[AdrianaB]

Hi all

does anyone have any information about adoption from Croatia? Is there an agency in States that works with Croatia? Both my husband and I are of croatian heritage and we would love to adopt from Croatia.

[sak9645]

Let me recommend that you read the U.S. State Department fact sheet on adoption from Croatia, at Intercountry Adoption Croatia.

The bottom line is that almost no Croatian children are available for international adoption. The main reason is that there is a strong tradition of relative adoption, so most children never become available for adoption by any non-relatives, even within their own country. And when a child does become available for non-relative adoption, it is easy to place him/her with a domestic family. There are are actually more Croatian families seeking to adopt than there are children available.

Moreover, when a Croatian child needs a home, the Croatian government gives absolute priority to adoption by Croatian citizens. Since there are plenty of Croatian families wanting to adopt, an American -- even one of Croatian heritage -- is simply not going to have a chance.

In 2005 -- the last year for which figures are available on line -- exactly 2 Croatian children received adoption visas to enter the U.S. These were almost certainly children being adopted by relatives.

While it won't hurt for you to contact Croatia's Ministry of Health and Social Welfare -- the address is on the State Department website -- I believe that you are not going to be able to complete an adoption from Croatia.

I would strongly urge you not to give up on your dream of being parents, however. I would urge you to consider adopting from one of the many other countries open to international adoption. All children need loving, permanent families. And parents can easily love a child who does not share their exact ethnic heritage.

Sharon

[AdrianaB]

Thank you for your reply Sharon. The thing is that both my husband and I also have croatian citizenship so we hope that might help. Also, we are looking into adoption of older child/sibling group.

[AdrianaB]

As I mentioned, we are looking into adoption of older child/sibling group. According to Croatian newspapers there are many "older" Croatian children that are in orphanages and pretty much without chance of being adopted. We do not want to do this because of our heritage, there are many other reasons - one is definitely language that we both speak.

Thank you,
Adriana

[cjrogers]

Hello Adriana:

I am croatian as well. I did look into adoption from Croatia and it is probably possible for you to adopt from Croatia, but you must secure a private attorney in Croatia and in the US.. There are not any agencies in the US that handle adoptions from Croatia. Reason being, most of Croatia is wealthy enough so most adopt within the country. But of course,as Croatian citizens, you will absolutely be able to do this.

Contact a private attorney and contact adoption attorneys in Croatia. Of course there are special needs children that will be available first... but it is possible to get a child from Croatia, just not very easily....

There are children who are waiting to be adopted from Kosovo, Bosnia, Serbia, and other areas in the previously Yugo region.... and there are agencies in the US that will handle these...

Please feel free to PM me if you need any further info... and Good luck.