Update: 9/19/05

Dear Families,
I hope you had a restful weekend. I am back in the office and available for questions or concerns about last week's meetings. My colleagues posted the weekly update on our website in my absence. Please remember that if any news is available on Fridays, it will be posted on our website instead of sent out in a separate email. For your convenience, I have copied the update at the end of this email.
To summarize, the Council on Accreditation did meet, but decided to continue their meetings this week. I do not have information as so what day they will reconvene. Dr Dubrovsky has asked those families who are awaiting reaccreditation to wait until the Council on Accreditation makes their final decisions. Once this occurs, Dr. Dubrovsky and our Eastern Europe staff will be more able to make decisions based on facts rather than speculation.
Please keep in mind that AWAA is advocating for your family in crucial adoption meetings. Last week my colleague, Leslie Johnston, was able to voice her concerns for both Russian orphans and adoptive parents with Duma Deputy Anatoliy Vasilyevich. Praise the Lord for her ability to speak with him in Russian! As always, I will keep you updated as soon as more news is available. Also, many of you have asked me to send out a description of my trip to Louisiana last week. Once I have caught up on phone calls and urgent matters, you can expect an email from me in regards to the relief efforts.
Blessings to you,
Sara Parrish
Eastern Europe Family Coordinator


"America World received encouraging updates from Russia this week. The encouraging word is that a moratorium on international adoptions from Russia has been avoided. See the Adoptive Families Magazine article for more details http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=2
Additional developments regarding accreditation issues were also received this week. Unfortunately the meeting to discuss Russian accreditation, scheduled by the Ministry of Education was put off until next week. Educational issues were discussed in what was to be a joint meeting, but adoption issues were tabled this week. America World Russian facilitators have asked for your patience and understanding as these ongoing delays are out of agency/facilitator control.

Please note, a myriad of agencies, non profit agencies, and politicians are working behind the scenes both in the USA and Russia to resolve the issues which are the source of the current delays. Please take a moment to read a letter from the President of the National Council on Adoption, sent to President Putin this past February as just a sample of what is going on behind the scenes. http://www.adoptioncouncil.org/media_News_030205.htm

One America World Russia adoptive family gracefully represented the concerns of all America World Families to the Delegation of Russian Officials recently. The family interacted with the delegation at a reception hosted by the Joint Council on International Children Services yesterday evening. See http://www.jcics.org/Russia.htm for more information on this non-profit agency. Executive Director Susan Maines and Family Coordinator Leslie Johnston were additional participants who discussed the delays facing our Russian Adopting Families with officials.

The America World Russia staff asks for continued prayer for families anxiously awaiting court dates . Additional prayer is requested for those families awaiting referral. As always, we continue to work hard on your behalf and pray that is God is blessing each of you above all that you could ask or imagine during this trying time