[TinTN]

Hello,

My DH and I are looking into adopting internationally and have been researching agencies. We are looking for any feedback on the following now:

Hopscotch, Children's House International, Carolina Adoption Services

Thank you!
TinTN

[sak9645]

Never choose an agency before choosing a country. An agency may have a great program in one country, but a mediocre one in others. And not all agencies work in all countries. As an example, you can't adopt a child from a Hague-compliant country unless you use an agency that has Hague accreditation by the State Department.

Sharon

[TinTN]

I understand this advice, but the two seem inseperable to us in the research process. How can we decide upon a country without considering if there are good agencies and good laws in that country? I might very much like to adopt from Argentina but if no quality agencies work there or if the adoption laws are not suited for my position, I can't chose that country first.

So I guess I would like to know if anyone has had any good or bad experience with these agencies in any respect. If they have a bad program in one country--I would love to have that information.

[sak9645]

The best way to choose a country is to start looking at the U.S. State Department website, at adoption.state.gov. There is a box on the home page where you can click on the name of a country. It will take you to a page where the State Department has listed the foreign country's rules regarding adoptable children, requirements for prospective parents, the adoption process, and so on. The website will also give you information on how many adoptions occurred in recent years from various countries, and if you see only a handful, you can be sure that they are relative adoptions and that the country is probably not going to work for you.

You can read agency websites about various country programs, but do so only after you read the State Department website. That way, you can determine whether an agency is painting an accurate picture of the process and requirements. If an agency's description sounds too good to be true....it probably isn't.

Also use the State Department site to develop an understanding of the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption. If a country is Hague-compliant, you will need to follow Hague rules as well as U.S. and foreign country rules, since the U.S. is also Hague-compliant.

As to Argentina, the State Department says that the country does not allow international adoption. Argentina limits adoptions to citizens and permanent residents of the country.

Once you have chosen a country, you can begin researching agencies by asking people to comment on those agencies. These could be people in your local adoption support group or people on-line; however, while you can pose a question in an on-line forum like this one, people will have to contact you privately with information, as most on-line forums do not allow comments on specific agencies, because of the risk of lawsuits.

You can also contact states where the agencies are licensed, to see if they are in good standing. You can contact the U.S. Embassy in the foreign country to see if an agency has had problems getting visas for adopted children, because it referred children who did not qualify for adoption or had in-country facilitators who used unethical practices. You can ask questions of the agency, itself, and compare the answers to what you already know about the country. You can see if an agency is a member of JCICS, which advocates for ethical intercountry adoption, or other reputable adoption organizations.

All in all, there are lots of ways to research agencies, once you have narrowed your search to one country and, possibly, a fallback country in case the first one changes its rules or closes down.

Sharon

[ArmenianMom]

Originally Posted by sak9645

The best way to choose a country is to start looking at the U.S. State Department website, at adoption.state.gov. There is a box on the home page where you can click on the name of a country. It will take you to a page where the State Department has listed the foreign country's rules regarding adoptable children, requirements for prospective parents, the adoption process, and so on. The website will also give you information on how many adoptions occurred in recent years from various countries, and if you see only a handful, you can be sure that they are relative adoptions and that the country is probably not going to work for you.

You can read agency websites about various country programs, but do so only after you read the State Department website. That way, you can determine whether an agency is painting an accurate picture of the process and requirements. If an agency's description sounds too good to be true....it probably isn't.

Also use the State Department site to develop an understanding of the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption. If a country is Hague-compliant, you will need to follow Hague rules as well as U.S. and foreign country rules, since the U.S. is also Hague-compliant.

As to Argentina, the State Department says that the country does not allow international adoption. Argentina limits adoptions to citizens and permanent residents of the country.

Once you have chosen a country, you can begin researching agencies by asking people to comment on those agencies. These could be people in your local adoption support group or people on-line; however, while you can pose a question in an on-line forum like this one, people will have to contact you privately with information, as most on-line forums do not allow comments on specific agencies, because of the risk of lawsuits.

You can also contact states where the agencies are licensed, to see if they are in good standing. You can contact the U.S. Embassy in the foreign country to see if an agency has had problems getting visas for adopted children, because it referred children who did not qualify for adoption or had in-country facilitators who used unethical practices. You can ask questions of the agency, itself, and compare the answers to what you already know about the country. You can see if an agency is a member of JCICS, which advocates for ethical intercountry adoption, or other reputable adoption organizations.

All in all, there are lots of ways to research agencies, once you have narrowed your search to one country and, possibly, a fallback country in case the first one changes its rules or closes down.

Sharon

Hi TinTN;
Argentina is a first!!! I have heard of many people adopting in Columbia seems that is the new hot spot and adoptions are increasing. Not sure if they are Hague recognized yet.

Good luck, let us know how your journey goes. And the other poster is correct, choose the country first and LEARN the adoption laws in that country by using the US State Departments web site on Intercountry Adoptions.

[waitingfor5]

Yes this is the hard part, choosing the right agency for the right country. Before we finally chose which agency/ country we had it narrowed down to a certain agency in one country and then a completely different agency in another country.

Just start eliminating countries first. We crossed off countries that required more than one trip or a long in country stay. We just couldn't leave job and family for a long time. Then we eliminated countries that wouldn't let us choose gender (already had 4 boys). Then we eliminated countries that wouldn't accept us based on already having 4 kids. Then we looked at ages of children available in each country. Costs, time frames, Etc.,etc.

Then research the different agencies and programs working in your top choices of countries. It will become clear to you where to go.

By the end of the process, we were down to our wonderful agency, and wonderful country and are traveling in 4 days to pick up our wonderful daughter!

[ArmenianMom]

Then the time frames can change or the adoption agency is misinformed about the lengthy waits.
Healthy babies in China are now 3 year minimum wait. The shortest time for a healthy baby I have heard of is in countries where there is no Hague like Ghana. under 18 months.
Average is 24 months.