And they're off! More documents "russian" their way to Moscow...Follow their adventures here!  ¶ 2:21 PM 0 comments

  More from the courts... Until now, I was operating under the belief that the American adoptive parents gone bad (such as those cited previously in this blog) were all basically good people with the best of intentions who somehow bit off more than they could chew with their adopted Russian children. After adoption, they either snapped or for one reason or another couldn't find the appropriate way to deal with children they just couldn't handle.

Which is why the case of Matthew Mancuso of suburban Pittsburgh is particularly disturbing. As we have managed to dispel rumors in Russia that Americans are adopting Russian children in order to harvest and sell their organs, here's an adoption done for clearly illicit purposes. As expected, it's already on the front pages in Russia.

Mancuso is currently serving a 15-year-sentence on a related Federal conviction in 2003, and faces up to 140 years on the state charges in Pennsylvania.

Unlike the other children remembered in this blog, a very brave 12-year-old girl thankfully has another shot at salvaging a happy childhood in American hands.

Sentencing is scheduled for November. If you're so inclined, consider writing the Judge encouraging imposition of the maximum sentence to reinforce the message that America does not tolerate child abuse.

Hon. Donna Jo McDaniel
Court of Common Pleas
323 Courthouse
Pittsburgh, PA 15233

Re: Sentencing of Matthew Mancuso  ¶ 5:20 PM 0 comments

  Things could always be worse
Consider those trying to adopt from the former Soviet republic of Belarus. Program closed. The dreams of 118 U.S. families shattered.

Putting things in perspective, we're in a good place.

Blogger's Note: The original New York Newsday story cited in this entry is no longer available online.  ¶ 4:41 PM 0 comments

  Home-Schooling: Recipe for Disaster? Sometimes when I read a news story or see it on the air, I'll take a guess at some of the details that aren't in the initial report. How could an eight-year-old child be allowed to be starved to death without anybody outside the family noticing? Surely a neighbor or teacher must have seen the signs.

My first instincts after reading the original Baltimore Sun story were that:

1. The family lived on a rural farm-type property, with no neighbors close by.
2. The family home-schools its children. No teachers to interfere.

So, without further ado:

1. From the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, here's the Merryman spread: 6+ acres, agricultural zoning. And, check out the cool Google map satellite view option. You won't find Gladys Kravitz in the backyard here.
2. Third paragraph of a Moscow Times followup*: Dennis Merryman was the youngest of seven children they were raising and home-schooling.

I'm not a fan of home-schooling and I'll be the first to admit that I don't fully understand the concept. But even with this limited knowledge base, I can go out on a limb and say that there is no way that a home-schooled kid's opportunities for socialization can compare with their conventionally-educated peers. A guy's best shot at a date for the Home School Senior Prom rests with his mom or sister. (Now that I think about it, that was my best shot too. Unfortunately, I was attending John F. Kennedy High School at the time.)

The closest I can relate to home-schooling is telecommuting, which I do occasionally. When I telecommute, I'm connected enough to others in the office that they know I'm alive and not in trouble, and not out on the golf course when I should be working. Home-schooling, on the surface at least, seems like telecommuting with little or no accountability to the office.

In the hands of irresponsible parents, a home-schooled child can simply be hidden from society, as Dennis had to have been as he wasted away. Our public school teachers are often the first to notice signs of child abuse or neglect. If Dennis had a place--say, a public school--to check in with on even an occasional basis, surely he would be alive today.

*Blogger's Note: The original Baltimore Sun story initially cited in this entry is no longer available online.

  ¶ 8:02 PM 1 comments

  Once again, front page news Here's Pravda's take on the latest child abuse/neglect case out of Maryland. Maybe the objectivity lost a little something in the translation.

American abuse/neglect of adopted Russian children is still huge news in the Russian media. Dennis Merryman was the second item on the national newscasts this past weekend, just behind the dramatic submarine rescue.  ¶ 7:47 PM 0 comments

  More unfortunate news...close to home Dennis Merryman, age 8, becomes yet another apparent case* of a Russian adoptee's tragic, preventable end here in the States (specifically, my own--Maryland). Not only does this call into question our ability to care for the children we adopt, it also says something for our legal system--six months to bring charges?

*Blogger's Note: The original Baltimore Sun story initially cited in this entry is no longer available online.  ¶ 8:00 PM 0 comments