Venue change asked for Hansen

A Bedford County judge will rule next month whether a petition filed by an adoption agency to be appointed as a temporary guardian for a Russian boy sent back to his homeland by his adopted mother will be moved to juvenile court.

In May, the World Association for Children and Parents filed a petition requesting that Bedford County's Circuit Court appoint the agency as a temporary guardian for eight-year-old Justin A. Hansen.

The agency, based in Washington state, had placed the Russian boy with adoptive mother Torry Hansen of Shelbyville last year, but she sent him back to Moscow in April without an adult escort, triggering an international uproar.

A motion filed last week asks the court to transfer the matter to juvenile court "for all further proceedings herein."

A notice of hearing states that the motion would be heard on Aug. 12 before Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell. If Russell grants the motion, the matter would be transferred to General Sessions Judge Charles Rich, who also serves as Juvenile Court Judge.

Attorney Larry L. Crain states that the grounds for the motion "is a declaration that the minor child is dependant and neglected ..." as defined by Tennessee state law and that "the Juvenile Court is vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear such cases."

Crain also filed an amended petition that sets forth additional ground for the relief sought in the case and named Jennifer Terhune, as a co-petitioner, who is described in court papers as "an adopted mother who is willing to serve as guardian for the minor child."

However, the amended petition was filed under seal, meaning that only a judge can view the contents.

Was there abuse?

Crain's original petition had asked the court to launch an investigation to see if the boy was abused and for Hansen to pay support for the child that is still legally hers.

The attorney said in May that they went to court out of frustration that no one was investigating claims that the Hansens abandoned and endangered the child.

The boy's adoptive grandmother, Nancy Hansen, stayed with the boy until they reached an airport in Virginia, but she left him in the care of flight attendants for the flight overseas.

However, since the incident occurred in April, there have been questions about whose jurisdiction the case was in.

Local authorities have said they have not been able to file any charges against the Hansens because there is no evidence that any crime was committed in Bedford County.

The original petition asks that the court conduct a hearing to determine if the actions by the Hansens in returning the child "may constitute abuse or neglect."

The agency said it reported the abandonment "to all relevant government offices" and contends that the actions of the Hansens constitutes child abuse or neglect as defined in Tennessee state law.

The WACAP also alleged that the Hansens have "inflicted severe emotional injury to this minor child who has now twice been abandoned by both his biological and adoptive parents."

In asking for the appointment of a guardian, the adoption agency requested in May that the court to have the guardian "investigate the circumstances of the child's neglect and abandonment," determine the extent of support required, and make recommendations regarding "the financial support owed to this child ... while permanency planning is pursued on his behalf."

The petition also asked that court-appointed guardian to make recommendations to the court "whether Torry Hansen's parental rights should be terminated so that the child can be made free for adoption by another family."

Agreement reached?

Last week, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported that officials had reached an agreement "in principle" setting new ground rules for U.S. adoptions of children from that country

Alyona Levitskaya, director of the Department for Upbringing and Socialization of Children, told Pravda that the talks had reached the final stage and that the document would come into legal effect at the end of this year.

But one provision that may cause controversy in this country are regulations in the agreement that would ban same-sex couples from adopting Russian children.

Same-sex families are allowed in several states in America, however, Pravda stated that "Russian specialists are certain, though, that homosexual couples must not be allowed to adopt children from Russia."

Pravda also reported that the new agreement would also do away with the institution of independent adoptions, making it impossible to adopt a child through mediators and lawyers.

American couples will be able to adopt a Russian child only through authorized agencies, of which there are 40 in the new agreement, the Russian newspaper said.

In recent years, Russians have grown angry over reports of the abuse of children adopted by American families.

There have been at least 12 violent deaths of adopted children from Russia out of the roughly 50,000 adoptions since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.