Is the wait shorter for 3-8 year olds?

We started in January, dossier approved by May, and did not receive a referral for our requested sibling pair between 4 and 10 until the following May. My husband is a native Pole and fluent.There are no guarantees, and the agencies, while they can give you a very rough estimate, they can't predict the future.

lastpaige - sounds like you specifically requested sibs though, right? I actually heard that the wait for sibs may be longer than for single kids, which is so different from the situation with waiting US foster kids. We could go either way (one or two kids), but like you said, you never know. I also just watched a movie (5000 miles) about a couple adopting from Poland and they brought home a toddler within a year (and their referral came within 6 months of filing the dossier) - and neither spoke Polish. That's why I was doubtful of the idea that Poles or Polish-speakers get any sort of priority, but on these forums I kept hearing that we would get priority. But your story reaffirms my initial notion. Mind if I ask if you had other referrals that you turned down?

Yes, we wanted siblings (two boys or two girls) and were told by our facilitator that the wait for siblings was shorter than for singles.Yes, I have 5000 miles and it got us through the wait - but remember, like us they are only one family - not necessarily the norm.My understanding is that citizens of Poland are first up, then Poles (via birth in Poland, or fluent) outside of Poland, then everyone else.However, Poland works to fit children to families, it's not the parent file on the top gets the next child file on the top. While it makes the wait hard, and long, I must say our sons are a perfect fit for us. And they definitely needed a quiet, home educating family, and lots of quiet routine to flourish.We had a 'would you consider' very early on, but no serious (official, with paperwork/photos) referrals.

Keep in mind that 5000 miles occurred 4 years ago, and it was also pre-Hague. I feel like things change year to year and practically month to month. That being said, I have come across families that have adopted recently who received the referral they accepted (younger and older children, siblings and single) in less than 6 months, none were native Poles themselves. Then I have come across other families who waited a year or even two for the referral they accepted, older and younger. So it sounds crazy to say, after researching Polish adoption for 1.5 years, and with a dossier in Poland 4 months, I just don't think you can ever plan that part out.

I didn't mean to sound so negative! All I was trying to say is I think you really have to get yourself into that mindset, that it will "happen when it happens" or else you will drive yourself a little crazy. My husband parent's are native Poles and he speaks fluent Polish.

Anything is possible, but reasonable to expect...... My recommendation is probably not good to expect to see it happen within a year - then if it does you can be pleasantly surprised. Timing does seem all over the board. We were home within one year of submitting our dossier - but we were told that we were in some sort of bubble. IE our dossier was pre-hague, with few families still pre-hague and no hague rules approved/implemented yet. So they were trying to find all pre-hague families and get them matched. Now I expect that this created some sort of back-log and the Hague families are finding a slightly longer wait because there was a delay for awhile in processing. You see this in the numbers for last year. Our request 2-4yo girl to be younger than brother and maintain birth order. Our referral had some medical issues and delays that were real and provided accurately. We heard over and over again that they do try to match the kids that they have to the families waiting. You think it wouldn't make as much of a difference but I think it does. They start with a child that they want to find a home for and try to understand what type of family would be best and THEN they go through the files. The job has to be hard because they have to consider not just the family, but nationality since other EU countries adopt from Poland. I can't imagine trying to do this job. When we got to Poland, they knew our home study, and easily explained why they thought we would be the right family. We were impressed that at the orphanage they had read the information, knew who we were, etc. I hope you get the referral soon, but waiting could be what you are supposed to do. Plus, it seems you have been waiting over the summer. Things really do slow down in the summer.

MenloAve - we haven't even begun the process yet! I have to wait before I start to wait, if that makes any sense, and that's why I was hoping the second wait would be shorter. But alas, I've waited this long. :hippie:

This is interesting to me- we have been talking to two different agencies. One told us that sibiling groups and older children were much faster to get referals on, and another told us the opposite....

Alc - I'm curious too why there'd be different responses based on agency. I'll PM you to see which two agencies gave you which estimates.