed to adopt Russian children.
The Russian parliament must ratify the agreement before it is implemented, and is expected to do so.”
Pact on Adoptions Ends A U.S.-Russian Dispute
[New York Times 7/13/11 by Michael Schwirtz]
Update: Putin weighs in on adoption standards. “Couples who want to adopt Russian children should undergo special training in the basics of teaching, psychology and first aid, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
“High-quality training must be compulsory for the adoptive parents,” Putin said, adding that the classes should be required for both Russian and foreign couples.
He also said that the regional authorities should cover the costs incurred by Russian couples going through the adoption procedure.
Russia and the United States signed an adoption deal last week that stipulates psychological testing of adoptive parents and requires them to use only accredited adoption agencies.
The new agreement also envisages that all adopted Russian children will maintain dual citizenship until they become legal adults, after which they may choose their citizenship.”
Putin calls for compulsory training for adoptive parents
[RIA Novosti 7/2/11]
Update 2: Regarding special needs Russian international adoptions, “Adopting orphans, including sick ones, is part of American culture. The head of the Russian office of an accredited American adoption agency said, on condition of anonymity, that “the children passing through our agency are all sick, seriously sick.” State Duma deputy Nina Ostanina admits that “children have better health and rehabilitation opportunities there than here in Russia.”
“Pavel Astakhov, the Russian children’s rights ombudsman, agrees that “Americans adopt many children with health problems.” But the trouble is, he said, that the adoptive parents are not always fit to bring them up. So, adoptive parents, motivated by good intentions, have only a vague idea of what they are letting themselves in for. Sometimes, of course, many things cannot be foreseen. There are latent diseases not yet diagnosed when adoption takes place in Russia. The head of a Russian office of an American adoption agency confirms this view “I know of many such cases. They are connected especially with genetic diseases that surface five or six years after adoption, sometimes at the age of 10 or 12. The disease may be very serious.” He said that, in such cases, “the adoptive parents soldier on,” doing everything they can to cure and support such a child.
“According to Astakhov, some adoptive parents misled the Russian guardianship agencies by producing fake certificates or by withholding psychological information. The new treaty on adoption signed this spring between Russia and the United States now makes vetting parents easier. Russian agencies have the right to visit the house of the adoptive parents. U.S. authorities are in the process of creating a centralized database of adopted Russian children, and the Russian side has the right to verify adoption documents and, in extreme cases, reverse the decision. Most importantly, the treaty bans agencies not accredited in Russia and adoptive parents will be obliged to take special training courses and undergo mental health checks.
Fixing Foreign Adoption
[Washington Post 10/2/11 by
Update 3: ” Issues that Russian and U.S. presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama will raise at a meeting on Saturday [November 12, 2011] include a plan to loosen visa rules for Russians traveling to the United States and Americans traveling to Russia, a Medvedev aide said.
Medvedev and Obama will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu.
The agenda for the meeting “includes issues of more extensive contact between people, including the simplification of the current visa regime, and there is a near-term plan to exchange notes on an agreement for visa simplification,” presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told reporters.
“As regards other issues in the bilateral dossier, the adoption issue will be raised with emphasis on the need to prevent the abuse of children in the United States who have been adopted from Russia,” he said.
A Russian-U.S. agreement to protect the rights of such children that was signed in July “is undergoing internal state procedures necessary for its entry into force,” Prikhodko said. ”
Medvedev, Obama to discuss plan for looser visa rules, adoptions issue
[Kiev Post 11/10/11 by Interfax Ukraine]
Update 4: As expected in a report from Russia in July 2011 (update 1), “The lower house of Russian Parliament, the State Duma, adopted on Thursday a law that prescribes couples who want to adopt Russian children to undergo special training in the basics of teaching, psychology and first aid.
The law says that “the implementation of the parental classes is based on the necessity to provide citizens’ pedagogical and legal readiness for accepting abandoned children into their families.”
The aspiring parents will have to pass parental classes, including basics of teaching, psychology and first aid, vice-speaker Oleg Morozov said.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for the introduction of parental classes for Russians and foreigners who adopt Russian children in July, 2011, after the outrageous story with an eight-year-old named Artyom adopted by American Torry Hansen and then shipped back to Moscow on a plane, alone and with a note citing Artyom’s psychological problems.
