( CNN ) -- In July 2011 , my husband and I traveled to a Russian orphanage to meet a 2-year-old girl . We petitioned the Russian courts to adopt her , and waited 14 agonizing months to be granted a court date , all along fearing we would never be able to bring her home . Now , 46 families are stuck in that nightmare of waiting for an indefinite amount of time . Russia has banned Americans from adopting Russian orphans . These families , like ours , left their Russian children holding small albums with photos of their soon-to-be families . And now those children have nothing more than a broken promise . Russia 's adoption ban was passed in retaliation for the United States ' passage of the Magnitsky Act , a human rights bill targeting Russian officials . But while it is designed to hit Americans in the heart , it also condemns thousands of Russian orphans who could have found families in America . Orphanages , even the good ones , are institutions . They are no substitutes for parents . Children who grow up in institutions experience poor physical , cognitive and emotional health and are more likely to end up in poverty , experience drug abuse , or commit suicide . Orphaned children have suffered already ; the adoption ban ensures they will suffer more . Institutionalized children need families , not staff . When children become wards of the state , they need the government to find adoptive families , in their home country or failing that , internationally . Many Americans want to bring Russian orphans into their families , but years of political maneuvering have made it harder and harder . Legal changes have also contributed to a steady decline in the number of Russian orphans adopted by Americans . We experienced many of the changes during our adoption process . Not all of them are bad . Many of the procedures are clearly intended to protect the children . However , some of the changes made it more challenging for families willing to jump through the hoops of two governments . There 's more uncertainty involved , and the length of time to complete an adoption has increased , as well as the costs . Our daughter , Anastasia , spent a needless year waiting to come home . When other adopted children were picked up by their families , she would take out her photo of the three of us and ask her caregivers where her mama and papa were . Less than a decade ago , 4,000 to 5,000 Russian children found adoptive families in America each year . In 2011 , the number dropped to 970 . The steep decline in international adoptions from Russia , along with the recent ban , is a step in the wrong direction . It is easy to understand why international adoption is a hot-button issue for many countries . It can feel shameful for a government to require international charity to solve its own problems . But even countries like the U.S. allow for intercountry adoption . Ultimately , the goal should be to find adoptive families for orphans , and sometimes those families can not be found in the child 's home country . Mother to mother : An adoptive mom 's plea to first lady Michelle Obama . My husband and I returned to Russia for a third time in October 2012 to bring Anastasia -- then 3 Â½ years old -- home . Our daughter was well cared for by the good people in her orphanage for 912 days . But the lack of love and care that can be provided by a nurturing family impacted her emotionally and physically . During our first week as a family , Anastasia gave us the most confused looks when we tried to hold her , tickle her , or otherwise play with her . Two months later , though she still struggled to make sense of her story , she sought us out for snuggles and gradually started to like being chased , tickled , hugged and loved . Anastasia 's 912 days of delayed growth are disappearing . But children who remain in orphanages never overcome these delays . Children living in orphan institutions need world leaders who do not use them as political pawns , but rather work to protect them . Russia 's adoption ban must be lifted . It punishes thousands of children whose only chance of finding an adoptive family is through international adoption . Russia should start by making good on its promise to the 46 families who are left in limbo . These children are waiting to go home , waiting for what every child deserves -- a loving family . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Laura Jean .
Russia has banned Americans from adopting Russian orphans . Comment: World leaders should not use children as political pawns . She says orphanages are institutions ; they are poor substitute for parents . Jean : Russia should lift ban so that orphans have a better chance to find families .