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Adoption
blog: www.thesmoreslife.blogspot.com
International Adoption
Does anyone have any good tips or know of any good agencies???
After researching domestic....looks like international might be something for us.
Does it tend to take longer than domestic? I am just starting to research this to get a feel for how it works in comparison. TIA!
blog: www.thesmoreslife.blogspot.com This discussion has been closed.
Re: International Adoption
we're in te process of adopting from Korea :-) we're still in the homestudy phase, but i can definitely recommend our agency- Holt international. we've been so happy with them so far! very responsive, helpful, supportive. they've been in business for over 55 years and have a few country programs. you can look at teir website and read about the requiremants and process for all of te countries they work in.
as far as Korea- its mostly boys that are available. most of them are placed because they are born to unwed birthmothers- and the culture over their isn't supportive of single parents. Korea is trying to increase in-country adoptions... so the children aren't made availabe for international adoption until they're 6 monts old. by the time immigration paperowork is done, that makes the babies close to a year old or more by the time they come home to you. most of the babies are in foster care, not an orphanage before they come home- which is great for their development. also, from what i hear- health care over there is prety much as good as it is here, so the medical information you get on the child is usually pretty thorough and accurate.
Each country is so different in their requirements and process- so i would just start by googling te country you're interested in adopting from and learning more about the process. when you find an agency you're interested in- Yahoo has a good e-mail group that you can join to get "Reviews" on the different agencies....
good luck!!!
We brought our son home from South Korea in Nov. 2010 He was 8 months old and just a sweet heart!
I LOVE the Korean program and would be happy to recommend our agency FCA.
The thing about the Korean program is you have to find out what agencies are able to place in your state, usually one or two. We used FCA and they partnered with an agency in our state.
It is mostly boys and depending on which Korean agency you are using the regulations and wait vary. We used SWS in Korea and could not be more blessed. www.adoptkorea.com is a good place to start. There are only 4 South Korean agencies that place and they each have specific agencies here they will use.
If you want any more info. we would be happy to share. Please feel free to PM me anytime
GL
A
Oh and I noticed you have a LO. Just to let you know NONE of the Korean agencies will take your paper work until your baby is 1 years old and been in your home for 1 year.
Don't let that scare you off cause you will have LOTS of paper work to do before sending paper work
So it will work out!
GL
My two are internationally adopted. I love the process and can't say enough wonderful things about our experiences. I have one adopted through Holt International and one through AIAA. I have one child from Thailand and one from India. Both were fantastic and we have no complaints. If you pm me I would be happy to throw out the names of several other agencies that I've heard positive things about. When you request information, most will send you a big pamphlet that will generally have a chart showing the types of children they place (ages, male/female), what they're requirements are and how long the process generally takes. When looking for an agency, it was important to us to work with one that had a good reputation for putting the children first and we felt like we got that with both. How long it takes really depends on what country you're adopting from and how much you are open to. Both of my processes took about a year from start to finish, 1-2 years is pretty common. If you're open to special needs or an older child (which I'm thinking because of your little one that's probably not the case, but I throw it out there) it can go faster.
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. It has been an amazing, life altering experience. Personally, I think it has been so awesome because I feel so much more connected to the rest of the world. I realize how small the world really is and I pay a lot more attention to what is going on in other places. But being a multi-cultural family has it's challenges. Unless you adopt a white child, there are a lot of things you'll need to think about. I don't know that it's harder than domestic adoption, I think it just brings different challenges that you wouldn't otherwise expect. We are what you could call a "conspicous family." People see our family and know we are unique and we deal with that on a daily basis. We can't "hide" this information and thus you will start educating your child from a very early age in how to cope with rudeness and staring, etc. It's a new experience, as you start to see the world through the eyes of your minority child. And different even, than adopting a child of a different race through a domestic adoption because there is a whole language and country element that is a little different. Anyway, good luck as you explore this option. Keep researching and I'm sure you'll find the right path for your family.
I love Rainbowkids.com for info - lots of links to different countries, popular and obscure... and seem really well organized. The thing I've found about Int'l is that there's more "rules" to go thru, and qualifications can be strict. While it's a LONG process to get going and get THRU, once you're "there" it's a more "sure thing" to many, and once you're matched, it's just a matter of time to travel and pick up. The costs seem a bit higher, but not any more than going agency/facilitator route for a CC infant.
GL!
My Indian baby was a Rainbowkid! Awesome organization, however, not all the agencies are credible so you have to be careful. Just a little FYI - if you look at the Rainbowkids website, the March 2011 article about the adoption of the little girl with SN from India is about my daughter!
I LOVE RAINBOWKID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to read about your daughter 4LittleDucks!!!!!!! I am going to check that out!
My first tip is that you should choose a few countries that appeal to you, then research the agencies that work in those countries. The requirements of each country vary, and the same agency may have a really strong program in one country but not be as strong in another country.
To determine what countries you're interested in, take a look at rainbowkids.com and adoption.state.gov to read about the requirements of various countries and the children available in each country (age? special needs? etc.). Adoption.state.gov has far more legal info, and also has statistics on the number of orphan visas issued to children from each country. (As a PP said, some of the agencies that have presences on Rainbowkids may have less-than-stellar reputations, since it lists every agency working in each country, so always be sure to do your due diligence on any agency.)
A major difference with international adoption is that children are generally slightly older (i.e., not newborns) when they come home, because in many places they must be available for adoption domestically for a certain length of time and other procedural requirements. It's very common that even if the APs request a child as young as possible, the child is a toddler by the time they come home. Again, adoption.state.gov shows statistics on the ages of children when their orphan visas were issued, and last year there were twice as many children from ages 1-2 as there were children under 1. (It's a cool interactive map and chart -- you can play with it at https://adoption.state.gov/about_us/statistics.php)
As far as cost and how long it takes to complete an adoption, it totally depends on the country. And, in IA, things can change relatively quickly -- like Ethiopia's recent slowdown, or various countries (Guatemala, Vietnam, Nepal) that have shut down international adoptions after fraud/corruption.
One place for research (but by no means the only resource) is the Yahoo group Adoption_Agency_Research. There are also a lot of Yahoo groups that are specific to adoption from certain countries.
I second all of what GulfCoaster says. DH and I brought a little boy home in October from russia. We used EAC and they are a great agency, very reputable and work in mane countries. I would recommend findng what country.country you are interested in and then seeing what agencies work in those countries. In IA, things are changing constantly and if you have a back-up plan (as horrible as it may seem after hours and hours of paperwork and thousands of dollars spent) you will have peace of mind.
Good luck and if you decide to pursue Russia, please feel free to PM me or page me on here.