According to the Russian Education and Science Ministry, about 150,000 children were available for nationwide adoption in 2009. Almost 9,000 of them were adopted and 77,000 were placed in foster families.
U.S. citizens have adopted 60,000 Russian children since the adoptions started more than 15 years ago. As of January, 17 Russian children adopted by U.S. parents have died as a result of child abuse.”
State Duma approves compulsory training for adoptive parents
[RIA Novosti 11/17/11]
Update 5: “Russia’s ombudsman for child rights, Pavel Astakhov, said on Saturday [December 10, 2011] he did not rule out that a moratorium for adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens may be imposed.
“It is not ruled out that after the joint activities with the Prosecutor-General’s office, the Foreign Ministry and the Education Ministry we will propose to impose a temporary moratorium on adoption of our children and their transportation to America until the concluded agreement is ratified,” he said after the meeting with Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika.
The United States “demonstrates inability to fulfil its obligations to our children who are taken to America,” he said.
According to the most modest estimates, around 100,000 Russian children have already been adopted by American parents.
“In this situation ratification of the agreement between America and Russia can be postponed, as there are no real actions taken by the United States,” he said.”
Russia may impose moratorium on child adoption for US
[Indian Express 12/11/11]
Update 6: “Russia’s children’s ombudsman Pavel Astakhov and the country’s Foreign Ministry will send a letter to the State Duma asking MPs to impose a moratorium on US adoptions of Russian children.
Russia’s children ombudsman wants US adoption ban
[RIA Novosti 1/18/12]
Update 7: The US news circuit finally has picked up on this story over February 11, 2012 weekend. Nothing like being one month late. They should read this blog if they want to be informed! The letter to Duma is being fasttracked after the weak sentencing of Theresa McNulty last week.
“In a statement issued on its web site on Saturday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry suggests suspending adoption of Russian children by US citizens amid increasing number of child cruelty cases there.
Moscow calls to suspend adoption of Russian children by US citizens
[The Voice of Russia 2/11/12]
Please note that some stories do NOT pick up on the Theresa McNulty case.
Russia Foreign Ministry: U.S. Adoptions Should Be Suspended [Huffington Post 2/11/12] mentions the Craver and Torry Hansen cases. Digital JOurnal 2/12/12 mentions only the Craver case.
Russia suspends adoptions by U.S. families [UPI 2/12/12] mentions Theresa McNulty but already says it is suspended, which is not exactly correct. Russia is *suggesting* suspension as they did last month.
RIA Novosti again says that the US did NOT inform them about Theresa’s case until now! Of course the case has been ongoing since 2009.
On December 2, 2011, Russia claimed that they had NOT been informed about Isaac Dykstra. See here.
On December 10, 2011, Russia found out about an old Canada death case. See here.
Say what you want about how Russian orphanages are not good and paperwork leaves out important behavioral information, but the fact is that receiving governments are NOT informing Russia about outcomes. Even though postplacement reports are required, agencies are not following up with clients who don’t report and certainly they are not telling Russia about abuse and death of adoptees. Convicted APs aren’t sending in their postplacement reports of course.
As we have stated multiple times before, there is NO real mechanism for collection or reporting these things in the US. THERE NEEDS TO BE. Basically PoundPup Legacy has been doing the government’s job for the past several years and now we started tracking things here starting in 2011.
The OSCE made a statement on February 9, 2012. See here and it is pasted below:
“Right of Reply: Russian Federation Statement on Adoptions in the United States
As delivered by Gary Robbins, Deputy Chief of Mission
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
February 9, 2012
The United States would like to take this opportunity to respond to the esteemed Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, who last week commented on the treatment of Russian children adopted in the United States. We extend our deepest sympathy for the loss of the adopted children who were both Russian and American citizens. We understand and share the interest of our Russian colleagues in the welfare of Russian children adopted by U.S. citizens. The United States takes the safety and security of children adopted by U.S. parents very seriously and we strongly condemn any type of abuse of children.
We take this opportunity now to reiterate the agreements in place to safeguard Russian children adopted by U.S. families.
In 2011, 962 of the 9,319 inter-country adoptions to the United States came from the Russian Federation. In recognition of the magnitude of U.S.-Russia adoptions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed a bilateral adoptions agreement on July 13, 2011.
