Things are moving forward

Well here is the lastest in the Ukrainian Adoption World. Hopefully this will mean we will get an apppointment letter soon.

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:On January 31, 2006 President Yushchenko signed the law giving interim authority over adoptions to the Ministry of Education’s National Adoption Center (NAC) until the new adoption authority is legally established under the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports. This law will go into effect upon its publication in Parliament"s official newspaper "Holos Ukrainy," which should occur in a matter of days. According to this law, the NAC will have full authority to process adoptions in Ukraine until May 1, 2006 - the final date by which the new adoption central authority must be established under the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports. The NAC has stated that they will now resume normal processing - not only of the suspended cases, but also of the cases that had been previously scheduled through the end of January.The NAC has not yet released a notice to the international adoption community explaining details regarding processing of adoptions during the transition period. Absent NAC written guidance, we cannot confirm processing plans or details. The information below, keyed to frequently asked questions on the part of adoptive parents, reflects our understanding of likely procedures, based on preliminary discussions with the NAC administration.

For case-specific information or clarification, contact the NAC or your adoption service provider directly.
Q: We are currently in Ukraine, waiting for the NAC to issue the consent letter required by the court (or waiting for the referral letter/second appointment/etc). When can we expect to have our document issued/case processed?
A: The NAC requests that all American adopting families currently in Ukraine contact the Center directly or through their representatives to obtain case-specific information, such as new appointment date or the official consents required by Ukrainian courts. The NAC has stated that the consents for the courts will be issued immediately on the day the law becomes effective.
Q: Due to the suspension, we missed our scheduled appointment with the NAC in January. When can we travel to Ukraine for a new appointment?
A: According to the NAC, adopting families who had been scheduled for appointments in January will now be rescheduled in February on the same (or closest working day) to their original date (for example, January 24 would be shifted to February 24). Contact the NAC directly or through your local representative to confirm your appointment date prior to traveling to Ukraine.
Q: We are registered at the NAC and were supposed to receive an appointment this year. When can we expect our appointment?
A: The NAC has advised that after the center reschedules all January appointments, the NAC will focus on priority cases such as those involving children with severe medical problems, older children and sibling groups. The NAC will contact families directly.
Q: Will the NAC accept all new adoption dossiers after it re-opens?
A: The NAC has advised that previous restrictions on acceptance of new dossiers will remain in effect. (See our earlier notices regarding the Government of Ukraine’s concern about the non-compliance rate by American adoptive parents with regard to post-adoption reporting, which is required under Ukrainian law.) The NAC will only accept dossiers filed by U.S. citizens on behalf of certain categories of orphans: siblings of previously adopted children; older children; and children with serious health problems.
Q: We have our adoption dossier ready for submission. Should we send it to the NAC or wait till the new adoption authority is open?
A: If your case falls under one of the special categories listed above, you may submit your dossier to the existing NAC. However, officials of the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports have recommended that prospective adopting parents wait to submit new applications until the new adoption authority is open and operational after May 1, 2006.
Q: How does the new law affect those families whose dossiers were accepted and registered by the NAC months ago, but whose adoptions were neither suspended in mid-December nor already scheduled through the end of January?
A: The NAC advised that there are over 1,000 registered adoption dossiers from foreign citizens, including over 600 from Americans, waiting to be scheduled. According to the NAC, these families will be scheduled for appointments per regular NAC procedures. Any dossier that is not scheduled for an appointment with the existing NAC during the transition period will be transferred to the new adoption authority.

Today was a better day - I was able to spend a few hours having Cate and Luke over. Look at these faces!!!! How could they not make you smile. We decided to play around with my digital camera and download the pictures for the first time. Since I seem to have mastered that part, I figured I would move on and try to figure out how to post them on the blog. Easier than I thought :O)

Today Cate took first place in her wrestling match. This is the second time she placed first (out of three) Congratulations to our little baby Cate!!

More updates....

Well it looks like we might be in business soon.

