Russian chlid "returned"

[MarissaNicole]

I have read that aging out of foster care is an issue here in this country. Essentially kids age out of the system and there aren't always a lot of services available to them. You know that first and last month's rent for an apartment that mom and dad helped you cough up at eighteen? These young adults have very little safety nets. It is an underserved population. It is so sad.

Kelly

There is a lifetime movie coming out soon that is hoping to shed some light on the problem here in the states:
http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/america

[Sheherezade]

Agreed that the situation for any children growing up in an institution is horrible.

I honestly have interpreted most of what I have read about her family and the child differently. I've been thinking that she didn't give him much of a chance. He was in the home from September to February. She spoke with one psychologist. He did not attend school but was homeschooled. She was caring for him while working with the help of her mother. From a recent article:

Boyce said there haven't been any reports of trouble in the Hansen home from the police or the adoption agency Torry Hansen used. Hansen, Boyce said, was contacted by the agency in January and March, but didn't report problems at that point. In December Hansen was so thrilled with Artyem she began asking about a second child.

My theory is that she started to have problems, sought help from this therapist and received the "bad news" that severe problems could result. At that point, she panicked and bailed. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

[DCJenn]

Sounds perfectly plausible. I mean honestly, it take a LONG time to adopt from Russia and it's not cheap. (45k in our case) You'd think that alone would cause you to reach out to as many supports as you could find to help.

Aging out of the foster care system here is also a problem, but unlike in Russia, there are 'some' (not many and not great) resources available. Most kids aging out of the system in the US are able to get a four-year college education at the state school where they live. Now, what do you do about where to live and how to pay for books and food and all of life's little traumas is another story...

Jenn