Moscow is calling on Washington to give Russian representatives unhindered access to The Ranch for Kids, a Montana respite care home that looks after troubled foreign adoptees, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Friday.
The remote ranch has been operating without a state license since 2010. The state board that oversees private alternative adolescent residential programs ordered it last year to stop operating until it obtains a proper license, though ranch owner Joyce Sterkel says it is part of a church mission and no longer under the state's authority.
“We demand that official Russian representatives are provided the possibility of unhindered visits to Russian children at the Ranch for Kids,” Luksahenich said.
Adopting U.S. parents can send their foreign charges for care and schooling to the Ranch for Kids, if they are troubled or disturbed. According to the Mail Online daily, adoptive parents pay $3,500 a month for the children to stay at the facility.
The Ranch for Kids recently came under fire from Russian human rights officials. On July 11, Russian Children’s Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov turned up at the respite care center with a television crew and demanded entry. He claimed he is worried about the treatment of the children, calling the ranch a 'trash can for unwanted children' on his website.
In a statement, Mr Astakhov claimed that the children at the ranch were 'subject to abuse' and that a nine-year-old Russian girl had tried to escape.
