[thesojourners]

Hi,

I'm hoping some of you experienced members can answer a few questions for me. I am wondering about adopting some older siblings from Columbia . . .

1) if you adopted older kids, were you given adequate info about their medical and psychological states

2) what kinds of documents did you need for the dossier

3) what was your timeline

4) how was the country stay? did you feel safe?

Thanks for any advice!

[Bogota Girl]

We adopted a 12-year-old girl two years ago, and the information we were provided with regard to her physical and emotional state was quite thorough. I believe we were well informed. It is possible that we may have been at some advantage in that our daughter was actually living with her birthmother until 7 1/2 -years old. At that time, she was removed; however, her mother still visited her at the orphanage and was "available" for assistance with documentation. It might be a bit more difficult to ascertain some information if a child's history is virtually unknow. Even though that might be the case, I believe that their assessment of her current physical condition and emotional state was right on the money. They are very attentive to the needs of adoptable children in Colombia, and I believe they do a remarkable job.

The list of documents for the dossier is extensive. It includes employer referernces, physical exams, three letters of reference, FBI clearance, finger printing, birth certificate, marriage certificate, name affidavit, homestudy, photos, letter of intent, copies of passports, etc. A vast majority of these documents required notarization and Apostille.

The timeline for adopting an older child tends to be less. We actually began our dossier in early February and were in the country by end of August. We were definitely on the fast track. Most others that I have known have been closer to 12 months from beginning the entire process until arrival in the country. If you are adopting an infant, those waits can expect to be at least doubled.

The dossier material is time sensitive, in that all documents must be dated within 30 days of submission to the country. (At least that was the case 2 years ago when we did this.) I was not aware of this initially and found myself having to have several documents redone so that all would be dated within 30 days of each other.

Our stay in the country was amazing. We always felt safe. We felt safe at the hotel, which was a small hostel servicing adoptive families. We made great friends that have lasted and shared great times together in the country. We even returned for a visit two months ago and wouldn't hesitate to return again. In fact, we did much more this time than before with respect to moving about the city of Bogota and the respective countrysides. There are a couple of very trusted tour agencies in Bogota with great representatives that go the extra mile for you and take very good care of you.

When you tell people here that you are going to Colombia, the safety question is always the first to arise. I don't consider it any less safe, for the most part, than some of the inner city areas in this country. Just be smart.

Hope this helps.

Robin