03 March 2010

the drama continues

Why do these things continue to surprise me?

Agency sw just e-mailed me and casually told me that all the plans previously made for my ppr's being submitted by the Russian sw on the Russian schedule has been changed.

And they want me to have my ppr done in less than three weeks.

Somehow, they forgot everything THEY told me--and when they asked the Russian sw to comply with requirements for US families, she said she couldn't. And they decided I would have a new sw do everything if that's the way things had to be. Surely the consulate had a sw on staff.

WHAT??!!?

No, the consulate does not have a sw on staff.
No, there is not an English-speaking sw in the city.
No, I cannot contact my sw who is on vacation. I told her we didn't need her to do the ppr because that's what you told me.
No, I cannot get a visa in time to fly in another sw.
No, this cannot be done. It just cannot.

And WHY did the agency do against what they'd already told me and call my sw asking her to do a US ppr instead of what they told me that "Russia" told them already?

I take my ppr obligation seriously. I'm happy to do them. But, I cannot make this magically happen in under three weeks. (Note to those not involved in Russian adoptions: If an agency is lacking any ppr's their permit to work in Russia can be suspended or revoked. AND, not doing my ppr's on time jeopardizes my chances of adopting from Russia in the future.)

That's why I asked about it on 7 December.

No clue what's happening now. I told the agency all that I've told you. I can't make it happen. Maybe we can fly to Germany this weekend and meet with sw 2.5 or fly home and start over with a new sw? How is that even possible? How much would that even cost?

Forwarded the e-mail from the agency saying that the Russian sw would be used back to the agency sw.

Not happy. This is just one. more. thing.

18 comments:

The Accidental Mommy said...

It has been eye opening to say the least, to find out how much bs goes on in the adoption process. NO ONE has all the right information, parts of it, but not all. And they freely give out their misinformation. Nutty.

Anyhow, could you hire a translator as opposed to flying to Germany?

rolise said...

Crazy thought. Do an end run around the agency and ask Russian SW to call the MOE in your Region and find out what they need/want.

Jane and Jim said...

Absolute madness.

When are you coming back to the US??

J. said...

Ugh! Aggravating, yet sadly, not surprising. I will never understand why things are this way in Russia. I will pray that God leads you to a solution...quicklY!

kate said...

oh, believe me--all sorts of phone calls are being made and e-mails are being sent.

Lindsay said...

What a load of garbage. Sorry you're having to deal with this. Hope someone in the agency can apply a little common sense and professionalism and sort it out properly.

Barb said...

OH. MY. WORD.

julian said...

Random though. Can you use the orphanage social worker to write the PPR?
I know it is not done that way, but maybe??
If it were me, I would write a ppr, including everything they wanted. (If possible use a guidance counselor from your school write a report) Then translate all of it, including the emails from your agency and have it ready. These are all long shots and sort of "not the way it's done" but maybe it would at least show you are taking it seriously...

Tina in CT said...

I can't believe that you are still getting so much of a run around.

June said...

!

Seriously. 3 weeks lead time to completely change what you have to do? And who would think that a consulate would have s social worker on staff? I am banging my head on the desk on your behalf.

Tammy said...

Oy vei. It never ends for you, does it?

Stand your ground on what is reasonable. For once, you are diver's seat.

Annie said...

You're just talking about the six month "report"? Gosh. Ours was so, so easy. Probably Russia would be unhappy. Well, having had something notarized there and comparing it with having something notarized here, I KNOW they'd be unhappy. The sw just sees that the kids are alive and well. Initially she started asking me questions and taking obviously poor notes and I said, why don't you just e-mail me the questions and I can answer on the computer. And we've done that ever since. Very easy.

Of course I'm talking to her every other week.... I'm sorry this is so hard for you!

Maura said...

[THUD - head hitting desk]
Oh. Come. On! After all you went through, things should be going smoothly for you.

The agency goofed bigtime - I would think they'd want to scramble to find a solution, too to protect their PPR reputation. It confounds me.
Arghghghgh.

beckyww said...

infuriating

Dawn said...

Well, at least you have Lexi already. Possession is 9/10ths of the law, right? Sheesh!

Ellyn said...

Jeez. Very confusing. I have a headache just from reading it, plus it is making me nervous since your agency is my agency. I thought they knew their stuff.

Unknown said...

Can they do that, since (I am sure) the PPRs and they way they would be handled was discussed in court - and agreed to by you and your agency's rep?

I know that is a stupid thing to say, but just reading this post gets me mad with you!

We had to have our SW sign something for court saying she understood the schedule and would comply with the laws of the Russian Federation in doing these reports. Did you need this?

kate said...

Kathy, the thing is, I have TWO homestudies and TWO social workers. Both agreed to go my ppr's.

We were told that the Russia ppr's would be sufficient; that I would not need the American ppr's.

Then the person at my agency started making requests. The person who asked really didn't know that there was a difference (I'm guessing) and thought, instead, that the agreement was that my Russian sw would do an American ppr. (That makes no sense to me, but I know that what she thought would happen.)