On Saturday we spent the afternoon with Jeannie, Freddy, their kids (they adopted hope from Moscow City 6months ago) . There were 5 of us, and 6 of them... Needless to say there was never a dull moment. We went on the Boat and ate dinneron the Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale and just has a wonderful time. Hope and Ava dont know what to think of eachother, they are so use to be the only girls.
Well this week the boys went back to school. I now have a 5th grader and 3rd Grader. I have 3 more years until Ava enters kindergarten seems far but i know if will fly by. We went to Olivia's (Ava's Friend) 3 rd birthday party at the Beach last night and we had so much fun. Here are some pictures. 2 1/2 months and Ava will be 3.
It's almost time for the boys to return to school. This summer went by so fast. The start school Aug 17th. Then it will be just Ava and I during the day.
Ava is getting so big. I cannot even believe that next month Sept will be 2 years we met her at orphanage 21. I look at the pictures from her referral photo to now and she has changed so much.
Her new word to everything is "NO". She started that this week.
Today the boys and I went and say Jeannie & Hope ( adopted 6 months ago from Moscow City) down at their home about 40 mins south of us. It nice to have other families close that have gone through the same adoption process.
Next month we will be traveling to see Greg & Laura Hobbs which we met Sept 2007 on the airplane to Moscow , they met their little Boy also on that trip. I cant wait to see them again.
Ava's 2nd year post placement is also coming up. That is when the Social Worker has to come to our home and do a report for the Russian Goverment, that is due in November. Then we will have 1 more do a year from that.
We are so blessed and our family is complete.
Foreign adoptions down in Russia as foster care grows
Foreign adoptions down in Russia as foster care grows
Fewer Russian children are being adopted abroad, although the number of total adoptions in Russia is declining, figures show. The statistics point to a complex future for the country's orphans as the government struggles to implement additional means of foster care even as it tries to encourage more Russians to adopt.
According to the U.S. State Department, which released figures for the 2008 fiscal year, the number of foreign children adopted by Americans fell by 12 percent.
In 2008, there were 17,438 adoptions for abroad, while there were 19,613 in 2007. Much of this decline is due to fewer adoptees from Russia and China. Although Russia has not yet released statistics for 2008, the numbers from previous years confirm the trend.
There were 6,689 foreign adoptions in 2006, and only 4,536 in 2007 - a decline of over 30 percent - according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Education and Science, which is responsible for developing adoption programs and legislation in the country.
The United States is the chief destination for Russia's foreign adoptees - in 2006, American parents adopted 3,468 children, making up well over half of the total number of foreign adoptions.
But these numbers do not indicate that Russians are adopting more children. Of the adoptees, the share of those who remain in Russia has increased - from 7,767 in 2006 to 9,537 in 2007. But overall adoptions decreased in 2007 by about 3 percent. Indeed, the number of adopted children peaked in 2004 at 16,434, and has been declining ever since.
This is explainable by foster care programs. While adoptions declined, there has been a rise in the number of children in new, alternative foster care initiatives. While not adoptions formally, these included various kinds of foster care in which a child lives with a guardian or a family that is paid by the government. There are at least three kinds of foster categories apart from adoption. Although the government officially considers adoptions the best option for orphans, it has opted to develop these programs to bring down the number of children without parents.
Since 2006, more stringent laws regulating foreign adoptions have gone into effect. According to Yekaterina Bridge of the World Association for Children and Parents, that has meant more paperwork.
"In 2007, adoption agencies were getting accreditation based on new rules, and that has led to fewer adoptions," she told The Moscow News.
"The first accreditations were received only in June, 2007, and this caused a delay."
Explaining the decline in the number of adoptions, Bridge cited alternative forms of foster care, but noted that these forms had their drawbacks.
"Local officials in the provinces are wary of developing foster care because of the money issue. They fear children could be taken advantage of for the government subsidies."
While she said her agency was supportive of the government efforts to develop newer forms of foster care, she cited the latest figures for children without parents as "staggering."
As of December 31, 2007, 171,044 children were listed in the official adoption data base.
Officials acknowledge the need to encourage more Russians to adopt.
"Adoption is the top priority in placing children with families," says Alexandra Ochirova, who chairs the Public Chamber's Commission on Social and Demographic Policy.
"But the statistics do not show that the problem is being solved. Since not enough children are being adopted, other forms of foster care are being offered."
Ochirova does not believe that foreign adoptions will solve the problem, however.
"There are various points of view, and the interests of the child should be put first," she told The Moscow News. "But I believe that this problem should be solved inside the country. This doesn't mean we should have a ban on international adoptions, but considering the demographic situation, it would be good to make the population better prepared to adopt Russian children."
Ochirova says that raising awareness, advertising, and easing bureaucracy would lead to more adoptions. There are many Russians willing to adopt, she says, but they are daunted by the bureaucratic process.
LOVE
Love... bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. - 1 Corinthians 13:7
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
On Saturday we spent the afternoon with Jeannie, Freddy, their kids (they adopted hope from Moscow City 6months ago) . There were 5 of us, and 6 of them... Needless to say there was never a dull moment. We went on the Boat and ate dinneron the Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale and just has a wonderful time. Hope and Ava dont know what to think of eachother, they are so use to be the only girls.
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