Stahlke Adoption

Our Visit with the Consul

The consul came bearing gifts--several books and lots of chocolate. And he brought dark chocolate--so European! He also removed his shoes upon entering our home. That's also from the Old Country, as a courtesy to avoid dirtying our floors.

He is a young man, probably 30-35, and most recently posted in Kazakhstan before Chicago. Since he grew up in Russia, his native language worked well in his last posting. His English, though accented, was excellent, and he was very intent on engaging the children in conversation. We served tea and cookies, including some that Adam himself had baked.

The number of adopted Ukrainian children in his ten-state region is about 1,600, and every month, he visits two families. Probably because we just submitted four post-adoption reports last week, he decided that our turn for a visit had come.

But his office is also working hard with other means to improve the participation rates of American adoptive parents in submitting post-adoption reports. It is very important to Ukraine to know the status of adopted children in the U.S. Every year the Ukrainian consulate in Chicago sends out letters urging the submission of the reports. For the first three years after adoption, the reports are required on a yearly basis. After that, they should be sent every three years. Once the child turns 18, the requirement is finished. The closing of adoptions in Ukraine, which has occurred off and on over the years, is sometimes due to the lack of these documents from American parents.

We've gone from six reports last time to four reports this year. Next time, we'll be down to only two.

posted by Stahlkes @ 2:09 PM