Three Stories: Russia, Ukraine, U.S.

Ukraine -- Ukrainian Ombudsman Nina Karpacheva has this to say about international adoption: “The Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption ... contradicts our national interests, clearing the way for masked trafficking of orphans.”

Russia (thanks to Harlow's Monkey and Third Mom for the link) --

A decade ago, authorities in the provincial town of Chelyabinsk were desperate to find homes for the growing number of abandoned children. But for Nadezhda Gertman, the head of child welfare, foreign adoption is no longer the answer. When she talks about sending children out of the country, her voice breaks up.

"I was on a plane to Moscow. There was a foreign couple who had just adopted a child," Gertman says. "I had the feeling they were taking away my child. I told my staff we will only give them away after we have done everything possible to find Russian parents for them or if their medical problems are such we can't handle them here."

U.S. -- Buried in the midst of a happy story about 11 children adopted from foster care, Human Services Manager Pravin Patel says: "There is a recent trend to adopt children from within the United States. The weakened economy has potential parents looking closer to home for children instead of going overseas to places like China, Patel said."

So in other countries, there are moral, cultural, ethical, political reasons for an increase in domestic adoption. In the U.S., it's because the economy has tanked?!

One other "tanking economy" point I've been worried about -- one of the reasons abandonments have decreased in China is the improved economic status of Chinese families. I'm worried that with the global economy tanking there will be an upswing in abandonments in China. So here's another plug for Love Without Boundaries Unity Fund, which aims to fund medical care for children who might otherwise be abandoned because poor families hope orphanages can provide that needed care. So, here's a fund who's aim is to keep Chinese families together. Please consider putting them on your list for holiday giving!