WHY DO SOME PEOPLE PREFER INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION?

There are many reasons why international adoption is preferred by some adoptive parents over domestic adoption. Here are just a few:

• Not every adoptive parent wants a newborn. Some are very content with a toddler, or older child.
   

• Many adoptive parents worry about a birth mother changing her mind and reclaiming the baby in a domestic adoption. In most Ukraine adoptions, the child has already been freed of parental rights and is available for adoption. The adoptive parents are working with a government, not a birth parent.
   

• Adoptive parents may be frustrated by waiting a long time to be selected (as in most U.S. adoptions, it is the birth mother who selects the adoptive parents), or they may consider themselves too old, or already have one or more children, making domestic adoption difficult. However, in our Ukraine program, the usual time from the start of the process to your actual adoption of a child, is about 6 months. Issues such as being over 40 or already having children are rarely a factor.
   

• Domestic adoptions can sometimes involve unanticipated costs: medical costs, living costs, etc. In Ukraine, there are no such costs as the child is already free for adoption.
   

• Many adoptive parents recognize there are more adoptive parents waiting for a child in the United States than there are children for adoption. They also see there are children waiting for homes in Eastern European countries like Ukraine. These adoptive parents often feel there is a particular child waiting for them to come and become their parents.
   

• Contrary to popular belief, healthy children are available.
   

• When the child has been receiving loving, nurturing care at their orphanage (and high quality orphanage care is a characteristic of Ukraine), concerns surrounding the child's ability to fully bond to his or her new parents are significantly lessened.
   

HOW DOES INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION WORK?
 

International adoption is an increasingly popular option. In fact, approximately 10% of all U.S. adoptions are now international adoptions. The children who are adopted are living in orphanages in countries going through difficult economic or social times, leading to the abandonment of many children. Adoptive parents must first be approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (formerly called the INS). The primary requirement of the USCIS is an agency home study. Your complete application to adopt (called your "dossier") is then authenticated and translated. You can specify the age, gender and ethnicity of the child you wish to adopt. Your dossier is then submitted overseas. You only travel one time, meet the child and have your adoption finalized in court. (Typical out-of-country time is about three weeks.)
 

WHY UKRAINE?

The people: Ukraine has a genuine concern for its children. This concern can be seen in their orphanages striving to provide true nurturing care for their orphaned children. When you see our videos, you will see the typical Ukraine orphanage looks more like a quality American preschool than the image we have from TV coverage of Romania and Russia. Also, most health tests and inoculations are the same as is common in the U.S.  Ukraine is a Caucasian nation. Most children free for adoption are 18 months and older. The average age children adopted through our program is three years of age.

Adoptive parent restrictions: Ukraine has no formal restrictions regarding age, religion, length of marriage or single parenting. Instead, Ukraine takes a "whole person" approach.  

Speed: Ukraine responds to applications to adopt within only ten days, compared to up to a year elsewhere. Geographically there are also advantages. Unlike Russia and China, both more than 3,500 miles across, Ukraine is only 550 miles wide, with your starting point (in Kiev) located in the center. You can arrive at any orphanage within a day.
 

WHO SHOULD WE HIRE? 

Some international adoption programs are operated by agencies, while others by attorneys. Which is best? We believe the best system is to have a licensed intercountry agency conduct the required home study and educate you regarding the emotional issues ahead for you and the child you will be adopting (we will recommend a local agency with an excellent staff and low costs), and have an attorney oversee the program and the legal complexities of international adoption (California, USCIS and Ukraine laws).
 

WHAT ARE RANDY HICKS' QUALIFICATIONS?

Randall Hicks is a nationally recognized adoption attorney who has completed more than 800 adoptions:

• He is a leading adoption author whose books have been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Sun-Times. His books include ADOPTING IN AMERICA: How to Adopt Within One Year ("Showers the anxious parent with information on methods and resources." - Booklist, American Library Association "Educational and empowering." - Publishers Weekly), ADOPTING IN CALIFORNIA and Adoption Stories for Young Children.
   

• Randy's books are on the recommended reading list in the governmental publication "International Adoption" published by the U.S. Department of State, the governmental branch overseeing international adoption.

• He was the host of the 1991, PBS educational five-part series Adoption Forum, and his books have been featured on many network programs (The Today Show, The Leeza Gibbons Show, The Sally Jessy Raphael Show, Home and Family Show).
   

• He is a member in the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (a group in which only 29 attorneys statewide are admitted)
   

WHAT DOES IT COST?

Costs vary tremendously among international adoption programs. Our program fee totals $14,850. It is divided into three separate portions so you can fairly "pay as you go": stage 1 - $2,950 (guiding you through the home study and INS process, as well as preparing your dossier); stage 2 - $2,950 (translation and authentication of your dossier and its formal submission to Ukraine); stage 3 - $8,950 (our Ukraine staff's invaluable assistance to you - one of our translators and drivers will meet you at the airport and take you everywhere you need to go in completing your adoption in Ukraine. This includes going to the Adoption Committee, the orphanage, the court, and all the many places needed to go to complete an adoption. We even have a doctor on staff who accompanies you to the Adoption Committee to review children's health records with you. "At home" Randy oversees everything, then does the legal work in your "readoption" in California). Virtually the only costs not covered are your travel expenses: airfare, hotel, food, gifts overseasa and expediting costs and visa fees. You will also need to pay your agency home study fee (varies by agency, but usually about $1,800). The new federal adoption tax credit, effective January 1, 2002, of $10,000 per child, can be applied for in international adoption, just as in domestic adoption.

Not all programs are clear in detailing what their program fee covers, and what it does not. In fact, some our outright deceptive. Here are some suggested questions for you to ask to learn the real cost you can expect with each program you are considering:

1) Does your program fee cover the preparation, authentication and translation of our dossier? In our program it is included in the program fee.

2) Does it include the full time services of your translators and drivers in taking us everywhere we need to go in our adoption - government offices, the orphanage, court, the embassy? In our program it is included.

3) What about the services of an English-speaking doctor to assist us in understanding the child's medical records? In our program it is included.

4) Who pays the orphanage donation? In Ukraine or Russia, there is an expectation of a humanitarian aid donation to the orphanage of approximately $500 - $1,000 to aid the children left behind. In our program it is included.

5) Are there higher charges if we adopt a younger child? Our program fees are the same regardless of age.