SA baby adoption...

...adopting foster children?

John, I have recently been in South Africa in order to hire a social worker who will manage our adoption once our home study is complete. I am not sure if my experience will be of assistance to you. I am American, but my husband is South African. We live in Britain, which is a signatory to the Hague Convention. As such we are obligated to undertake the home study here, but can have the "adoption" procedure undertaken in South Africa. The South African government accredits social workers who are licensed to manage adoptions. Our home study will be sent to the South African authorities and then the social worker will search for a "suitable" child. Once one is found, the court adoption will take 6 weeks to complete. After that the social worker will then also assist us to secure entry of the child into the UK through the UK Consulate in Pretoria. As far as the race of a child - you mention that you would like a "white" child. I think that you will have a very difficult time adopting such a child in South Africa since the "white" population is such a small percentage of the total population there anyways - about 12%. You would do much better to look to other counties then - Romania comes to mind. If you would like me to give you the name of the social worker we are using, I would be very glad to share that with you. She is in the Eastern Cape. I am not sure if any of this helps, but I would imagine that if the US is also a signatory to the Hague COnvention that the process much be very similar. Best Wishes.

John, We recently adopted a child from South Africa. We used A New Arrival Adoption Agency, based out of Montana. But as far as I know, all the children in that program are black. It is my understanding that South Africa has closed adoptions to the US right now because the US has not adopted the Hague Treaty and its practices. I've heard that it should come through sometime in 2004. If you want a white child for sure, I would also suggest looking at other countries. Blessings...

Hi there John I am a South African living in California and have just adopted a little South African baby! Pls email me and I will give you some more information about the process and the new laws. Jacqueline

Hi You are quite correct that white babies are very few and far between. Your best bet would be to make contact with a pregnant girl through friends/family and do it that way. We are in the process of adopting a very special little boy through a contact we established via a friend. May I suggest that you give our social worker Sue Krawitz a call - she may be able to put you on the right track. Her numbers are:Tel: 27 11 6406685 Fax: 27 11 6406838. I hope that this helps

[font=Comic Sans MS]Hi, I am a South African living in Canada and we are busy with the adoption process.[/font][font=Comic Sans MS]Sandy - are adopting a white or black baby from SA? As you saying that if you find a birthmother of a white child in South African it is possible to adopt this child outside of South Africa?[/font][font=Comic Sans MS]I would love to hear more about this[/font][font=Comic Sans MS]Thanks[/font][font=Comic Sans MS]Wendy[/font]

For South Africans is almost inmpossible to adopt a white child, there is thousands of white couples who would like to adopt a white child, but without any luck, it would be very sad if the few white children that we have is given to american couples

Is there anyway for America's to adopt a black south African baby?

[url=http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=south_africa_1]Country Specific Alerts and Notices | Intercountry Adoption[/url] MCJ - see if this helps. Search engines can solve a multitude of problems! Good luck!

Thanks! Sent a follow up email to Spence-Chapin Services about their South Africa Program. They have a lot of information on their website. It looks like they current process is more focused on children 2 years or older, sibling groups, and those with medical needs like HIV. On SC website they said it would take about 1.5 years to bring a child home after a match. So, I'm guessing most children would be at least 3-5 years old by the time they come home. I'm trying to research the level of care the get while living in the children's homes. Lots to learn & think about. :arrow: I will post once I hear back from them.

Join us on the international adoption board for more input on adoption from South Africa. Do be aware that international adoption focuses on children who are not able to find a permanent loving in their own country. As countries become increasingly prosperous, the need for international adoption tends to decrease overall, and domestic families initially tend to adopt the youngest, healthiest children, and especially children of their own race/ethnicity. Increasingly, international adoption focuses on the hardest to place children, including those who are of school age (and especially boys of school age), children with special needs, children in sibling groups of three or more (and especially those where at least one child is of school age or has a disability), and, to a lesser extent, children of a racial or ethnic minority in the country, children of mixed race, and children of stigmatized groups such as the Roma ("Gypsies"). Because South Africa and the U.S. are parties to the Hague Convention on international adoption -- a treaty that aims to protect children, their birth families, and their adoptive parents -- any American prospective adoptive family must follow not only the adoption laws of South Africa and the immigration laws of the U.S., but also the regulations in the Hague Convention. In general, prospective parents will not be able to identify birthmothers and do a private adoption. They will need to work with an agency licensed in the parents' country. They will need to have a homestudy in their state of residence, adopt under South African law, and immigrate the child to the U.S. under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. The process is lengthy and complex, but the reason is simple -- to avoid practices such as baby-buying, baby-stealing, and so on. It is certainly possible to adopt from South Africa, but you should go into the process recognizing that you won't get a newborn and probably won't get an infant, that almost all of the children in care are Black or biracial, and that many of the children will have special needs that range from mild to severe. You should also be aware that the process is long and complicated, and that using a reputable agency will save you from scams and help you with the paperwork. You should also be aware that children born to HIV-positive mothers or mothers with AIDS may or may not have the virus. Accurate testing, which usually can be done after a child is age two or older, is possible. If a child tests negative, he/she can be perfectly healthy, even if he/she is listed as having special needs, simply because of the social stigma in South Africa. And today, even if a child tests positive, the use of antiretrovirals can often allow him/her to live a normal lifespan. If you want more information on international adoption, start by going to the adoption website of the U.S. State Department, at adoption.state.gov. It has information on which countries are open to international adoption, and what their rules and timeframes are, which countries are party to the Hague Convention on international adoption, and so on. Sharon

Hi everyone I am from the US and I was looking for a baby from any African country and came in contact with this woman Belvia over the internet. She helped me get a child from motherless children home in South Africa. She can help you all get babies from any country in Africa. You can contact her through her email address at belviaatras@gmail.com.She adoptions are cheaper and fast.

I would love information as well!