You may remember that, back in June, I asked you if you knew whether your adoption agency was Hague compliant. Now, I've got a follow-up question: Are you ready for Hague?

The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption mandates that prospective parents have 10 hours of training in adoption issues. Since both Russia and the United States are in the process of implementing Hague, it might be wise for parents considering or now in process with Russia... more

Only July 19, five more American adoption agencies were accredited to work in Russia. The decision by the Ministry of Education brings the total number of accredited American agencies to 12. Two agencies from France and one each from Spain and Israel have also been accredited. Let's hope that the MoE keeps working on this through the traditional August slow season and gets the rest of the waiting agencies their paperwork soon.

In political news, on... more

What a great way to end the week: Five more U.S. adoption agencies have been accredited by the Russian government. The July 19 round of accreditations also included one agency each in Israel, Spain and France.

The American agencies are Pittsburgh-based Adopt-A-Child, Adoption Associates in Jennison, Mich., European Adoption Consultants of Strongsville, Ohio, Rhode Island-based Gift... more

It seems as if more accreditations are on the horizon.

European Adoption Consultants has a note on its Russia program page dated July 11, 2007 that says that it is expecting its accreditation "in the next few days". This would be quite interesting because EAC says on its Web site that it only submitted its accreditation papers to the Ministry of Education on March 6 of this year, well after some of the other agencies that are waiting for accreditation decrees.

There is nothing yet on EAC's accreditation on either the Web site that the Ministry... more

Five years. By some measures, that's not a very long time. It took 185 years to build Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, for example.

But right now, in the context of adoption from Russia, five years looks almost like eternity. That's because the new accreditations that were announced last week --the first of what will hopefully be several dozen before long--are good for five years.

Five years.

What an enormous weight that is lifted off the agencies' shoulders. They can program and plan, and give parents a timeline for their adoption... more

I wrote last week that eight American agencies had been accredited by the Russian government to handle adoptions. I was wrong--and right.

Let me explain.

As you can now see at the top of the Web site for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, seven agencies were accredited. They are Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Charlotte, Children's Home Society & Family Services, ... more

I made an interesting find when I was researching the post on Krasnodar Krai the other day: An adoption blog written by a Russian.

Olga Spachil's "carefororphans" blog is one of those rare insider looks at the world. In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that Spachil does have ties to the adoption communities in Russia and the United States: She's listed among the regional contacts for Adoption... more

Here in the United States, we've all been doing a bit of Fourth of July celebrating today. But some folks in Maryland and Virginia have been doing a bit more celebrating than others. They are the people at Cradle of Hope Adoption Center and, today, it became the first American agency to be re-accredited under Russia's new rules. Congratulations to all of you and to the families you serve.

And now, could the other big shoe please drop?

OK, I don’t mean to seem greedy, or steal any of Cradle of Hope's justly deserved... more

Finally, the leaders of our country and our children's homeland may be learning how to beat swords into plowshares. And it couldn’t have come at a more symbolic time for adoption.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the United States late Sunday afternoon, not in Washington and all things formal, but in Kennebunkport, Me., home to the family compound of U.S. President George Bush. According to the Associated Press, the meeting, which will last less than... more

Yes I've heard the rumors--paperwork on several adoption agencies has been approved by the four key ministries and they are waiting for the Ministry of Education and Science to issue their re-accreditations. I've even tried to confirm that the e-mail circulating on the chat boards that purported to come from the head of one adoption agency was actually sent by that agency. I'm waiting for a call back.

So now what? Folks, I hate to say it, but we just have to keep on doing what we've been doing: wait. Because the slowdown in adoptions in Russia... more