Putin Tightens the Screws (er, Rules)

The Russian Government, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has responded.

A little over a month ago, I wrote a blog post about an effort by members of the Russian State Duma to impose a moratorium on adoptions of Russian orphans to Americans. Rather than ask Putin for a moratorium, the State Duma instead petitioned him to accelerate the development of bilateral treaties with countries to which Russian children are adopted.

Putin responded last week. But he didn't specifically do anything related to bilateral treaties. Not yet, anyway. Instead, on April 22, 2009, Putin modified the rules governing foreign adoption agencies working in Russia. These rules, called Government Decision No. 654 of November 4, 2006, define the qualifications, process, and duties of foreign adoption agencies seeking Permits for Adoption Activity in Russia. Foreign adoption agencies cannot lawfully operate inside Russia without such a permit.

A Government Decision has force of law in Russia. To modify it, the Government must issue a new Government Decision that specifically states the modifications to the original. In this case, the modifications are contained in Government Decision No. 356 of April 22, 2009, published on the Russian Government's official website. Here is a summary of the modifications:

1. The roles taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice in approving a foreign adoption agency's Permit for Adoption Activity are clarified.

2. Adoption Agency licenses submitted as part of an application for a Russian Permit for Adoption Activity must be valid for at least 1 year.

3. Clearance letters from the state licensing authority submitted as part of an application for a Russian Permit for Adoption Activity must be valid for at least 1 year.

4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is given specific directions about what to consider in making a recommendation to issue or deny a Permit for Adoption Activity. Specifically, they are instructed to check the local laws governing children adopted from Russia, and also to check on the reputation of the foreign adoption agency via consular contacts in the adoption agency's home country.

5. The rights associated with a Russian Permit for Adoption Activity will immediately cease if a pattern of late post-placement reports (PPR) is established, or if other gross violations of Russian law or instability in the adoption agency's home country are detected. The original GD#654 gave a process for the permit to be suspended or revoked over time. While the suspension and revocation regime remain in place, this change makes the consequences of missing PPR's or other gross violations of law immediate and severe by prohibiting adoption activity while the process plays out.

6. The federal MoE no longer needs to inform the Ministry of Justice when a permit order is issued.

7. Foreign adoption agencies which are denied a Permit for Adoption Activity or lose one by revocation, except in cases of gross violations of law or a pattern of missing PPR's, may reapply after 12 months. It used to be 6 months. Also, foreign adoption agencies which are denied a permit on the grounds of a pattern of missing PPR's or gross violations of law may never receive another permit.

8. Perhaps the biggest impact of this change is a new requirement that the federal Ministry of Education and Science (MoE) must be notified by the foreign adoption agency within 5 days of any of the following events involving a child adopted through that agency from Russia: death, violent injury, abuse, failure to adjust to the adoptive family, disruption and/or alternative placement, and any other actions that cause harm to the life, health, or interests of an adopted child.

Tightening the rules in the past does not seem to have resulted in fewer cases of abuse or death. Instead, it has resulted in fewer adoptions of Russian children to foreigners. These changes address concerns with adoptions to foreigners only by making Russian Permits for Adoption Activity more fragile. This in turn, makes the Russian adoption process more precarious to every pre-adoptive family.

It is likely that even the best agencies may have no way to know within five days about cases of accidental death, serious injury, disruption, or abuse, of children placed into their families. While I can understand the Russian government wanting to hold someone accountable for sending the information in a timely manner, these new rules make it almost inevitable that every foreign adoption agency will eventually run afoul of the rules through no fault of their own.

I hope that the agencies work out a way to detect problems and report them quickly. The hopes and dreams of many families and children not yet home depend on it.

Photo courtesy of www.kremlin.ru. Used by permission.