This Agreement provides safeguards that will better protect the welfare and interests of children and all parties involved in inter-country adoptions. Under the Agreement, only adoption agencies authorized by the Russian government may operate in Russia and provide services in adoptions covered by the Agreement, except in the case of an adoption of a child by his or her relatives.
With this new Agreement, independent adoptions from Russia will cease, and our governments can create a framework for inter-country adoptions between the United States and Russia. The Agreement also includes provisions designed to improve post-adoption reporting and monitoring and to ensure that prospective adoptive parents receive more complete information about adoptive children’s social and medical histories and anticipated needs.
The United States remains committed to working with the Russian Federation on implementing the provisions set forth in this Agreement as soon as it enters into force. As Secretary Clinton emphasized to Foreign Minister Lavrov in Munich last week, it is our hope that the Russian State Duma will soon ratify the Agreement.
In the same vein, we urge the Russian State Duma to ratify the Hague Adoption Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). The Hague Adoption Convention applies to all adoptions between Convention countries and aims to prevent the abduction, sale of, and traffic in children, and it works to ensure that inter-country adoptions are in the best interests of children.
Unresolved cases of parental child abduction adversely affect families throughout the OSCE region. Abduction harms the child no matter what the nationality, tearing the child from the loving care of a mother or a father. We must do everything we can to prevent this from happening, and we look forward to working with participating States on these issues.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
We want to emphasize that while the OSCE implies that independent adoptions are the cause of the abuse, plenty of cases involve REGISTERED agency adoptions. See PoundPup for the scope of the cases here.
REFORM Puzzle Piece
We are not saying that tracking international adoption abuse and death information is going to be easy on a federal level or even a state level, but currently there is NO tracking or informing the sending country. We do believe that agencies want to keep it that way in order to get more referrals. It has to change not only for the sending country, but to frame all homestudy rubberstamping and postplacement issues that are occuring in international adoptions.
Update 8: DOS Russia Notice February 21, 2012. Paste below from
“Notice: Processing Time for Adoptions Increased
On January 1, 2012, the Russian Family Code was amended so that presiding judges will announce decisions in cases, including intercountry adoption cases, at the end of in-person court hearings. Courts will issue written rulings five days later. In cases where the ruling leads to an adoption decree, that decree goes into effect thirty days after issuance, at which point adopting parents can apply in person for the child’s Russian passport. These changes will increase the amount of time and, possibly, travel required to complete an adoption.”
Update 9: As we reported in July 2011 in our first update in this post, Russia really DOES want extra training for PAPs. From a domestic adoption standpoint, we hope that this greatly reduces domestic adoption disruptions which have been stated in other articles to be up to 1,000 PER YEAR!
Russia now has passed the law requiring special training to go into effect on September 1, 2012. No word from US authorities or agencies on this.
Sidenote: We are not pleased that Artyom’s photo is being used in the article.
“The Russian government has approved a law that obligates couples who want to adopt a child to get special training beforehand, the official government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta said on Friday.
The classes persuade almost a third of prospective parents to drop the idea of adoption, she said.
Under the new law, which takes effect on September 1, 2012, adoptive parents or guardians must also present certificates attesting that they have not been convicted of a crime endangering the life and health of others.
According to the Russian Education and Science Ministry, about 150,000 children were available for nationwide adoption in 2009. Almost 9,000 of them were adopted and 77,000 were placed with foster families.
U.S. citizens have adopted 60,000 Russian children over the past 15 years. As of January 2012, 17 of those children had died as a result of child abuse.”
Russia Mandates Training for Adoptive Parents
[RIA Novosti 5/4/12]
Update 10:
“The State Duma has been recommended to ratify the child adoption agreement between Russia and the United States on May 25.
Russia to ratify agreement on adopting children with US
[RAPSI News 5/17/12]
Update 11:
According to the DUMA’s schedule, they deferred approving the agreement on May 24, 2012 which is one day prior to when they were to sign. See the DUMA schedule in Russian here. Rough Google Translation of last lines “Consideration by the Board of the State Duma the draft law submitted by the committee responsibleintroduce a bill to the State Duma 21.05.2012 27, claim 18to defer consideration of the bill 28 24/05/2012, p.2”
Recent Comments