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Another good site for photolistings and agencies is rainbowkids.com This site also has a lot of information. Good Luck to all who are adopting internationally--it is a wonderful journey. Wendy wendybear2@excite.com:)
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There are agencies who complete adoptions from China and Thailand pretty inexpensively (compared to the normal huge costs of int'l adoption). A few agencies that come to mind are AAO and WACAP for China. AAI in Washington and Holt for Thailand. I think I read that adoptions from Nepal are less costly as well. Too bad they all can't lower their fees so more people can adopt (my soap box). Independent adoptions from the Ukraine can also be inexpensive. Good luck!
Ethiopia is about $4000, Adoption Advocates International and one other agency (just type Ethiopia and Adoption in the seach engine) are the only ones allowed to work in that country. AAI also works with Haiti, must be married, Christian, few children for Haiti. You can be single with as many children as INS will let you have for Ethiopia. One problem I saw was you don't really know how old the kids are, they don't keep birthrecords or something, so you could get a 3 year old and it turn out to be 7. They often have infants and are pretty sure they are infants. Thay are also a faster country (6-9 months after dossier) and kids can be escorted home which saves costs. The Urkaine is the lowest cost in Europe, and they also let singles with children adopt. They say you have to hagle for the kids though. I think it ran around or started at $7000 plus travel and hagle costs. China was a almost grantee of an infant girl at around $9000 to $15000. They like small families and $10,000 income per family member, they do accept singles. At least that was what I was told.
You should check on Brazilian adoption. I am Brazilian and just started the process with filling INS papers. Brazil does not charge for adoption, and I found a wonderful place that works with the Brazilian orphanage. The name of the place is LIMIAR (210) 479-0300 and I heard wonderful things about them. [url]www.limiar.com[/url] Please check on it, since it is less expensive than other places I've seen. Good luck. Ilke
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and the gal I talked to said that their program probably wouldn't work for us because we are looking for an infant. She said because America isn't on board with the Hague stuff yet that Brazil is sending their infants to Europe right now. She said there are some special needs infants but most of the children available would be toddlers and older. I don' t have a problem with some correctible special needs like some limb problems, cleft palate, hair lip, etc., but I am not ready to deal with something major - I will be a first time parent... I told her to go ahead and send the info packet anyway, so we will see. How old of children are you adopting? We really want to get a baby because we want the whole *baby experience*, plus for me the whole infant-mother bonding experience is really important...I have been really having mixed feelings about getting even a child of 2 because I know so much can happen in those first two years to form the personality... Any thoughts on all this? :confused: Regards, SC :D
Hi! I don't understand why Nancy gave you this answer. I know there was a problem with USA and Brazil, but it has been fixed. In my case it will be easier because I am Brazilian and I will be in front of any other foreig couple in the wait list. I can understand you wanting a new born baby. I wanted it too and I am still available for that. However, my husband and I are so much into the adoption that we realized that a small child can be a wonderful experience too. We want sibling, which is more readly available, and the age would be 0 to 3. However we are flexible to have to small children up to 5 (siblings still). I will call another agency in California (who works with LIMIAR) and clarify that thing you told me then I will get back to you. I am almost sure it is fine to adopt in Brazil even if both of you are American. I am right now e-mailing a wonderful woman who adopted a 9 year old in Brazil in the sumer of 2000 and the couple is American as apple pie!:p SO, don't feeel discouraged. If you want to write to me, please feel free to use meuanjo@juno.com I am thrilled we may be going still this year to pick up our children and am available to "walk" with whoever wants to adpt. I know there are many people who would do the same, since the experience of adopting and trying to made our familes "complete" is so wonderful. I am sure you can find "normal" children in Brazil. My sister is a Social Worker there and kindda work with it (she is not involved at all with my case), and that's why I know all this. All the best, and feel free to ask whatever you want.
