Sponsor a Ukrainian Orphan in Your Home This Summer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 1, 2005 --

There are over 200,000 children housed in Ukrainian orphanages. Some of us wonder how we can make a difference in their lives. The truth is, if we are willing to risk sharing ourselves with that special orphan, each of us can. Adoption Services Group, Chicagoland's newest and most affordable adoption related service company, wants to help you bring home an orphan this summer for a three week stay. Executive Director Susan Cain says it is not very hard to do. "We link families with available children between the ages of six and sixteen. Prospective parents must undergo police backround checks and be willing to donate $2000.00 toward the orphan's travel fees. Then we sit back and wait for the airplane to arrive!" Cain says that so far several Chicago families have sponsored orphans at Christmas. The summer program allows for a bit more time, with orphans staying from JUne 20-July 12.

One Chicago family wound up adopting the orphan that they sponsored. Cain points out that "pre-selection" os children for adoption is not legal in Ukraine. "In Ukraine, families apply to travel there and then look through books at the National Adoption Center and choose a child to visit. Then they must meet the child and agree to review the child's medical records and social history. The children that we have coming in our program are all potentially adoptable, but each parent must go thorugh the process of adoption in the normal way in order to adopt the child that they hosted", Cain stated. But that has not stopped many families from all over the United States from finding their child in the program. "The availability of older children ove rthe age of five is tremendous", Cain said, "So the chances are excellent that the child that you hosted will be available for adoption once you are arrive in Ukraine", she concluded.
Cain should know. She adopted her daughter, Emma, now four, from Ukraine in 2002. After dicovering how expensive the adoption process was, Cain, A clinical social worker, opended up her own agency in 2004. "We help families located affordable adoption placement agencies and professionals. Then we complete all of the addendum adoption paperwork like the home study for less than other agencies charge", Cain added.

Cain, who attended the University of Chicago and is a licensed clinical social worker, says that there are too m any myths about older children available for adoption. " Each child must be sen on a case by case basis", she said. "SOme older children have been harmed by their early environment or by excessive institutionalization.
But most children are resilient and bounce back with love and concern shown to them." Cain noted that the children in the program have been selected because of their good behavior and attidtudes. To find out more about the program, called the Chicago Ukrianian Visitng Orphan Program, call Adoption Services Group at (630) 971-5074, or visit their web site at www.adoptionservicesgroup.com. A special informational session will be held on Saturday, April 9 from 9:00 AM-noon at the Adoption Services Group Offices, 1195 Summerhill Drive, Suite S500, Lisle llinois.