The Ukrainian delegation was represented by Head of the Directorate, Office of the Ombudsman for Children under the President of Ukraine Mrs. Liudmyla Volynets, Head of Intercountry Adoption Unit of the Consular Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mr. Sergii Kulykov, officials from the Embassy and the Consulates General of Ukraine in the United States. The U.S. delegation, headed by James D. Pettit, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Services, included representatives of the U.S. State Department – Office of Children’s issues, Office of Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, Office of Legal Affairs, as well as the International operations division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

During the working group meeting a substantive attention was paid to the issues of mutual interest, including the protection of rights of adopted children - citizens of Ukraine residing in the U.S., procedural issues and eligibility of prospective adoption parents in the U.S., the American experience in implementing the provisions of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, as well as other pressing issues. Special attention during the negotiations was paid to improving the practice of filing post-placement reports on living conditions of adopted children by the U.S. citizens, including in the context of the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act.

Joint Ukrainian-American Working Group on Intercountry Adoption will meet twice a year to continue an effective dialog on the mentioned issues.

In the photo: representatives of the Joint Ukrainian-American Working Group on Intercountry Adoption