[Lexa]

We are just starting out and have been planning on using Wide Horizons through a friend's recommendation. I haven't heard much mention of them in this forum and was hoping somebody might PM me with their experience!

Also, did anyone specify gender in their adoptions?

[alindy]

We are using AIA but are only in the very beginning stages of this. I haven't gotten any feedback from the agency yet regarding our gender preferences. Since we already have two bio children (1 boy, 1 girl) and we are hoping to adopt 2 more, we are specifying that we would like to adopt a brother/sister sibling pair.

[teranga]

All of the agencies allow you to specify gender, whether or not you have children. The most sought-after child in international adoption is an infant girl, and the Ethiopia program is no exception, so there is sometimes a wait for infant girls (though not long). And sometimes there isn't!

Teranga.

[blueberry1966]

Some agency do have a gender policy. They allow you to "gender balance," in that if you have children, say you have a boy, you can request to adopt a girl. You would not be able to request another boy, unless you were adopting a waiting child. They do this because most people, when give a choice, choose a girl.

We had a son, and were adopting a sibling group. We did request that one of the children be a girl (to gender balance) and the gender of the other child was not specified.

[ShowyChloe]

I know one of the agencies does not allow you to specify a girl under 4 or 5 years of age if you already have a girl. They do not budge from that rule.

[vseaton]

Hi ladies,

I really enjoyed reading your thread. DH and I are looking into international adoption. We are considering Guatemala, Ethiopia, or Kazakhastan. We're leaning towards Ethiopia and wanted to know more about the following agenices:

• Adoption Advocates International
• Americans for African Adoptions
• Christian World Adoptions
• Dove Adoptions International
• Wide Horizons

I live in TN, so none of these agencies are in the same state as me. I don't know what step to take first. So, I've requested information from all of the above and came on here to search for feedback. Anything you can share about experiences or knowledge you have of any of the above will be greatly appreciated. Please pm or email me with any information you'd like to share.

Thanks for your time & help

Victoria



Can you pm me about your personal experiences. I'm trying to research agencies. I'm not sure if I can list the ones we're considering or not. Any information you can provide about your experiences will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Victoria

[bluedaisy]

Don't forget CHSFS.

[Baby C]

I am new to the adopting world- but, I am using Wide Horizions <edited to remove agency discussion>