Orphaned Russian Girls and Boys Will Find Homes Quicker
Russia has finally granted licenses to seven United States based adoption agencies in the past two weeks. This will make it much easier to place Russian girls and boys in loving American homes that will hopefully provide them with a safe and healthy life. There are close to 70, 000 Russian children living in orphanages according to the National Council for Adoption.
There had been up to 44 American agencies in the country helping facilitate adoptions - enough to make Russia the number three country for Americans that are seeking to adapt foreign children behind China and Guatemala in the year 2006. Last year only 3,706 Russian girls and boys came to the United States down from a high of 5,865 in 2004. The main reason for the slowdown was that as American agencies licenses started to expire, Russia began to tighten standards for renewal.
Many adoptions had been placed on hold and unfortunately, many children lost an opportunity to be adopted by American parents because of the situation. It can take up to a year for an American family to adopt a Russian child and the cost can range up to $30,000.
Russian government officials had no comment on the situation.
