Who cares about finding a Wii for Christmas when there are this many accreditations popping?

Yesterday, I told you that I had confirmed the re-accreditation of six agencies. I've got six more definites today, plus two that have been signed but are not yet on the Ministry of Education's list of decrees and one that has cleared all of the necessary Russian government agencies and is back at the MoE for signature. Yes, that only adds up to 15, and as I noted yesterday, Marshall Williams, the vice president of international adoptions and family services at Gladney Center for Adoption, told Tuesday's edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that 16 agencies are going to be re-accredited. I don't know what accounts for the discrepancy, but a lot of agencies still haven't returned my calls. If anybody knows the name of the sixteenth agency, please send me an e-mail.

The accreditations for all 12 of the agencies that have been confirmed were dated December 14. Today's group includes three agencies from outside the U.S.: two from Italy and one from Belgium.

The new agencies, in alphabetical order, are:
A La Croisee Des Chemins, a Belgian agency
Adoptions Together
Amici dei Bambini, of Italy
Centro Internazionale per l'Infanzia e la Famiglia, also of Italy
Children of the World
Florence Crittenton League

In addition, New Hope Christian Services of New Hampshire and Little Miracles International Adoption of Texas told me that their accreditations have been signed and that they will be allowed to pick them up before the end of the year. Hand In Hand, an Arizona-based agency, has cleared the final paperwork hurdle with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is likely to also hear good news on accreditation soon. These names do not yet appear on the Ministry of Education's list, but the agencies are feeling confident enough about things to disclose their status to me.

I was worried that Father Frost was not going to be visiting Russia's orphanages this year. But I am overjoyed, for all the orphans in Russia and all the parents who wait to welcome them into their families, that he chose to visit the Ministry of Education instead.

Image credit: rmontiel85 at Morguefile.com

NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Ministry of Education had signed off on Hand in Hand. It was in fact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.