May 6, 2008

Lowell Sun article about FCL

Family ties

Lowell adoption agency keeps close connections with children and parents

Lily Morey, 5, loves bouncing, gymnastics and chowing down on Chinese noodles. Paulina Manning, 4, enjoys dolls, tea parties and embellishing her fingers with plastic rings, treasures from a church fair.

Pretty typical behavior for girls their age. But what's a bit different about these energetic tots is that both spent their earliest months in orphanages -- Lily in China and Paulina in Russia.

Since being adopted by their families -- the Moreys in Littleton and the Mannings in Dracut -- they've flourished. And their grateful folks can't imagine life without them.

"The moment they put Lily in our arms, she was a part of our family," said Sherri Morey, smiling as Lily and her older sister, Maggie, 8, giggle and play.

January 21, 2008

Florence Crittenton League Re-accredited in Russia

The Florence Crittenton League is happy to announce that our agency has been reaccredited in Russia. This is a permanent reaccreditation, and does not have to be renewed yearly, as before. We have been working in Russia for over l3 years and have completed over 200 adoptions. Our Russian Program Directors are Aleksa Fleszar and Arna Bronstein. They are Russian professors at the University of New Hampshire, and Alelksa has adopted two children from Russia herself (now grown). Arna and Aleksa are educated professionals with advanced degrees who work directly with Russia for us, and also help families with the complexities of paperwork for Russia. They communicate with our facilitator in St. Petersburg. Our agency has an office in St. Petersburg. Our team helps you plan your trip, gives you personal attention, and keeps you informed of changes in the adoption process.

Our agency works in St. Petersburg, Orenburg, Perm and Pskov. We are always looking for other sources in Russia. We place children n 9 months and older, and sometimes sibling groups. Current waiting times vary depending on the sex, age, and medical issues requested. (The wait for a baby girl is longer than for boys or toddlers.) We estimate that your adoption will be completed within one year (or less) of your documents being filed in Russia. Many adoptions are completed within 6 months. Although most of the children we have placed have been in relatively good health, parents must remember that all children in orphanages area considered at risk. Parents should be ready for a child with developmental, speech and other delays. Our agency helps you find support services and early intervention help.

COST: Adoption is complicated, and each step has its own costs. There is document preparation and submission, legalization of papers in Russia, administrative costs, driver and car in city of adoption, salaries of team members, translation, orphanage aid, filing fees, court costs, and legalization of child’s documents for the US Embassy. Parents are responsible for document preparation costs, travel to Russia, travel to Moscow to the US Embassy, Embassy fees, driver and car in Moscow. Fees are reduced for handicapped children, siblings, and adoption of more than one child at a time. We are happy to send you more details about the adoption costs.

REQUIREMENTS: we work with parents of all ages, single women and married couples. Russian officials require that there be no more than 47 years between the age of the youngest parent and the adopted child.

DOCUMENT PREPARATION: If you are out of state, we will send your agency the format for the home study that is required for Russia. All referrals are given by the Committee on Employment and Social Security of the People. No information is given to parents before they travel. The first trip is to receive the referral from the Committee, meet the child, review the medical and social information, and make a decision. All children can be seen by an independent pediatrician in Russia during your first trip. Parents receive a written report after the blood test results are available.

COURT: The second trip (4-8 weeks later, both parents have to go to court) is the court trip which finalizes the adoption. There is a 10 day waiting period for the court decree to become final, lately that has not been waived. Parents can stay in Russia, or return after the 10 days. They then travel to Moscow to American Embassy for the child’s visa. Someone from our Russian team is always with you.

You can call the Florence Crittenton League at 978-452-9671, or cell phone 781-526-8157.or email us at info@fcleague.org.

You can contact our Russian Program Directors Aleksa and Arna at SCATadoption@comcast.net.