Adoption leads to birth of EAC

Review Times (Fostoria, OH)

Consultants aid 3,800 adoptions in 12 countries

Margaret Cole adopted more than a child 12 years ago she adopted an organization as well.

European Adoption Consultants, North Royalton, Ohio, is a non-profit organization that received its license in 1991 after Cole, executive director, and her husband were filing for their own adoption. Cole realized that she could help others through the process and in that near 12-year time span, the organization has facilitated 3,800 adoptions in 12 countries.

Currently, adoptions are available through China, Vietnam, Guatemala, Russia and Kazakhstan. EAC is especially experienced with Russian adoptions because it is one of only 50 agencies accredited by the Russian Federation for adoptions.

Stasi Lukuch, an adoption consultant at EAC, says it is the largest and most respected of these agencies. It arranges 30 to 65 adoptions per month in Russia alone.

EAC has a help desk available with social workers, medical experts, nurses and a doctor who deals with attachment and bonding issues. These professionals are readily available for the needs of its customers and any other parents who have adopted.

It also provides a seminar to help parents decide which country is right for them, and offers a pre-service training class.

This class encompasses issues such as how to instill a child's culture after they are home, common adoption issues that might be encountered, and parenting a child of a different race, she said.

For EAC, post-placement is the most crucial part of the adoption. Parents must submit numerous one-page updates for the three years following the adoption on how well the child is eating, sleeping, and interacting with others, Lukuch explained.

They also must take pictures which are sent back to the child's country to show that the child is doing well.

Cole says that Every parent who brings a child home is responsible for keeping the doors of international adoption open through post-placement. This is not required by some countries, but is required by EAC.

EAC's fees are $3,950, which are divided between the social worker and the government.

The main office for European Adoption Consultants is located at 9800 Boston Road, North Royalton, OH 44133. There is also an office in Columbus. For more information, call 1-800-533-0098.