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:> On January 12, the Rada (Ukraine's parliament) passed law 8680 givinginterim authority over adoptions to the Ministry of Education's NationalAdoption Center (NAC) until the new adoption authority is legallyestablished under the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports. The law willcome into effect as soon as it is signed by the President, who has up to 15days to review it.> The NAC has informed us that as soon as the law is signed by thePresident, the center will be reopened. The NAC will then issue a notice tothe adoption community regarding how families whose adoptions were suspendedor whose appointments were scheduled through January may proceed. As soonas the NAC's notice is issued, we will translate it and post it on our webpage, as well as send it to addressees on this e-mail list.> We strongly urge American prospective adoptive families who hadpreviously-scheduled January appointments NOT to travel to Ukraine untilsuch time as the NAC has issued a notice publicly confirming that thoseappointments will be honored.> Please continue to monitor the Embassy's web page for the current statusof adoption processing in Ukraine: http://kiev.usembassy.gov/.> The Embassy will continue to track this and other adoption-related issuesclosely, and provide updates as appropriate. Any American adopting parentswho would like to be added to our e-mail list are welcome to contact us athttp://us.f539.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=adoptionskiev@state.gov&YY=22956&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b .> Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.> Sincerely,> Adoption Unit/Immigrant Visa Section> Consular Section> American Embassy> Kyiv, Ukraine> Tel: 38-044-4904422> Fax: 38-044-490-4570> http://us.f539.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=adoptionskiev@state.gov&YY=22956&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b >

Newest Updates

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:On January 12, the Rada (Ukraine's parliament) passed law 8680 giving interim authority over adoptions to the Ministry of Education's National Adoption Center (NAC) until the new adoption authority is legally established under the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports. The law will come into effect as soon as it is signed by the President, who has up to 15 days to review it.The NAC has informed us that as soon as the law is signed by the President, the center will be reopened. The NAC will then issue a notice to the adoption community regarding how families whose adoptions were suspended or whose appointments were scheduled through January may proceed. As soon as the NAC's notice is issued, we will translate it and post it on our web page, as well as send it to addressees on this e-mail list.We strongly urge American prospective adoptive families who had previously-scheduled January appointments NOT to travel to Ukraine until such time as the NAC has issued a notice publicly confirming that those appointments will be honored.Please continue to monitor the Embassy's web page for the current status of adoption processing in Ukraine: http://kiev.usembassy.gov/.The Embassy will continue to track this and other adoption-related issues closely, and provide updates as appropriate. Any American adopting parents who would like to be added to our e-mail list are welcome to contact us at adoptionskiev@state.gov .Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.Sincerely,Adoption Unit/Immigrant Visa SectionConsular SectionAmerican EmbassyKyiv, UkraineTel: 38-044-4904422Fax: 38-044-490-4570adoptionskiev@state.gov

Bad day!

Especially if you are an adoptive parent you know about the "overwhelming" days. Today is one of those days. I don't know why but it seems like every so often everything starts to hit you and emotions start running you over.
There's no end in site for us. I think that is hardest part of all this. We have waiting for so long. Just waiting....and only for one thing - the damn appointment!!!
I did my daily check today of all the important websites, to see if there has been as progress in the new establishment and of course it had a disappointing end. It is almost as if the world has stopped in its tracks! I know our world has! Jason and I go on each day, but it is almost like we are zombies. We move forward because we know we have to, yet under the surface all we are really thinking about is this adoption. Everything we try to plan for the future is so unpredicable because we have no clue when we traveling. I know we have to just keep our chins up and it will happen when He thinks it is suppose to, but does it really need to be this hard?
Thanks to all of you who stop by to listen to my venting!! LOL
Oh...And good luck to you too Melanie. Thanks for your message! Let us know if and when you get any news!!

First posting

Well here we go....the journal of our search begins here. We'll post here every few weeks or as news comes in that way our family and friends will be able to stay current with our process.
We'll also update daily while in Ukraine so that all of you can be there with us on our journey to find Sofia Victoria Warchol!!!
Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers plentiful....... Lord knows we need it.