Rose Alaimo doesn't know any Russian orphans. She's never been to a Russian orphanage, or even to Russia itself. But all that is going to change this summer--if Rose gets our help. This young woman from Dallas, Pa. wants to spend three weeks volunteering at a Russian orphanage. But she needs to raise money for travel and other expenses. Not much, $1,800, but that's enough to stretch the budget of somebody who's in grad school studying to be a veterinarian.

That was one of the first things to surprise me about Rose, when... more

As I have noted before, Russia has 86 governing subdivisions that are potential locations for an adoption. The 59 agencies that are now seeking accreditation and re-accreditation from the Ministry of Education each operate in only a handful of these regions. I've given you five tips on choosing a region once you have selected your agency.

But there's a lot more to learn about Russia's regions. Not only for the prospective parents now waiting... more

In adoption news, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said Friday that, as of Monday, June 18, 2007, its standard processing time for adoption visas will change to two business days from one. Families will still submit their documents in the morning, but will come back for their interviews at 2 p.m. the following day, instead of the same afternoon. Still no news on accreditations from the Russian Ministry of Education, however.

There was a mix of good news... more

One week ago today, Brenda and Robert Matthey heard their fate. They merited much more jail time than they got, but it was the best that the our legal system could devise. Now it is time to think about the legacy of the Russian child that they did not care for.

Brenda and Robert Matthey are a couple from southern New Jersey who adopted three boys from Russia in December 1999. Less than one year later, the oldest of the three boys, Viktor,... more

What are the odds of this: Two positive stories about Russian adoption appearing in the mainstream press on the same day, which just happens to be Mother's Day? I just about fell off my chair this morning when I opened my Google Alerts. I had been reading a very dreamlike sequence in Anna Karenina last night and, looking at the news alerts at 6 in the morning, I had to make sure I wasn't still dreaming.

But it gets even better:... more

If you read the mainstream press, you'd come away with the idea that Russia has shut its doors to adoption. As I've said before, it hasn't, and if you want proof you need look no further than the posts and blogs about the referrals, trips and court dates that prospective parents are getting right now. Yes, right now.

Before you jump to the conclusion that something nefarious is going on, remember this: While the accreditations of adoption agencies... more

A bit of news on the adoption front, but not the big news on accreditation that we all want to see.

As expected, Robert and Brenda Matthey were sentenced to four years in a New Jersey state prison for causing the death of the child they adopted from Russia, Viktor Alexander Matthey, in December 1999. The couple had pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter on April 12 and dropped all outstanding appeals. But, given the time they have already served... more

I wrote this morning about the surprise visit of a senior Russian adoption official, Alina Levitskaya. But I wanted to come back to some of the other points made by Ms. Levitskaya in her meeting with The National Council for Adoption because I think they can help us form a clearer picture of what is, and isn't happening in Russian adoptions right now.

According to NCFA staffer Lee Allen, Ms. Levitskaya said that adoptions of Russian children by Russian families are increasing.... more

I don’t know if your adoption agency has alerted you to this, but there was a very important Russian visitor in the United States two weeks ago: Alina Levitskaya.

Ms. Levitskaya's official title is Director of the Department of Youth Policy, Upbringing and Social Protection of Children of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. Which means she is in the inner circle as the Ministry of Education rounds up Russian government input on the re-accreditation of foreign adoption agencies.

According to The National Council for Adoption, which... more

As a single, working mom of two, I have a long to-do list of things that don't get done.

But when I was working on a reorganization of the basement the other day, I came across the box of materials I had put aside for my younger son's life book. There was the journal I kept during my two trips to Sakhalin Island in 2005, and copies of all the e-mails I had sent or received while I was away. There were photos, but I am not the world's best with a camera and most of the time during my trips I was playing with my son, not taking his... more