Any Advice on a Country?

A lot of things can happen in the time frame you are talking about...we started in a Central Asian country last March thinking we would complete our adoption by December. In October the country shut down basically and now 65 American families are waiting. So, in 6 months this country went from wide open/quick referrals/easy process to unofficially "closed."

Sorry, my response to had be cut short. Basically, do the research now if you want, but beware that things can turn on a dime in International Adoption. For the parameters you give now, you might check out the Waiting Child program for China. Many of the special needs are very minor, the wait for a child could be short, and the travel is well under a month in length. In just about any program you choose, desiring a child over 2 is going to help shorten your wait. I have not heard anything about Korea, but I am not in that circle. You might check out adoptions from the Philippines. I have heard good things about that program too.

Thanks so much for the tips. I have noticed that a lot of programs have suddenly changed, our initial intent was to go to Taiwan if something failed with Korea, but now Taiwan has raised their parental age minimums to 30, so again we're at square one.But another question just popped up to me when reading this, is the China Special Needs program open to people under 30? I've seen some agencies be unclear on the issue, but I was under the impression that 30 was the minimum age that was required of parents. Thanks again though!

How about Nepal?

There are many things to consider when choosing a program, not just what you qualify for in terms of age, and time frame constraints as you mentioned, but also what kind of connection you have with the culture your adopted child is coming from. For example, if you speak Spanish and enjoy aspects of Latin cultures, maybe this is a part of the world you want to investigate. After all, at some point, your adoptive child is going to want to know more about his or her birth culture and have identity issues to work through and a supportive informed parent is so important. There is no such thing as an "easy" international adoption. There is so many bureaucratic steps involved, and I don't know if there is a way to say one place is better than the other unless you have certain requirements (age, gender, marital status, etc.) There are many great places to adopt from and so many adoption agencies with a good reputation, so I would say adopt from a country you have a cultural interest or connection to.Best of luck!

We adopted both of our children from Korea, and although I know that Korea has a "goal" of ending non-special needs international adoptions by 2012, it is definetly not set in stone, and our agency has said thay don't expect it to completely closed down in 3 years. I know agencies with Korean programs are still recieving referrals and excepting new families at this point. Ethiopia may be a good option for you. I know the travel time is minimal, and escorting may also be possible, and they are open to families under age 30.

For every program that closes, new ones will arise. Already, some highly reputable agencies, with 20-50 years of solid experience around the world, have pilot programs in maybe 10-12 new countries. By the time you are ready to adopt, there may be some pretty stable programs in at least a couple of those countries. But don't write off the long established ones just yet. Korea is still open, and there is no guarantee that it will close. It is experiencing a decrease in adoptable children, in part because of the prosperity of the country. And it is attempting to encourage domestic adoption, even offering tax deductions and such. But right now, there are still at least some children in need of homes, and while some U.S. agencies have closed their programs to new applicants, others are still placing children. Other programs remain open as well. Colombia has been a good choice for young couples for many years, although some programs do require a long in-country stay. Ethiopia has an organized and ethical process, and allows either escort or a short trip (about a week). Thailand has a fairly long timeframe from homestudy to homecoming, but the few agencies with Thailand programs have some very satisfied families. Many Americans like Eastern European countries, though most, such as Poland and Russia, tend to require either more than one trip or long in-country stays. A few agencies are still placing children from Taiwan, though some have closed their programs to new applicants, because it has become so popular that there are long wait lists. A few agencies accept non-Indians for India, though many do not. If you think you might be open to a little uncertainty, some of the pilot programs have attractive features. While Mexico used to be terribly risky, the fact that it has ratified the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption and is working with some very conservative and ethical agencies makes it much more promising now. And some Latin countries that used to be closed to Americans because we had not yet ratified the Hague have reopened programs since we ratified. A few very solid agencies are working in countries like Rwanda and Uganda, in Africa. They are also returning to countries that had lost popularity among adoptive families, such as the Philippines and Bulgaria. By the time you are ready to begin your adoption journey, you may have more options than you think. Your job now should be to think about the issues that are important to you, such as the race of the children, the culture that you will bring into your home, your "preparedness" for parenting a child who is beyond infancy, and so on. Your job should also be to familiarize yourself with the adoption process, so that you can make sensible decisions when choosing an agency. Sharon