[4LV]

Can anyone please elaborate on independent adoptions & how they differ from agency adoptions regarding credibility of info from orphanage. How is one certain the orphanage director is honest if not using agency. Is there a local govt. agency in Latvia with lists of contacts/orphanages with children available for intl.adoption? Is independent adoption faster than using agency?Any info appreciated.

[carlaila]

Independent adoption means you do all the work and coordination youself. You need to make sure your homestudy is completed properly. You do your own paperwork for immigration. You need to compile your own dossier and obtain translation, and submit it yourself to the proper agency. You also need to make your own travel arangements, etc. A good resource is the book How to Adopt Internationally by Jean Nelson-Erichsen and Heino Erichsen. There is also information on the web specific to Latvia at the US Department of State web site.

It is very doable if you speak Latvian, but also possible if you don't. You must be a very resourceful person, but you can save yourself alot in agency fees.

You will probably need someone in Latvia to help you, at least when it comes to the courts. It is also helpful to have someone there to do legwork for you when needed. This does not necessarily need to be an attorney.

I am in the midst of an "Independent Adoption" right now myself. I am a Latvian-American and speak Latvian fluently, but it has not been an easy process. I have been learning as I go along. I recetnly made a trip over there just to gather some information. Of course if you use and agency, you would not need to do something like that, but so far it has still been alot cheaper than an agency.

Latvia is a wonderful country and there are approximately 900 children there between the ages of 6 and 18 who need homes. The orphanages there are comparatively good, but of course they are not a home. I encourage anyone who is looking to adopt an older child/children (especially sibling groups) to consider adoption from Latvia. I met with the director of adoptions there, and she seemed very dedicated to getting these children into families, and supportive of foreign adoption. I would not recommend Latvia, however, if you are looking for young children. The wait for children under 5 can be several years.

[mselseth]

Hi Carlaila,

I am interrested in how your adoption went. How many children did you adopt? We are thinking of adopting internationaly, but didn't decide on the country yet.
If you don't mind, I like to get in contact with you and learn from your experiance. Is always nice to know people that speak the language. I am thinking in case we decide to adopt from Latvia.
How long did you wait? How old are the kids?

Thanks,
Marinela

[carlaila]

Hi mselseth!
My husband and I just returned from Latvia. We are adopting two sisters ages 8 and 9. They are in an orphanage in a rather remote location about 1 1/2 hours from the capital of Riga. It will take two more trips to finalize the process.
The girls are wonderful! They are basically healthy. They have been well cared for, but of course show the effects of having grown up without a family. There are many children like them in Latvian orphanages. If you are interested in older children, especially a sibling group, and are willing to make 2-3 trips over there or stay for an extended time, Latvia is a great place to adopt from. It is true that you do not need an agency, but you would need somebody to do some of the leg work for you. We are using a lawyer who is probably somewhat over-priced, but it could really be anybody. Of course if you do not speak Latvian, you would also need a translator.
Please let me know if you have any more questiions. Check out this web site. It gave me much of my information. http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption_latvia.html

[moe327]

Hi Carlaia,
We are a catalan couple, from Barcelona.
We want to adopt two sisters like you. We need information how to make an independent adoption in Latvia. We need contact there. Can you help us?
Thanks
moe

[carlaila]

Hello Moe,
This response if for you and for anyone else who might be looing for some general information about adoption from Latvia.
First of all, our girls are doing wonderfully. We are blessed with two beautiful, smart, talented, enegetic, outgoing daughters. We are committed to maintaining their Latvian language and heritage by taking them to Latvian School every Saturday, Latvian camp in the summer, and maintaining involvement in Latvian social circles in our community (I am of Latvian heritage). For older children especially, who can remember their past, I think this is very important. They need this connection with their past in order to develop a healthy sense of self and an understanding of where they came from and who they are. Although our girls are well-adjusted and happy here in the USA with us, they also miss Latvia and look forward to returning for visits.
Both grils are doing great in their American school, and speak English nearly perfectly after only a little over one year.
I'm not sure what kind of information you are looking for about adoption from Latvia. I know some of the regulations have changed a little in the past year, but have not kept on top of it since our adoption was final in 2004. The ministry there has a web site with all the latest Latvian adoption information, laws and regulations. The link is http://www.**.gov.lv/eng/ The specific page with the adoption law is at http://www.**.gov.lv/eng/outoffamily_care/adoption/ (For some reason stars are being put in by the web site in these links.Where you see the 2 stars should be the letters birthmom.) I would encourage you to read all of this carefully. There is also a list of waiting children. I know they are telling people the waits are very long (3 years of more), especially for chilren under the age of 9. You can also e-mail them for more detailed information. I found the ministry to be quite receptive and helpful. We did our adoption "by the book" and had no major problems, and a very good outcome, although the process was tedious!
Here are several other links which may be of interest. http://www.usembassy.lv/Main/site/CB/adoption
http://www.lanet.lv/links/ea.html
http://www.myadoptionlinks.com/Latvia.html
Best wishes!