Adoption process stalled for Colorado family hoping to provide new home for three Ukrainian girls

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (KUSA) – A Colorado family had nearly completed adopting three Ukrainian sisters. But then Russia invaded the country, bringing the process to a halt.

Now, the family doesn’t know when they’ll be able to bring the girls home.

Amy Martin said the adoption paperwork can be overwhelming.

“These are the initial applications, the immigrant forms, all the dossier documents, the home study documents,” she said. “It’s just a lot.”

But Martin said it’s all worth it to adopt the three girls from Ukraine. Her family hosted them at their home in Castle Rock, Colorado, during Christmas.

“And fell in love with them … and realized that we needed to go ahead and adopt them,” she said.

Martin said she didn’t want to reveal the girls’ names for safety reasons, but she said they are 9, 12, and 16 years old.

The adoption process would normally take months.

“We knew this was coming, that things weren’t looking great over there, and we didn’t want to send them back at all,” Martin said. “We had hoped that would work out.”

The family worked fast as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated.

“We were probably about, you know, almost two thirds of the way through,” Martin said.

But the adoption has been put on pause as the war between the countries ensues.

Watching it from afar, Martin said she feels helpless.

“Because there’s nothing you can do,” she said. “So, it’s very hard to just watch it all unfold and not be able to be there to scoop them up and hug them. The last I heard from her, she was in the basement of her orphanage.”

They learned recently that the sisters had successfully made it out of Ukraine, and are seeking refuge in Poland.

“The portion that we don’t have done on the adoption is up to the Ukrainian government now,” Martin said. “So, we don’t know when that will be able to be started again. We want them to join our family. It’s made us not lose hope.”

Martin and her family are hoping their reserved bedrooms will soon be filled by the three girls as they settle into a new home.

The Martins are one of 45 families adopting Ukrainian children through the organization CCAI adoption services. Visit their website

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