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My husband and I are exploring international adoption in the coming year. We are not new to the process as we adopted our beautiful 12 yo daughter from Russia in 2006. As it has been awhile, we are interested in learning about the status of the countries we are interested in as well as reputable agencies that work with those countries. We are interested in Bulgaria, El Salvador, Mexico and Columbia. We are hoping to adopt a boy in the range of 3-5 with no special needs. The agencies I found seem to vary in terms of wait times and ages available.
If you have any current experience with those countries, we would be interested in hearing about it. I understand that individual agency recommendations would need to be made via direct message.
I don't know much about El Salvador or Mexico. However, I do know that Colombia is not currently accepting families for the non-special needs program. I do not believe that age range is considered a special need there. Bulgaria is supposed to be running close to five years for no special needs.
please know that "special needs" is not a universal term as far as meaning. Some very minor issues can be termed special needs in a country with backwards medical care and be easily rectified in usa. Had friends who brought home cleft lip and pallet child from Korea and it looked pretty bad when she first got here. They immediately had corrective surgery and you would never know she wasn't born absolutely perfect. No scar, no eating problems. Talking to agencies which deal with special needs will give you more information. good luck.
Thanks for your replies. I have not talked to any agencies yet, just looked at their websites. Once we get more serious, I will contact them. Any suggestions regarding agencies, please DM me! We had used Adoption Ark to adopt our daughter but they are now closed.
Adopting in Mexico is pretty tough, unfortunately. Both parents must make several trips to Mexico for 2-3 weeks each. Some states require at least one parent to be present for all of the paperwork to be done, which can be an additional 4 months. It seems best suited to adoptive families who are able to work in Mexico for several months. That's the only country I know intimately, because it's the country I am most interested in adopting from since I have lived there.
Thanks for your feedback about Mexico. We have a sister in law from Mexico and mulled over talking to her about what she might know. However, it sounds like the process would pose some hardship for us. I hope you will be successful!
Have you considered Ukraine? There are thousands of little Ukrainian boys (and little girls, too, for that matter) aged five and over waiting for families (only Ukrainians can adopt children under age five, with a few exceptions: see below).
If you are willing to consider minor special needs (lazy eye, orthopedic issues, cleft palate, HIV, mild CP, etc), or a sibling group, younger children are also available.
Orphanage conditions range from good (for orphanages) to pretty bad, unfortunately, but the adoption procedure is reasonably direct and usually requires around six weeks in country, with one long or two shorter trips being necessary.
If you learned a little Russian during your daughter's adoption, it would serve you well in much of Ukraine. The recent unrest in Kiev has not affected adopting families other than causing a few traffic jams, btw.
Kids with HIV but no special need on "the list" in Ukraine aren't available for international adoption until the age of five.
Thanks for the clarification - I knew this, but can see how my previous post might be misleading. Many have advocated for kids with HIV to be included on Ukraine's "special needs" list - it certainly would be the logical thing to do, it seems to me.
Thanks for the clarification - I knew this, but can see how my previous post might be misleading. Many have advocated for kids with HIV to be included on Ukraine's "special needs" list - it certainly would be the logical thing to do, it seems to me.
Ukrainians are becoming more and more willing to adopt kids with HIV, which is why it isn't on the list.
To the OP, an age range of 3-5 and with no special need will leave you with a very long wait most likely. However, many things that will give a kid the label of "special needs" wouldn't be considered one here. Some blood conditions (not contagious or anything) that require transfusions often will usually get a child that label. China has a lot of young boys with no special need other than thalassemia (one of those blood conditions) who are waiting and considered special needs. That's just one example of a "special need" that many here in the U.S. wouldn't necessarily consider as such.
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