Ukraine’s Orphans in Adoption Limbo: Founder of Legacy Refuge

The Founder and Managing Director of Legacy Refuge, an​ orphan-care ministry, Justin Hayslett interview with NTD The Nation Speaks, March 19, 2022

Justin Hayslett, founder & managing director of Legacy Refuge, an organization that helps get orphans from Ukraine adopted in the United States, said his non-profit is meeting challenges from both the U.S. and Ukrainian governments. His orphan-care ministry has been working with orphans in Ukraine for the last 5 years, but since the start of the war, adoptions have been at a standstill.

Hayslett said his organization is not getting any help from the U.S. State Department and any information they have received is discouraging.

“There’s no way to get them here for hosting. There’s no way to adopt them. It’s just basically every time you read one of the updates of communication, it’s super discouraging and hopeless feeling,” Hayslett told the host of NTD The Nation Speaks, Cindy Drukier during a recent interview.

There are an estimated 100,000 orphans in Ukraine. The State Department’s website states that U.S. adoptions are limited or impeded by the fact that the Ukrainian authorities have jurisdiction over Ukrainian children’s safety and do not allow them to leave Europe.

According to the State Department, “The Ukrainian government has confirmed they are not approving children to participate in host programs in the United States at this time and are taking measures to ensure their safety in neighboring countries.”

Further stating that the United States will only process an adoption if the child has a final adoption decree or guardianship order from a Ukrainian court.

Hayslett said he cannot get assistance from any relevant department in Ukraine either and this is especially frustrating for those families who were close to finalizing an adoption.

“What we’ve heard is because of their martial law, that basically, the regular laws don’t exist. Also, they don’t have regular functioning government. So there’s no way for them to process adoptions,” said Hayslett.

“And it’s a shame to think that they can’t connect to the families who already know and love them through this traumatic time,” said Hayslett. “A lot of them are older kids. I mean, we have connected with the group that even had some as little as three.”

“It seems to me that the younger they are, the more [the war] is kind of brushed off, they’re still being kids. As I’ve seen these older kids, you can definitely see the effects that this trauma and the war has had on them for sure.”

Hayslett said his organization recently provided food and clothing to 200 orphans and once the country opens up again, they will be going into Ukraine to help rebuild the orphans’ lives. He said anyone can donate at legacyrefuge.org/donate.

A State Department official told The Epoch Times via email that the United States is bound by international law and pointed us to the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on International Law’s recent memo which explains why adoptions in the United States are not a viable option at this time.

“It is paramount that the identities of these children and their families be clearly established, and their social, legal, and familial status is fully verified by governmental authorities. For most of these children, we cannot do that at this time,” states the memo.

Hayslett said he has heard of Ukraine’s rule to keep the orphans in or close to their home country, but said in the months the children are without a home, it would be best for them to stay with their host families in the Untied States and after the war, their situation could be reassessed.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Ukraine Embassy in Washington for comment.