According to the U.S. Department of State, Ukraine is now the 5th most popular international source of adoptions by U.S. families after China, Ethiopia, Russia, and South Korea. It claimed that position in 2010 displacing Guatemala. Interestingly, Guatemala was the #1 source of internationally adopted children into the US in 2008. Currently, the U.S. State Department is not processing adoptions from Guatemala at all. The Guatemala program was halted over concerns of corruption and major irregularities. Vietnam has also been closed by the US Department of State.
Changes in Ukrainian Adoption Laws:
Many have expected a sharp drop in adoptions in the Ukraine since Ukraine changed the age of an adopted child available for international adoption without special needs to 5 years of age and older towards the end of 2011. In speaking with Olga Ivanchenko, Vice Consul at the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York City in charge of adoption and citizenship, she states that the level of dossier submissions from perspective international adoptive parents has remained stable.
Reasons for Continued Interest in Ukraine as a Source of International Adoptions:
I believe there are several reasons for this.
First, the age limit for adoptive parents was removed. Now parents of any age may adopt in Ukraine and there is no upper limit.
Secondly, parents may still adopt a healthy child under five years of age from Ukraine if a sibling is also adopted who is 5 or older. This exemption is encouraging more and more U.S. families to adopt siblings. I think this is great for the families and for the adopted children - maintaining the family bonds.
Finally, problems and changes with other popular programs such as China (where the wait for healthy children is over 5 years) and Russia (that has added significant hurdles and costs) will encourage parents to look for other sources of adoptable children like the Ukrainian adoption program. This is visible in the huge drop in adoptions in these countries in 2011. Closing Vietnam and Guatemala will also play a role.
Check out http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/adoptionstatsintl.html a great private site that has compiled adoption statistics from around the world. Hopefully, many families that were focusing their considerations on Russia and China will look to Ukraine.
It is also interesting that the number of girls and boys adopted from Ukraine is almost exactly equal, while there are more boys available for adoption.
With 24,000 children available for international adoption in Ukraine, there is great opportunity for the program to grow in the future.
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