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Why she said what she did because the website makes no reference to any of what she relayed to me. I would appreciate hearing about any info you can track down on this subject. :D I will be emailing you later today to talk more about all this... Regards, SunCat (feeling exhausted with information overload and too many conflicting answers...) :confused: :( :confused:
Please don't feel discouraged yet. It does feel overwhelming in the beginning but once you start the paperwork you will see it is easier than we first think. Take your time to write to me. I am standing by whenever you are ready. By the way, we will be first parents as well. I called the other place but the person who is dealing with my case is in a meeting, so I will gather all the information when she calls me back and then relate them to you.
I know that you are concerned about fees. But it is critical that you find a good "fit" before you even begin to think about cost. When you adopt from a country, you make your family part Brazilian, Nepalese, Chinese -- whatever. Even though you tell your child that she/he is your child and an American citizen, she/he looks in the mirror and remembers that she/he has another heritage. You have to celebrate that heritage; it is who she is and who you are. It is a lesson that was taught to today's adoptive families by people adopted from Korea years back. At the time, most parents played down their child's heritage, saying that what mattered was that they were now American. Unfortunately, this denial caused many young people to have serious identity issues as they grew. Adoptive families need to choose a country whose heritage "feels right", and that they are eager to celebrate. You also need to consider whether there will be role models for your child in your community; she/he needs to see adults of her ethnicity who are productive members of society. Ideally, you will have members of the ethnic group among your friends and neighbors. You have to think about race/ethnicity in other ways, too. First, when you adopt a child who does not look like you -- and this will be the case when you adopt from most countries except those in Eastern Europe -- the fact that you are an adoptive family will be instantly known to all, the minute you walk into a store. Heads will turn. If you are a very private person, this may be very disconcerting. As a quick aside, remember that most countries open to adoption do not have typical "White" children. Most children available in Latin America are born to members of the indigenous/Indian population. While they may have some European ancestry, they will usually have tan skin, black hair, and Indian appearance. Brazil is a particularly multi-racial society, and many children have a multi-racial heritage, with Black, White, Indian, and even Asian forebears; some may look Caucasian, but many won't, and you won't always be able to tell at birth. Asian countries have Asian children. And Haiti and Ethiopia have Black children. Even in Eastern Europe, where more of the children are Caucasian, many children will be Roma (Gypsy) in heritage and appearance, and some will be Asian or biracial Asian/Caucasian. Some people who see you in the supermarket will feel free to ask you all sorts of nosy questions. People who wouldn't dare ask if you had a C-section or a vaginal delivery will ask you whether the Chinese kill baby girls, whether your child is "normal", why your child was abandoned, and so on. And they may ask you this in the presence of your child, when she/he is old enough to understand and be upset. If you cannot handle this, and it IS difficult, you may do better adopting a child of the same race/ethnicity. And, of course, there is racism. If you choose a country where the children are Black or biracial Black/White, you will need to raise your child in an environment where young Black men are stereotyped as thieves, drug users, gang members, and sexual predators; young Black women are stereotyped as promiscuous, uninterested in education, and likely to go on Welfare. It is not easy to raise Black children to have a positive self-image in such an environment; you have to work VERY hard at it. If you choose an Asian country, you will find another stereotype --one that says Asians are smart and good in math, that Asian girls are sweet and demure, and that Asians want to take White people's jobs. While it may sound nice to hear that Asians are smart, just think what your child will endure if her/his strength is in art or music, and if math is a struggle. And most parents will NOT want their girls to grow up thinking that they have to be shy and retiring China dolls; most of us want our girls, regardless of ethnicity, to be self-confident and strong. (We also accept the fact that, as young children, they will occasionally be LOUD!) You may find that you have to deal with prejudice that comes not just from Whites, but from members of the child's ethnic group. Some Black children are shocked to find that they are called Oreos (Black on the outside, White on the inside) by Black kids raised in Black families; Asians may be called "bananas" by Asian youths, for the same reason. Unfortunately, you may have a bigot in your family tree. This is often one of the hardest things for some families, as