Word spread quickly Thursday after a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Andrei Nesterenko, said adoptions by Americans had been suspended pending U.S.-Russian negotiations on an adoption treaty.
Russia stepped up demands for such a treaty following last week's incident in which a Tennessee woman sent her seven-year-old adopted son back to Russia on a plane by himself with a note saying he was violent and severely mentally ill.
Within hours after Nesterenko's briefing, the reported suspension was cast into doubt. Russia' Education Ministry, which oversees international adoptions, said it had no knowledge of a freeze. So did a spokeswoman for the Kremlin's children's rights ombudsman.
In Washington, the State Department at one point said there was no suspension, then said it was seeking clarification from Russian officials. "Right now, to be honest, we've received conflicting information," department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
The State Department is sending a high-level delegation to Moscow next week to discuss the controversy and a possible adoption agreement.
As the world wonders why a parent would send an adopted Russian child back to Russia, a North Texas adoption agency says parents often have to make decisions with limited information.
Children adopted from foreign countries may have a host of medical and emotional problems that are not disclosed — or are undiagnosed.
Buckner Foster Care and Adoption Services says would-be parents are counseled on how to evaluate a child's health and the risks of international adoption.
"You will probably only receive information from where that child currently resides," said Debbie Wynne, director of adoption. "Typically that information does not follow a child from place to place, so it's very limited based on what they know and what they've learned from when the child entered the home. And that's not good for some families."
The Buckner agency says parents are counseled that they do not have to adopt the first child they meet, or even adopt a child at all.
With no guarantee of success, adopting a child from Russia comes with a significant financial cost. The average placement can be as much as $34,000, a total that includes agency and travel fees.
There are additional costs for home studies and post-placement services.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
E-mail dschechter@wfaa.com
