Interested in Adopting?: April 2007

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Kazakhstan Adoption

Country Profile: Kazakhstan is the world's 9th largest country as far as land mass. It shares borders with China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.

To see a video of one family's journey to their daughter in Kazakhstan on All God's Children International, click here.

Children Available: Babies (Infant to 6 months), as well as toddlers, older children, and children with special needs are available. Siblings groups are not very readily available and the adoption of more than one unrelated child being adopted depends on the region on the country.

Requirements: Couples and single women may adopt. Kazakhstan has no specific country requirements regarding age, however most agencies will have their own guidelines. Couples are preferred to of been married for at least 1 year. The number of divorces allowed is varied, generally 3 divorces divorces between both parents is the limit. There is no limit on the number of children in the home as long as you have the ability to support.

Time line: After submitting your dossier to Kazakhstan, you can expect to receive travel permission within 2-10 months. Usually, you will not receive a referral like many other countries, but instead, Kazakhstan does what is called a "Blind Referral", which is when you will receive your referral in-country.

Cost: $20,000-38,000

Children placed in 2006: 587 children came home from Kazakhstan to the USA in 2006 and was the 6th most adopted from country of international adoptions from the United States.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from Kazakhstan:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Monday, April 23, 2007

Ethiopia Adoption

Country Profile: Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second most-populous African nation. Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world.

Children Available: Children aged from newborns to teenagers are available. Sibling groups are available and the adoption of more than one unrelated child at once is allowed. Both girls and boys are available, parents may request gender.

Requirements: Married couples and singles may adopt. 25-60 is the age requirement. There are no restrictions on the number of children in family nor any divorce requirements. There is some flexibility within the length of marriage, although 1-2 years seems to be the minimum.

Time line: After dossier is submitted, the wait for referral can be anywhere from 1-10 months. After referral, wait time until home can be anywhere from 3-5 months.

Cost: $11,000-22,000

Children placed in 2006: 732 children came home from Ethiopia to the USA in 2006 and was the 5th most adopted from country of international adoptions from the United States.

Adoptions Agencies for Adopting from Ethiopia:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Liberia Adoption

Country Profile: Liberia is a country on the west coast of Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Cote d'Ivoire. The official language of Liberia is English due to the fact that it was founded by freed American slaves. Liberia means, "Land of the Free". Children are relinquished due to poverty or parents killed in war.

Children Available: Newborn to teenage children are available. Although, 2 years and up seems to be most common. Sibling groups are available, as is adopting more than one unrelated child at a time. Parents may request gender.

Requirements: Married couples, as well as single men and women may adopt. Liberia has no age restrictions or family size requirements. Also, Liberia has no divorce requirements or length of marriage requirements.

Time line: After compiling a dossier and sending it to Liberia, you should expect to receive your referral within 0-4 months. After acceptance of your referral, it should be around 2-4 months until your child comes home. Children may be escorted home.

Cost: $7,000-14,000

Children placed in 2006: 353 children came home from Liberia to the United States in 2006 and was the 8th most adopted from country of international adoptions from the U.S.A.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from Liberia:

Independent Adoptions:

The West African Children Support Network

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Haiti Adoption

Country Profile: Just 5oo miles of the coastline of Miami, Florida sits on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic, is Haiti. The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Children Available: There are thousands of infants, toddlers and school age children available for adoption. The adoption of sibling groups are common and the adoption of two unrelated children at one time is also a possibility, depending on which orphanage you work with. The children are cared for in privately-funded orphanages.

Requirements: 30 seems to be the minimum age requirement. There is no upper age requirement. Both couples and single women are allowed to adopt. Couples must be married for a minimum of 5 years. No more than 3-4 biological children, No limits of number of adopted children.

Time line: After submitting your dossier to Haiti, you should receive a referral shortly. However, the time until your child comes home could be as long as 12 months.

Cost: The approximate total cost of adopting from Haiti usually falls somewhere into the range of $13,000- $17,000. However, doing what is called an "Independent Adoption", which means not using an agency, reduces the fees significantly. In the case of an Independent Adoption, you would work through a specific orphanage that is used to doing this instead of an agency. This will decrease fees, as you will not have agency fees.

Children placed in 2006: 309 children came home from Haiti to the USA in 2006 and was the 11th most adopted from country of international adoptions from the United States.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from Haiti:

Orphanages in Haiti (May do Independent Adoptions):

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Mei'd Wth Love

A HUGE Thank You to Emily of Mei'd With Love.

She designs blogs and it is all for free! She did "Interested in Adopting?" and it turned out amazingly!

Thank You Emily for all your hard work into designing this blog! Your work is much appreciated!!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Interested in Adopting?

We adopted Sarah from China in December of 2006. Since we have come home with Sarah, friends have asked us how they could adopt. I have started this blog in hopes to help those interested to learn more about adoption, and not only from China, but all across the world.
There are 143 million orphans waiting for families around the world... Are you interested in adopting?