E. European adoptions explored by PVE group
Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA)
Author: Marie Montgomery
A Palos Verdes Estates church will continue its efforts to help Americans adopt Eastern European orphans by sponsoring an adoption seminar Saturday.
The Adam Foundation, a group set up by the Lunada Bay Christian Fellowship, was formed last year to assist adoptions of Romanian orphans and drug-addicted babies in the United States.
The foundation's road has been uphill, particularly since the Romanian government cracked down on foreign adoptions last year because of widespread problems. The foundation was able to arrange only one Romanian adoption for a Rolling Hills couple, said Pastor Wayne Coombs.
But because of new adoption connections established in Albania, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, Coombs said he hopes to place as many as 120 orphans with American families in 1992.
The seminar will feature Romanian adoption attorney Laszlo Majai and John Davies, a representative of the Solomon Corp.
The corporation is a non-profit Christian group specializing in East European adoptions and dedicated to rebuilding the countries' vital services.
Cost, requirements
Coombs said he hopes to attract people who have unsuccessfully tried to adopt and those who are just thinking about adoption. The seminar will discuss the cost, timeliness and requirements of adopting, he said.
For those who have qualified to become adoptive parents through government screenings, Saturday's seminar can start them on the road to receiving a child by February or March, Coombs said.
The Solomon Corp. has established ties with adoption attorneys, pediatricians and orphanages in Eastern Europe.
The group will take only as many applications as children it has to adopt, and Saturday will be the first chance to make applications for 1992, Davies said.
Davies said his group's main purpose is to save people the heartache of attempting "do-it-yourself" adoptions, in which people fly to Eastern Europe and try to negotiate their own adoptions.
Some families successfully completed "do-it-yourself" adoptions after Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fell from power in late 1989, coming home with orphans after spending as little as $4,000.
Families frustrated
But most families now end up coming home empty-handed and frustrated, particularly since Romanian law now requires a six-month waiting period for foreign adoptions, Davies said.
"The problem in Romania was that people thought they could solve problems (in the adoption process) by throwing money about," said Davies, who smuggled medicine and Bibles into Romania for five years before the Ceausescu regime ended.
Davies, who now lives in Romania, said he has heard countless tales of people who tried to adopt orphans through Romanian taxi drivers or through bribing anyone in sight.
"For everyone who didn't go through an agency and came over with a healthy baby, there's another who brought one home with hepatitis B or another problem," Davies said.
Davies said that prospective adoptive parents should expect to spend $15,000 to adopt a European child. That includes air fare, accommodations, and legal and medical costs.
He encourages prospective adoptive parents to first contact a group such as the Adam Foundation, which guides people through the U.S. adoption processes and can refer them to support and counseling groups.
ADOPTION HELP [] What: Seminar for families interested in adopting Eastern European orphans. [] Who: Sponsored by the Adam Foundation, an adoption-assistance group established by Lunada Bay Christian Fellowship. [] When: Saturday, Nov. 16. [] When: 9 a.m. to noon. [] Where: Torrance Marriott, 3635 Fashion Way. [] Cost: $50 per person, $75 per couple. [] Restrictions: Space is limited and pre-registration is recommended. Call (800) 45-CHILD for information.