For families interested in adopting a child two years or older, Ukraine currently allows families to pre-register with the State Department for Adoption (SDA) with only a home study and power of attorney forms.

In other words, after you submit the appropriate initial documents, and after the Ukraine SDA reviews and approves your case, you are considered pre-registered and subsequently given a “full” registration date for your case. Most recently, the full registration date has been scheduled approximately six months after pre-registration. Families are receiving invitations to Ukraine to receive referrals 15-20 days later.

What does this mean for a family interested in adopting from the Ukraine? It means you can submit initial documents with some breathing room for completing the rest of your dossier because you know your upcoming registration date. By knowing your registration date ahead of time, you know exactly when the sum total of your dossier documents must be completed and submitted through CWA. Additionally, by knowing your registration date, you can determine your approximate invitation date. Thank you to Ukraine for understanding the complexity of international adoption, the impact on adoptive parents and for stepping in to make the process less cumbersome and more predictable at this time.

This is a temporary opportunity. We do not know when the process may revert to the previously established system. If you think adoption from the Ukraine is an option for you and your family, you can request more information on-line here, or submit your application on-line here.

Ludmilla Mikhailova
CWA Ukraine Program Director