Info re adopting from orphanages/ministries (not agencies)??

[JR'smama777]

Hello all,
I've been in the process of exploring adoption for about a year now and hope to begin the process in another couple of years. I understand that some folks adopt through ministries or Christian orphanages rather than the larger adoption agencies. I would really love to do this.

I can only seem to find info on this regarding adoptions in Haiti. I'm trying to gather similar info on Latin American, African, or Asian countries as well. Does anyone have ANY info on adopting internationally through ministries/orphanages, etc.?

ANY INFO WILL BE APPRECIATED!

Blessings!

[EFmom]

This is no longer nearly as simple as it used to be. The only country that I'm aware of that still allows independent adoptions is Ukraine. You still need to deal with the central adoption authority in Ukraine, but you do not need a US agency. You can find more about Ukrainian adoption at www.frua.org

The State Dept. page at http://travel.state.gov/adopt.html gives country-by-country requirements. For any given country, look at the total number adoptions in the prior years to get an idea if IA is really feasible from the country.

[LisainCalifornia]

I am not sure about adoption ministries--I have a friend that is working with one...but it is for Haiti adoptions.

We adopted our daughter from an orphanage in China (Kunming Children's Welfare Institute) but went through a private International Adoption located near our home. It is a very small agency run by a husband and wife team who also have adopted internationally 4 times themselves. I LOVED working with them--they held our hands through the whole process and worked out the incredibly complicated details (there is enough paperwork to choke a horse!).

Since it is a very small agency, we got to know them very well, and also got to know the other couples that were "grouped" with us...it was 5 families total that were adopting from China at that time. All the families traveled together to China (same plane flights, same hotels, rode together in pre-arranged vans to the orphanage and consulate and doctor's appointments) and now we are all connected to those families even 2 years later! All of the families are from the East Bay area and we see each other every few months. This is such an important connection for our girls--they get to see the other girls that were in the same orphanage as them. Emma is very close to the little girl that she shared a crib with in China.

So there is an alternative to a "big" agency. See if there are any smaller ones in your area and go in person to check them out. I got a wonderful feeling about our agency when I went in.

Hugs,
Lisa