[lavendargreen]

Hi everyone,

I've searched online, but can't find the info I'm looking for. Can anyone point me in the direction of some type of cost/time/age of newborns coming home, etc. tool? I'd also love to hear about your successes/frustrations with certain countries or the results of your research. Questions? Please feel free to email me at melissaapple4@msn.com. Thank you, Melissa

[foxl]

There are so, so many differences -- travel costs, time in country, age of child when home, total process time, details of dossier ... and there are agency-to-agency policy differences to boot.

I would suggest first choosing a reliable, reputable agency, then narrowing it down among THEIR programs.

Good luck,

[ahfdragonfly]

I agree with foxl. I would look into agencies in your state / area, and talk to them. Some of the boards on here (I know Korea does) have threads with agency PM lists, so you can look for posts from your neck of the woods, and PM people for their opinions & information.

Good Luck!
p.s. I'm really happy with the way things are progressing with S Korea.

[Sean&Shan]

We specifically chose an agency with a local office. They have info/ Q&A sessions once a month for couples to find out many of the things you are asking. No deposit or payment of any kind was needed to go to this meeting. I can PM you with our agency (they are nationwide) if you want or I suggest you make some phone calls to some local agencies and see if they offer something similar.

[teranga]

Hi,
I'd actually suggest doing it the other way round: figure out which country you want to adopt from and then find a good agency for that country. You can ask questions in different country sections of the forum and start to figure out what you're looking for.

I knew I wanted to adopt from Africa, then narrowed it down to Ethiopia. I was comfortable w/the "issues" in Ethiopian children vs. some of the other countries (everyone has things they do/don't want...plenty of people wouldn't be comfortable w/the "issues" I'm fine with). Also I've lived in Africa (Peace Corps) and wanted to be able to share the respect and love of the country and people with my child in the future.

So you can think about things like FAS, malnutrition, quality of medical care in the country from which you'd be adopting, etc. and decide what you are/are not comfortable with. I was fine w/malnutrition and low quality medical care, but not OK w/FAs. Others will have totally different ideas.

Anyway...all this is to say that to figure out the country first and the agency next also works!! (I suppose I would have had to look toward a different country had I not been able to find a good Ethiopian adoption agency, but that was not a problem. I venture to guess there is at least one good agency for every country of adoption out there--you just have to find it!!

Good luck!
Pam

ps--the youngest infants I've heard of coming home from anywhere are about 4 months old (Korea, Guatemala, Ethiopia, there may be others). It takes at least that long for all the medical checks, referral, court date in the child's home country, to get the child's passport to get out of the country, to get the US Visa for the child to get out of the country, etc. Even then, there can be delays so you should probably never COUNT on a 4-month old.


Cost: anywhere from about $10,000 to $35,000 depending upon both the country you choose and the agency you choose.

Time: anywhere from about 5 months to 2 years, again depending on country of adoption and agency. Typically the wait for girls is longer than the wait for boys in every country except China (where there are mostly girls available). Up to 80% of those who express a gender preference ask for a girl, so the wait can be longer...

[spaypets]

India also has many more girls available than boys.

However, those children aren't even referred until they are at least 6 months old, and lately it's been more like 9 months. Then count another 6 months while the case winds its way throught the bureaucracy and you can figure you're getting a toddler, not an infant.

[randloar]

Melissa,

For us to make our decision, it helped to just start to collect information on all of the countries we were interested in, from multiple agencies (fill out lots of online forms for packets in the mail).

I then set up an excel spreadsheet, with many of the variables you named (child age, sex, referral time, travel time, cost, etc) across the top, and the agency along the vertical column. This by itself helped us filter out several of the countries that weren't a good fit for us, and we were left with 2-3 to look into further. The step to picking the one is just doing more of the same, but with more scrutiny for each country.

After we narrowed it down to our country, then we went after figuring out which of the agencies fit our needs the best (this included calling the agencies and asking similar questions to be able to compare, as well as calling lots of references). Don't forget references and experience from all the people here on the forum!!

It definately takes some time, but is well worth the peace of mind and comfort you have when you believe that your agency is looking out for you! Good luck, and I hope that you find the match that is right for you!

Carrie