[fenwickmama]

Hi everyone,
We are just getting started on the adoption process (literally still doing research). I'm calling one local agency today to set up a meet-but they are affiliated w/a church and require adoptive families have an affiliation w/a spiritual organization and we don't...so that probably won't go too far but figured we could at least talk to them since they are right in town. we think we want to go with international but aren't sure which country or how to get started/select an agency etc. (we are leaning toward guatemala at the moment). any hints, tips, lessons learned, links or agency referrals would be appreciated-feel free to spam me with pm's. i've learned so much from just reading past posts and look forward to hearing from you all.
thanks!!

 

[vermonttaylors]

WELCOME, wELCOME!!!

We have one son from Kazakhstan we adopted last fall, and we are, as we speak, waiting to talk to the doctor about a referral we received for a baby girl from Kaz. It has happened super fast this time for us, we are stunned and excited.

International adoption is awesome. Do CAREFUL research about agencies. Check with the Better Business Bureau. Also call the US embassy in the country you are planning to go to and ask who THEY recommend. They see everybody on their way out, so they know who's happy and who isn't.

Follow your heart and instinct as to country. GOOD LUCK!!!! PS, if you are thinking about Kazakhstan, please e-mail me. We love our agency

Cheers!

 

[Diane B]

Hello and welcome. Please check the archives for this thread, because there are lots of great posts here. Another excellent source of information are list serves specific to adoptive parents from various countries. Try a yahoo groups search for many of these.

If you look on the US State Department web site http://travel.state.gov/family/adopt...untry_369.html
they have information for each country which contains the basic information. That's a good starting place because you may have characteristics (age, income, gender of other children) that rule out certain countries automatically, and the country might have travel requirements or timelines that don't work for you as well.

It's important to find a great agency, and they are out there. If you know other adoptive parents, even neighbors or acquaintances, ask who they used. Do remember though that sometimes problems come up in international adoptions that are beyond an agency's control.

I'm sure many others have more to say, but I'll just end by saying congratulations on starting this journey.

 

[AmyAngel]

Good luck!

My best advice is to first find out which countries you qualify for - and which agencies you qualify for with that country, as sometimes agencies have requirements beyond the country's requirements. Beyond that, follow your heart! I say this every time, but I've found Yahoo groups for China adoption to be helpful to me, and I'm sure there are multiple groups for every country. These seem to be a quick way to find out specific information, and I find them encouraging as I see referrals come in every month. You can also find out a lot about specific agencies by asking these groups.

I've also enjoyed reading other's adoption stories on the 'net, which can be both encouraging and a source of info on what to bring, what not to bring, what it is REALLY like, etc.

I personally would pick a country and THEN pick a good agency that works with that country, but since I'm single and there's a quota for how many of us can adopt from China each year, I'll be going with whichever agency I can get a spot with the soonest. I'm hoping for one of the medium to big agencies, though, as I've heard good things about most of them.

I'm still really early in the process. I look forward to hearing how things go for you!

 

[Marimami]

Yes, the first steps are choosing international/domestic and then with interational, which country. Every country handles adoptions differently, and some countries have specific guidelines about adoptive parents, such as weight restrictions, age restrictions, number of children already in the home, etc. The forums at adoption.com are a good way to get started choosing an adoption agency, and will even give you a feel for how programs in different countries run. http://forums.adoption.com

It is critical to choose a reputable agency, and with Guatemala there are unfortunately some awful ones. Don't assume that the "fastest" is always the best.

If you have specific questions about Guatemala, I'll be happy to share my knowledge with you. We've been to Guatemala 3 times in the past year, and our wonderful daughter has been home about 6 weeks now. She's an amazing babe! Our agency is one of the best, though they are small. We had some unusual circumstances with our adoption, and they really helped us through it, and none of it was caused by them.

I wouldn't take agency advice from anyone whose adoption had not yet completed. I also recommend that you get input from people who had difficult adoptions. Anyone can do an easy adoption. It's when there are challenges that you really can see how well an agency will be there to support you.

Holli

 

[Starr]

We chose to adopt from Guatemala and also chose a larger adoption agency. The agency is in Ohio, we live in Minnesota. You may want to look at their website, it gives a lot of information on many different countries and was a great place for us to start.

Marimami- Congratulations on getting your little one home. We are waiting for all of our dossier documents to get Apostilled (sp?) And then we finally get on the waiting list. Sounds like we may traveling for our first visit in July/August so I may need some travel advice.

Here is the website: www.eaci.com
HTH.

 

[fenwickmama]

thanks for all the responses-i will check out all the links and archives, etc over the weekend. we just registered for the forums at adoption.com last night so hopefully will be able to peruse them too. i'm sure i'll be back with more questions. I am at least feeling proactive at this point-i've ordered certified copies of our birth certificates and marriage license today just to feel like i'm doing something...

 

[AngelBee]

Good luck

 

[fenwickmama]

we chose our agency and country and had our first conversation with our consultant yesterday. bring on the homestudy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!