[wannaadopt]

Hi! My husband and I are new to this process and we are very seriously considering Ethiopia as our country to adopt from. I have noticed that the few agencies that are allowed to adopt in Ethiopia have different time lines as far as completing adoptions. What is the REAL time frame? Were there any hidden costs? I also noticed that one agency reccomends we travel, (which we would love to do) and another agency advises against it! Does anyone have any advice on this? Thanks so much!

[teranga]

Hi. How are the timelines you are receiving different? What have you heard? I looked into 2 of the 4 agencies which can do Ethiopian adoptions, and both had about the same timeline. Of course homestudy times will vary as, unless you live in the agency's state, you will have to get that done on your own. The time it takes you to do that, as well as the schedule of the homestudy agency you choose will determine how long that takes.

Once you've finished your homestudy, there is the dossier to do. I completely finished and returned my dossier in 2 weeks, though again that will vary by person (I hounded everyone who needed to have things notarized, etc).

As for the actual adoption from there...I am still in the process so I can't speak from experience, but I have spoken with a number of people who have gone through this start to finish, with both agencies I considered. It took them about 3-4 months to travel from the time their child was identified. For waiting children, you can identify them right away. For infants, there is a wait and this really varies b/c there is no way to know how many infants will be coming in, but...the consensus seems to be a few months wait at most.

Finally...as for travel...I know which agency you're referring to when you speak about travel vs. not travel (but can't put anything agency-specific on here). The agency which suggested not travelling recently posted on the Yahoo Ethiopia board to say that they need to update their website b/c travel there is safe. Every other agency recommends it and I know MANY people who have gone to Ethiopia, as will I, with no problems at all.

As for hidden costs: the only cost issue we had was that our agency increased their price by $1,000 while we were in the middle of the adoption, so we have to pay that and weren't expecting to. Still...now that this has been increased, there shouldn't be any other surprises.

Hope this helps and good luck with your decision!!

[wannaadopt]

hello and thank you for your informative response!!!
One agency told me that Ethiopia has changed their time frame and you get a referral as you are getting the Dossier together! And that this shortens the process by a few months. I just get myself confused!!
I definately want to travel to pick up my children..I would love to experience that and would not be happy waiting at the airport..part of my whole feelings is that I want to be the one to bring them home. Its important to me that I do that!!Im glad you clarified that it is safe..I was wanting to go anyway, safe or not!
Thank you again and good luck with the remainder of your adoption!!!! I cant wait to hear all about it!!! Is there anything I can do NOW to speed up the Dossier process? We dont have my husbands original birth certifcate..I think his mom may have it..He is from Trinidad, is this something I need to get aspostilled? I am so confused at this point..

[teranga]

Actually I must say that the dossier for Ethiopia isn't that involved. You do need original birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates (if applicable) so it would speed things up to get those. Copies of the documents above, as well as MANY (!) other documents have to be notarized but I wouldn't bother to start that yet. There are SO many things to have notarized, a number of which you can't do until they send you the dossier paperwork, that it's just as easy to walk into your notary's office with a huge stack and do it all at once. I did that the day I received the dossier info. so that part was done. A lot of things have to be worded just right, and I don't want to give you the wording in case it has changed or your agency has you do things a bit differently, but again--you cna get on this as soon as your dossier info. arrives and it won't take long (medical statement from doctor, etc). My best advice it to tell people that you need the documents back in 2 days. That's what I did and most people actually had them in the mail to me within 2 days! And the ones who didn't felt really badly and got it to me within maybe 3 more days or so!!

It really can be done quickly if you're motivated (which you sound like you are). I hear the dossier for China is much more involved and takes months--not so w/Ethiopia--thank goodness!!

You can pick a waiting child (that doesn't sound right, but you know what I mean...) before you finish your dossier, but again--infants have a waitlist so you wouldn't have a referral for an infant before your dossier is done.

I wish you the best and I hpoe it all runs really smoothly!!

[wannaadopt]

Hi and thanks again for your information! I guess my biggest concern is that when I called Trinidad this morning, theys aid to allow six weeks to recive copies of my husbands birth certifacte. My sister in law is pretty sure that she can find the original, or a notarized copy of it. So Im afriad that will slow us down and if I can get a head start on it now..GREAT!
I am so excited and am very motivated and just cant wait to start this process. Right now, we are deciding on what agency to go with and I am trying to finish up grad school for the semester..then we will start the homestudy! We are so excited!!! What has your process been like? Is ther an agency that you would recommend? You can email me at alicia_scott@alumni.rutgers.edu if you'd like!!! Id love to hear all about your experiences so far!!! Thanks so much!