it sometimes means telling Uncle Joe -- or even your own father -- that he will not be welcome in your home if he persists in using hate words such as nigger, gook, and spic, or if he persists in treating your child differently from non-adopted cousins. Once you have looked at the countries that are best suited to you ethnically, you will also need to look at the countries' requirements. In some cases, you will be precluded from adopting because of age, marital status, divorce history, or religion. You may also have requirements that rule out a country. As an example, you may not be willing to travel for four weeks. Or you may insist on having the child escorted, which few countries allow. You will also need to look at the age, sex, and health situation of the children. In some countries, you can't adopt an infant or young toddler. In others, available children will have medical issues. You need to make your own "risk assessment" of each country. Many people choose to adopt from Russia; others feel that there is too much alcohol abuse, and that too many adoptees come home with fetal alcohol syndrome -- not always diagnosable in a young child, and responsible for learning and behavior problems. Many people choose China; others feel that there is too little information available on the children, as they have been abandoned and the orphanage information may be spotty. There is no "perfect" country. The best you can hope for is that you ca accept the risks, and that you choose an agency that will present all available information to you. Once you have narrowed your search, you will be better prepared to consider fees. Remember that many fees apply everywhere. As an example, you will always need a homestudy. You will always need to get INS approval, which involves the I-600A and fingerprinting fees. You will need to prepare a dossier, which usually involves fees to states for certified copies of documents and for "authenticating" documents to meet country requirements, fees paid to notaries, and so on. You will always need to pay travel or escort fees. You will run up bills for postage and Fedexes and long distance calls. You will usually need to pay court costs in the foreign country. You will always need to pay a fee for your child's visa at the U.S. Embassy in the foreign country. Many countries require a donation of a certain amount to the orphanage. And so on. When you look at various agencies and facilitators, you will see fees that appear to differ markedly. Often, however, these differences are not real; the listed fees may or may not include the same items. As an example, one agency may put travel costs into their fee, while another will let you arrange and pay for travel separately; you may be paying the same travel costs, whichever of the two agencies you choose. You will probably have to create a spreadsheet and list out the various fees in order to compare them accurately. Agencies are sometimes perceived to be more costly than facilitator-assisted or independent adoptions. Unfortunately, there is very little regulation of adoption; licensure is the primary means of regulation. Only agencies are licensed. Facilitators, whether American or foreign, are unregulated. As a result, there is a little less risk when using a licensed agency; it must meet certain requirements in its state, and it knows that if enough parents register complaints, the state will yank its license. I would recommend that novices to adoption who do not know the language and customs of a particular country; who do not know the laws of their state, the INS, and the foreign country; and who do not have much medical knowledge or experience with assessing children seriously consider choosing a licensed agency, even if it is, or appears to be, more costly. When you make the cost estimates, ask yourself what the cost will be if a "cheap" facilitator or agency tells you that you can adopt a healthy infant from a country for under $10,000; if you subsequently pay that person or organization a fee and travel to the country; and if you learn when you get there that a child of the desired age and health status is not available. At that point, you have two choices -- go home without a child and without money and forget about parenting, or add the costs of that failed adoption to the costs of trying again. You may be surprised to learn that some long established, most ethical licensed agencies are among the lower cost options if you check around. If you still find that adoption fees are too high, consider adopting an older or special needs child, or a child in U.S. foster care. Many agencies reduce their fees in such cases, because such children are hard to place. With international adoptions, reduction doesn't change the fees for the homestudy, INS clearance, dossier prep, travel, or foreign country activities, but it does affect the fee charged by the agency itself. Of course, consider this option only if you have the ability to meet the challenges of such a child. Of course, if you still find adoption fees too high, consider whether you should take time to get your finances in better shape. Unfortunately, the cost of adopting pales beside the cost of raising a child. Parenting is very expensive. Waiting a few years may be the answer.
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