Can You Adopt From Ukraine? - Weekend Wisdom

Prior to Russia invading Ukraine, it was possible to adopt from Ukraine. In fact, depending on the year, it was one of the top 10 placing countries to the US. However, the government of Ukraine has said that intercountry adoption will not fully resume while martial law is in place. However, the government of Ukraine confirmed they will process intercountry adoptions in limited circumstances.

Resources:

• Top Ten Placing Countries to the US
• Factors to Consider When Adopting from Ukraine
• International Adoption (Resource page)

Transcript

Please pardon any errors, this is an automated transcript.
Welcome everyone to Weekend Wisdom by Creating a Family. Creating a Family is a national support and training nonprofit for foster adoptive and kinship families. We have a regular podcast which is a long -form one -hour interview but we now have Weekend Wisdom which is short form answering your questions.
So each week we take a question that you ask and we try to answer it in about five minutes. you can submit your own questions to info @creatingathamily .org.
We'd love to get your questions, because we love answering them. So without further ado, let me jump into today's question, which is, "Can I adopt from Ukraine right now?" That is a very good question,
and it's one we actually have an answer to. So prior to Russia invading Ukraine, it was possible to adopt from the Ukraine. In fact, depending on the year, Ukraine was one of the top 10 placing countries to the U .S.
However, now the government of Ukraine has said that international or inter -country adoptions will not fully resume while martial law is in place,
or really actually three months after martial law is canceled. The war is still ongoing, martial law is still in place. So, for the most part, international adoptions are not proceeding.
However, the government of Ukraine recently announced that they were going to reopen inter -country adoption in limited circumstances. And these are the circumstances where you might be able to adopt.
One, if you're trying to adopt the biological sibling, either full or half sibling, of a previously adopted child. In other words, you've already adopted a child from Ukraine and they have a full or a half sibling still in the country,
that is a possibility you may be able to adopt. Also, if you are the relative of the prospective adoptive child, you may be able to adopt that child.
And there are specific qualifications as to who is defined as a relative. Then you also might be able to adopt your spouse's child,
in other words, a step -parent adoption, is also a possibility if your spouse has a child in Ukraine. And the government of Ukraine will also process international or inter -country adoptions for persons who have already received an official referral from the national social services,
meaning that they have received approval from Ukraine to adopt. and a referral includes having already accepted an official match. And this could be a blind referral,
which means that you do not know this child, or it could be a child that you have previously hosted. Other than these limited exceptions, it's not possible to adopt from Ukraine right now.
However, you could check out other country options at the Creating a Family comparison charts, which you can find at creatingafamily .org, hover over the word adoption and click on comparison charts.
And before I go, if you're listening to this podcast, you might also enjoy the Creating a Family newsletter. It's a e -newsletter. It's monthly. We curate the best of what we have seen that month to help anybody interested in adoption,
foster care, or kinship care. You can subscribe at creatingafamily .org /newsletter. And I hope that we've answered your question today.
Remember, you can send in your questions to info @creatingafamily .org. And I will see you next week.