NCFA Media : Archived News

NCFA Asks President Putin to Support Intercountry Adoption

February 24, 2005

President Vladimir Putin
4 Staraya Square
Moscow, 103132
Russia

Dear President Putin:

On behalf of the National Council For Adoption, I am writing to ask respectfully that the Russian government continue its longstanding commitment to providing loving families for Russian orphans through international adoption, in a timely manner.

Since 1980, the National Council For Adoption (NCFA) has been a leading, American voice, nationally and internationally, among adoption and child welfare organizations. NCFA is a research, education, and advocacy nonprofit organization that provides adoption information; promotes ethical adoption practices; informs public policy and opinion about adoption issues; and serves as a resource for birthparents, adopted persons and their families, those seeking to adopt, and adoption professionals.

NCFA was deeply saddened by the tragedy your people suffered in Beslan last year. In November 2004, I had the privilege of presenting a substantial contribution for humanitarian aid to that stricken community, to His Excellency, Mr. Yuri Ushakov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States. Out of solidarity with your country and people, NCFA Board, staff, and adoption agency members combined their charitable resources to make this sacrificial gift.

NCFA also had the privilege of hosting our Adoption Hall of Fame 2004 Awards Banquet in the elegant ballroom of your country’s embassy in Washington, DC, March 31, 2004. Additionally, two key NCFA associates, one from our Board of Directors and the other from our staff, have adopted children from Russia. So the connection between NCFA and your great country is strong.

As you are aware, there have been growing concerns expressed by American adoptive families and child welfare advocates regarding recent developments in Russia on intercountry adoption. Let me assure you that these expressions of concern are motivated by compassion for Russian orphans who need families and by the gratitude Americans feel for the privilege of loving and parenting our Russian-born children. I also assure you that the American adoption community and American adoptive parents of Russian-born children are deeply committed to teaching their children to know, love, and respect their country of origin.

In recent years, American families have welcomed many thousands of Russia’s orphans into their hearts and homes. For these children and the families they joined, international adoption has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. From the moment these children join their families, they grow up as healthy, well-adjusted, and deeply loved members of their families. For the sake of the children, it is therefore with grave concern that we observe the decline in adoptions from Russia to one-third the rate of one year ago, as reported by the US Department of State.

We are aware of two bureaucratic obstacles that are causing this dramatic slowdown, which is keeping thousands of children from timely unification with their families. First, the current lack of a system for reaccrediting adoption agencies is causing highly qualified agencies, with many years of experience servicing adoptions from Russia, to be unable to obtain re-accreditation. As a result, they are not being allowed to process adoptions. One exceptionally well-qualified and experienced agency that we know of, for example, has 90 cases on hold. In 15 of these cases, the parents have already been matched with children and would normally be in Russia right now, uniting with their children and bringing them home.

The other bureaucratic obstacle is substantial delays in the provision of release letters that indicate when a child becomes eligible for international adoption. NCFA and other advocates of international adoption respect the principle, as your country’s law requires, that Russian citizens be given the first opportunity to adopt Russian orphans. But your law also recognizes, that if a child is not placed domestically within the designated time period, it is in his or her best interest to become eligible for international adoption in a timely manner. However, prospective adoptive parents are experiencing very long delays in obtaining the release letters indicating that the waiting period has expired and the children are approved for placement.

We are also concerned by reports that new legislation requiring a bilateral treaty for international adoption may soon be proposed in the Duma. Such legislation would severely disrupt international adoption from Russia and would actually conflict with the multilateral Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which both Russia and the US have signed. The result would be many more Russian orphans languishing in institutions, rather than being adopted internationally into loving families.

Children born in Russia and adopted by American parents live happy, healthy lives. With exceedingly rare exceptions, they thrive in their American families. In their new households, the children receive the individual attention they deserve, but cannot receive in institutionalized care. They enjoy the benefits of improved education and health care. Most importantly, they experience the love and security that come with having families of their own.

We hope you agree with NCFA that national boundaries should not prevent children from enjoying the love, security, and happiness that come with having a family. NCFA respects and understands your country’s policy of seeking adoptive parents domestically before turning internationally, and recognizes that the first, best choice for Russian orphans is domestic adoption. However, we ask you to consider that international adoption is greatly to be preferred over long-term institutionalization, for Russian orphans who are not likely to be adopted domestically.

President Putin, we know from personal experience that parental love has the power to transcend national boundaries and give children the families they need and deserve. We respectfully ask you to serve the welfare of children by exercising your leadership in support of international adoption, through timely system reforms and by staying on the multilateral, Hague Convention track. We offer our good will and services to dialogue with you and your government regarding ways we can work together to serve Russia’s children in need through international adoption. Thank you very much for your attention and consideration.

Sincerely,

Thomas C. Atwood
President and CEO

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