Which Countries are Available?

It isn't a short rundown because you still have to wade through the info., but the State Dept. site has info. on all countries and is generally up to date and accurate.Good luck!

Some that are open include Columbia, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Mexico, and maybe Panama. But other than Columbia I believe adoptions from these other countries are uncommon and there are few agency programs. Many also may have long wait times.

Costa Rica is open - my agency recently receieved their license to work there.

Ah - I just found out about Costa Rica too through an agency that I'm looking at. Thanks for all of the info folks.

There was a long period of time when many Latin American countries didn't want to work with U.S. citizens, because the U.S. had not ratified the Hague. Now that the U.S. has ratified, countries are beginning to open up again. Any time you have a new program, it must be considered risky for a couple of years, until it's clear that the program will be successful and stable. If you want to go with a new or renewed program, be very careful to go with a very conservative agency that has tons of international experience, and check references carefully. Costa Rica is a fairly prosperous Latin country. My feeling is that it's not a place to adopt healthy infants, since such children find domestic homes easily. It's a good choice for adopting school aged children, children with special needs, and sibling groups. Sharon

Yes Sharon, good point. Costa Rica is a prosperous country and as such somewhat of a destination for the people of surrounding nations. It is unlikely you will find children that are in bad situations as easily as other, poorer Latinamerican countries. The family unit is quite sacred in Hispanic culture so parents only give up their children if circumstances are very difficult. I am more knowledgeable about the Dominican Republic, but it is typical of poor countries. The parents frequently are unable to provide the attention and financial support needed because of poverty. Without thinking a a lot, I can think of two babies that are available; one is around 18 months and the other is not yet born. As you can imagine, education, prenatal care and contraception are not uppermost on the minds of young people.