A child must be registered for one year with the central adoption authority

Back in 2003, when I was adopting a baby from Russia, I was never afraid our efforts would be stymied by shifting political winds, or by anything at all. Like many other adoptive parents, we chose Russia because—though the adoption process was grueling and expensive—it was a sure thing, unlike the minefield that domestic adoption can be.

In 2003 alone, Americans adopted 5,221 Russian children, about the same number adopted annually from Russia since 1999. It wasn't until 2008, when other countries' adoption programs expanded, that Russia's started to fall off.

Then, in 2012, thousands of would-be adoptees were shocked when the Kremlin announced its plans to impose a ban on adoptions by Americans. While President Vladimir Putin said the freeze was due to concerns about the plight of adopted children stateside, it was widely understood to be an act of political retaliation for recent U.S. sanctions on prominent Russian politicians.

By the Russians' count, the ban, now a year old, halted the pending adoptions of 259 children, including scores of orphans who had already met their prospective parents. 

For those who still want to adopt internationally, the former Soviet satellite of Ukraine has presented itself as an unexpected solution.

Dieter Gilbin and Lisa Bartholomew are one such couple. The Hawaii residents had been preparing to adopt a Russian girl named Ekatarina. They'd already decorated the nursery for the seven- month-old baby. They sat in on monthly conference calls with the State Department for families caught midstream in the adoptive process.

“At some point, we knew there was really nothing more they could do,” said Gilbin. “Our adoption agency told us [that] Russian offices they were working with were closing down. They also said we could switch to the Ukraine and we wouldn't have to start from scratch.”

Gilbin and Bartholomew grieved the “child they lost” and moved forward with a Ukraine adoption because of their intense desire to grow their family. (Gilbin has a 14-year-old who lives with the couple). They started the process last March, and on Dec. 19, they brought home their son, nine-month-old Maclain. Ukrainian law requires orphans to be at least five years old before they are eligible for adoption, but it exempts children with special needs. Maclain has a congenital heart defect.

Younger Ukrainian children are also eligible when they are part of sibling groups in which one child is at least five years old. A child must be registered for one year with the central adoption authority.

Bartholomew, a maternal fetal specialist who is familiar with medical complications, acknowledges the prospect of bringing home a special-needs baby gave her pause.

“It was something I had to think about,” she says. “I'm not a stay-at-home mom. I wasn't sure what we could handle. We are raising another child, who is 14, and I didn't think we could give all our attention to a sick child.”

The pull for a baby, that tug that allows prospective parents to take a blind leap of faith, propelled them forward. Unlike Russian adoption, where parents had received pictures and sometimes videos of children prior to traveling, parents go to the Ukraine to look through books with pictures of waiting children. When the couple was shown Maclain's picture, they thought he looked like “a lovely, curious baby.” They spent six weeks in Ukraine before finalizing the adoption.

“He sleeps through the night, he has a good appetite, and he's delayed developmentally but he only has a hole in his heart between the lower chambers, and he doesn't need surgery or medication,” said Bartholomew.

Adoption professionals say they're seeing an uptick in interest in the Ukraine. Theresa Barbier, director of Grace International, was working with 10 families in various stages of finalizing a Russian adoption in 2012. Half of those families turned to Ukraine, bringing home a total of 14 children since the Russian ban was imposed. (Some families adopted sibling groups of two or three children).

Barbier, who began working with Ukraine only after Russia closed its doors, says the country is open and receptive to American adoptions. “The Ministry has been amazing to work with; we've been surprised at how good it is.”

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/01/ukraine-is-america-s-new-adoption-mecca.html