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 Associates in Krasnodar. Still, she sheds an interesting spotlight on a region that has been in some turmoil, adoption-wise, in no small part because of the actions of Yunona, an agency shut down by California regulators last year that had operated in the region.

According to her official bio on the Adoption Associates Web site, Spachil first got involved with adoptions in Russia in 1992. The bio also explains why her written English is so good--she has a doctorate in English Language and American Literature from Odessa State University. In addition to her adoption work, Spachil teaches at Kuban State University in Krasnodar.

Spachil began her writing a year ago last June. She doesn't post often, only about once a month, and she hasn't posted at all since the end of April. Sometimes she is chronicling care packages that have arrived, a trip to a local orphanage or children long ago adopted who have returned to their birthplace for a visit.

But it was something she wrote this past March that really caught my eye. In it, she writes about an effort by regional authorities to push a local foster care program. These kinds of foster care models are gaining traction in Russia; I've written about the efforts of Kidsave International and SOS-Kinderdorf International. But Olga says that even though the response from residents of Krasnodar Krai to the program has been strong, orphanage officials are worried that the foster parents (Olga calls them "patronage families") haven't been adequately prepared for what lies ahead. They are worried that children will be returned to their orphanages.

I hope that that's not the case. Efforts to find Russian families for the children in Russia's orphanages are every bit as important as inter-country adoption, especially in regions where officials have become leery of foreign adoption. I want to hear more about the progress this model is making. Olga, please post again soon.