It’s been nearly a month since two nations were stunned by the actions of an adoptive mother and grandmother, who put a seven-year-old adopted from Russia on a plane to Moscow as an unaccompanied minor. He bore a note addressed to the Russian Ministry of Education from his adoptive mother.
Apparently his grandmother, who lived next door to his adoptive mother in Tennessee, had spoken with a driver in Russia and hired him to meet the party at the airport and drive to the Russian Ministry of Education. The driver was under the impression, from phone calls the week before, that the grandmother would be with the child. He says he was surprised to find that the child was alone. United Airlines says that “all procedures for unaccompanied minors were followed”.
Torry Ann Hansen, the adoptive mother, said in her note to the Russian Ministry of Education that her son was violent and that orphanage workers lied to her about the severity of his problems. She said that returning the boy was necessary for her safety and that of her family and friends. The boy’s grandmother said that the boy, adopted in Russia last September, had behavior problems which escalated in January. She said the boy hit, kicked, spat—and more worrisomely, threatened to kill his mother and grandmother and drew a picture of the family’s home on fire.
The local sheriff in Tennessee initially told the media that he didn’t yet know if the adoption had been finalized, because adoption records are sealed. All Russian adoptions are completely finalized in Russia by the approving judge. Some U.S. states may require parents to re-finalize the adoption in their state. Many adoptive parents choose to do this so that the child will have a birth certificate from here in the U.S.
This event has caused chaos in the world of Russian adoptions. Russia’s Foreign Ministry declared that evening that there would be a freeze on adoptions from Russia to the U.S. until an international agreement was signed on adopted children’s rights.
However, in Russia adoptions are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, not the Foreign Ministry. As recently as April 29, Russian regional officials were told by the Ministry of Education that no freeze is in place. As of April 29, adoption agencies reported no cancellations of scheduled trips, meetings or court hearings. Individual judges in Russia have a fair amount of discretion in approving adoptions also.
Talks have begun on the agreement the Russian Foreign Ministry suggested, spelling out children’s rights, preparation of adoptive parents, and post—placement monitoring and family assistance. The following statement is from the website of longtime adoption U.S. adoption agency Children’s Home Society and Family Services:
“Michael Kirby, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and head of the US delegation, stated, ‘We had very fruitful discussions. We agree that we want to do what’s best for children. We have formed a working group and we will be speaking again, starting on May 12.’
“It is hoped that an agreement will be signed at that time. It is not likely that any updates will be available prior to that due to the May 1-10 holidays in Russia.”
Hopefully May 12 will bring news of an agreement which allows at least children who have been matched with families to go to their new homes. Nevertheless, my heart goes out to the U.S. citizens currently matched with Russian orphans, who are understandably terrified that there will be a hold or cancellation on adoptions. It’s very hard when an adoption doesn’t take place when there was a specific child in mind, especially when, as is required in Russia, a parent must visit and see the child 4-6 weeks before returning to Russia for the formal adoption.
The boy was placed through the agency World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP). They place children throughout the U.S., partnering with other local agencies to do the homestudy and post-placement reports for out-of-area families. WACAP is a fairly well-known and respected adoption agency. It was founded by adoptive parents, who still make up a significant portion of the staff. WACAP reports that in over 34 years, they have placed nearly 10,000 children, about half of them older and/or had identified special needs. Adoption dissolution has occurred in about one percent of WACAP’s placements. In most of these cases the family relinquishing the child works with WACAP until another family is found and the child has had time to transition from one family to the next.
WACAP has on its website a section specifically answering Frequently Asked Questions about this situation, although of course they cannot comment on the adoptive mother because of confidentiality laws. To read these, click here.
In upcoming blogs, I will comment on dual citizenship issues for children adopted internationally and on the struggles faced by some parents adopting from Eastern Europe.
Please see these related blogs:
Pioneers in International Adoption