[karla-k]

we are thinking about Ethiopia. we are wanting an infant boy, as young as possible and healthy.

what is the norm for age at referral and age at homecoming?

[Rapids]

Not sure how to respond to this post. I'm sure it's innocent enough, but it just strikes as a little cavalier and baby-market-ish, KWIM?

Anyway, I really think it's not very cut and dry, and probably about 5-8 months, depending. Am I right?

[ocracoke]

That depends on the agency you use. In several ways. Some agencies allow you to give an age range for referral of 0-3 months. Other agencies say an infant is 0-12 months -- no exceptions. At looking at the time line right now from referral to court it looks like typically speaking you are looking at a court date about 2-4 months after referral. Travel is usually 4-8 weeks after court. So you could get a referral for a baby that is 6 weeks at referral and 5 months when he arrives home. You could also get a referral of a baby at 12 months and bring him home at 18 months. You really need to speak with the agency you are considering and see what their definition of an infant is and to see what their current typical time line is from referral to court to travel.

Samantha

[renee-albright]

our agency had infant referrals as anywhere from 0-12 months. We were also hopeing for as young as possible since this is our first and most likely only child..nothing baby marketish about it. We got our referral on Jan 6 and our court date is march 31st. if we pass we should travel around the end of april he will be 10 months old at pick up. We have seen infant boy referrals from our agency as young as a month or two old. The boy list seems to be moving much, much faster then the girl list.

[karla-k]

[quote=Rapids]Not sure how to respond to this post. I'm sure it's innocent enough, but it just strikes as a little cavalier and baby-market-ish, KWIM?



we are not shopping for a baby but we are trying to preserve our birth order and not have kids less than 20 months apart. our current situation is not looking good and I am researching other countries. sorry if that offends you.

sorry my post seemed cavalier to you, I am pretty much a short and sweet get to the point person

[Rapids]

Thanks for clearing that up. It's so easy to give/get the wrong impression in such impersonal modes of communication. We too *would like* a very young infant. I am inducing lactation for our adopted child so that I can breastfeed her. Obviously, the younger the child, the more benefit mother's milk will be to her.

I have read that abandoned children have to wait 2 months before the Ethiopian government will certify them legally abandoned and available for adoption. If this is the case, how are families getting referrals of children under 2 months old?

[Chrysanthemum]

My agency hopes children come home 2-6 months after referral. Obviously, it is out of their hands and depends on the Et court system. If you are referred a young infant your chances of bringing an 8 month old home are good.
I requested 0-12 m as young as possible. I just brought my daughter home. She was just under 7 months. We were presented to court 3 times before passing.

Blessings on your journey~

[ocracoke]

Originally Posted by Rapids

I have read that abandoned children have to wait 2 months before the Ethiopian government will certify them legally abandoned and available for adoption. If this is the case, how are families getting referrals of children under 2 months old?

Some agencies will give the referral before the 2 month waiting period is up and let the family know that they can not proceed until that is done. Other agencies will wait to give referrals until the 2 month waiting period has expired.

Samantha

[Ladyofmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Rapids

I have read that abandoned children have to wait 2 months before the Ethiopian government will certify them legally abandoned and available for adoption. If this is the case, how are families getting referrals of children under 2 months old?

I read that this was 6 weeks, but that was when we were researching so maybe it's changed. I think this also has to do only when a child is abandoned and not when a child is orphaned or relinquished, but then again that's me trying to remember my research from over two years ago and possibly getting the laws mixed up with another country's.

We didn't ask for a very young infant and received our referal when our son was almost 21 months and brought him home on his 2nd birthday. It was actually 3 months to the day from receiving his referal that we actually got to hold him. Our agency only had like a 3 week wait between court and travel, maybe less, but I hear everything's gotten longer now at least in our agency. And the "infant" definition does change from agency to agency, ours was under 12 months but other agencies might allow younger children to be classified as infants only.

Good luck!

[karla-k]

thank you for all of the good information. The agency we are with now for Central Asia has an Ethiopia program, so I'll just have to see what happens from here.

We are still praying that we can bring our baby home from CA, but also want to be ready to move quickly should this program close down.

[2xaround]

we are trying to preserve our birth order and not have kids less than 20 months apart. our current situation is not looking good and I am researching other countries.

Karla,

You didn't mention how old your youngest child is now or how soon you want to get started on an adoption. What I can tell you from my research is that the more criteria you put on your referral request, the longer your wait. So, if you ask for an infant between 0-6 months at referral, you could find your wait for referral to be a few weeks to a few months longer than others. It also depends on the agency, because many agencies consider an infant to be any child under 12 months of age.

Quite honestly, Ethiopia may be your best option for a young infant right now unless you adopt domestically. Colombia is also a possibility, but the wait can be years. Our home study agency has a Korea program and I was just reading that the Korea program has slowed down dramatically over the last couple of years, but they have had several referrals of young infant boys over the last several months.

I wish you the best of luck as you continue your research.

[karla-k]

Thanks Debbie. Our youngest bio child turned 2 in November 08. We do have a few months to see what happens with the program we are currently in, but like I said before, we want to be ready to go if the doors close on us

karla