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Russia Program
We are accepting applications
DeColores networks with US agencies who are accredited in Russia and who have signed an agency agreement with DeColores. Russia is a vibrant country with a rich and cultured history. It offers everything from the warm European influence of St. Petersburg and the urban feel of Moscow to the sturdy land of Siberia and Asian culture found in the East
Russia is also a very politically and socially complex country. It has great diversity, power, resources, and continues to develop an infrastructure, which will meet the needs of all its peoples
Given its vast land mass, its multiple regions, its multicultural population and many ethnic languages, Russia's (officially The Russian Federation or Commonwealth of Independent States) cultural and racial heritage is remarkably diverse.
The child adoption process in Russia has changed many times over the years. In the late 1980's, it became possible to adopt children from Russia. Yet it was not until the early 1990's that foreign families began bringing adopted children home from Russia. Since that time thousands of Russian child adoptions have been completed by U.S. adopting families.
Every region in Russia has infants, children, and sibling groups living in orphanages that can be adopted. The Russian government has approved a very limited number of child adoption agencies to work in Russia. Americans adopting in Russia will either work directly with one of these few Russian accredited child adoption agencies or work with a U.S. licensed child adoption agency that sub-contracts with a Russian accredited agency. As long as the family checks out their U.S. based child adoption agency with the state licensing authority to assure the agency is a U.S. licensed child adoption agency, the family should be fine working with either the Russian approved child adoption agency or the U.S. approved sub-contracting child adoption agency. In fact, since the number of Russian accredited child adoption agencies, as compared with U.S. approved licensed agencies, is miniscule, the majority of U.S. adopting families do not work with a Russian accredited child adoption agency, but rather work with a U.S. licensed sub-contracting program.
In 2002 approximately 4900 Russian children were adopted by U.S. citizens and in 2003 this number increased to approximately 5200, making Russia the second largest sending country after China. In 2003, of the 5200 adopted children, approximately 30% were under the age of 1 at the time of adoption and 50% were between 1-4 years old.
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Time Frame: The time will vary from approximately 4-12 months, with the "average" being approximately 9 months. The length of time your child adoption will take depends on many factors including your motivation to complete your paperwork.
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Travel: The process can be broken down into several parts. The first part, similar to any foreign child adoption, is to apply to the INS for advanced approval to be eligible to adopt a foreign born child. Additionally, as part of this first step is the completion of the adopting family dossier. The second part of the process involves submission of the dossier to Russia. The third part is for the adopting family to accept or reject the child referral. If the family decides to proceed with the referral, the family will travel to the region in Russia where the child is located. If a child referral continues to be acceptable, then the child adoption process proceeds to the fourth step. The adopting family returns to the U.S., without the child. The adoptive family's dossier is processed and a court date is scheduled to complete the child adoption. The adopting family is then ready for the final part of the process which requires them to make a second trip to Russia for the adoption hearing and the required "after-the-finalization" waiting period. Both parents must be prepared to travel to Russia twice. First trip - one week, Second trip - ten days |
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Requirements: The Russian government has no marital restrictions on child adoption and both single persons and couples can adopt Russian children. In practice, in recent years, single males have not been allowed to adopt in Russia while single females have had no difficulty. The Russian government has no rules about length of marriage. Regarding the issue of age, the only set age limit is that a person must be at least 25 years of age. Families with biological and/or adopted children already in the home are permitted to adopt and are not discriminated against.
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Age of Children: The two groups of children typically available for adoption are babies relinquished in the hospital at birth to orphanages and older children who are removed from their families because of neglect. The children that are available for child adoption range from approximately 6 months to 14 years of age.
Can we adopt more than one child? Yes, adopting more than one child from Russia is possible. Aside from sibling groups, families can request twins, or two unrelated children.
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Costs: Please contact our office 337-855-7398, ask for Debbie
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