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The following are the most common questions parents ask about this program and international adoption in general:

1. How old are the children that are available?
   
   Children become available for international adoption after they have been placed on the national adoption registry for a period of 8 months.  Children are available at all different ages, beginning about 10 months old p to 15 years.
2. How many boys or girls are available?
   
   There are generally more boys in any population, so there are usually more boys available than girls.  However, Beacon House has placed many girls for adoption in the past few years and we continue to be able to locate girls under 3 years old in less than 9-10 months.
3. What are the criteria the parents have to meet?
   
   The general rule is that parents must be married a minimum of 1 year and have a stable relationship.  Single women must be at least 25 years old, and all parents generally should not be more than 45 years older than the child they adopt.  This has some flexibility in some regions. Other criteria include health status and criminal background.  These are reviewed on a case by case basis.
4. What is the timeframe for Russian adoption through Beacon House?
   
   The general time frame for adoption through Beacon House is 12-16 months.  Our international case workers can make this time frame a reality by working closely with you for your document requirements and getting them completed efficiently.
5. What are the costs of Russian adoption through Beacon House?
   
   Please see the free informational packet on this site for a detailed breakdown of our costs and fees. Note that Beacon House fees include the cost of mandatory preparation classes.
6. What are the educational requirements I have to meet?
   
   Beacon House believes it is critical that parents be educated and as prepared as possible to meet their child and successfully integrate him/her into the family. In order to assit with this, we require our families to participate in the online class called Because They Waited™, provided by the Heart of the Matter. The cost of this class is included in Beacon House fees. Additional courses can be found at the University of Alabama International Adoption Clinc, the cost of which is at the family's expense. Beacon House also provides a 1-hour online class specific to the Beacon House program, which families can access throughout their process.
   
7. What is the difference between Accredited in Russia and Accredited for Hague countries?
   
   The Hague, as it is called, is one of many treaties signed by various countries on many issues common to those countries. The US has signed and ratified the Hague on International Adoption, and as part of the implementation of that treaty, passed the International Adoption Act in 2006. For those countries that have signed this treaty, one of the agreements made was that each country would have procedures that would ensure that agencies working in those countries have passed certain standards and are operating on a specified level of principles. The US placed these standards into effect in 2008. Beacon House Adoption is both accredited under the Hague through COA AND accredited by the Russian Federation for International adoption activity.
   
   Russia is not a party to the Hague on International Adoption.
   Instead, Russia, back in the year 2000, developed its own set of principles by which adoption agencies needed to function, and put that into law starting in 2001.  Russia has declined to accredit a large number of agencies, and, when a problem is identified, has not hesitated to suspend or revoke accreditation from an agency.  At this time, there are approximately 38 US adoption agencies accredited by Russia – Beacon House continues to hold this status.
   

   More information on this topic can be found at:
   
   http://adoption.state.gov/
   http://russia.adoption.com/foreign/accredited-agencies-for-russia-adoption.html

8. Where can I get more information on the Beacon House accredited Russian adoption program?  Who can I talk to?
   
   We have case managers available to you at a variety of times and in a variety of places:
   
   International Case Manager in Louisiana:
   (225) 753-5551
   
   International Case Supervisor in Georgia:
   Linda@beaconhouseadopt.com or (678) 763-4054
   
   International Case Manager in SC:
   denise@beaconhouseadopt.com or (864) 360-1523
   
   Director of the Russian Program in Florida:
   anne@beaconhouseadopt.com or (850) 430-4005