Archive for February 23, 2017

I Just wanted to discuss a few things that seem to be common issues with adoptions from Latvia. It’s no fun to talk about, but I thought it was important that everyone be aware of these in order to have realistic expectations when considering moving forward with adoption, particularly after hosting.

During our adoption process I’ve taken the opportunity to do A LOT of research on Latvia adoptions (like, to the point of obsession y’all). One of the things I have noticed across the board for adoptions from Latvia is the amount of hurtles almost all of them must overcome, many unsuccessfully. Again, none of these are related to the adoption agency, but they often get blamed because people are very emotional and may feel like they were ill-informed going into the situation. This seems to be common with families who have hosted and only have interest in the adoption of one particular child or sibling group. I know it can be discouraging to talk about the negatives with a family who is at the beginning of the adoption process, but setting up realistic expectations can be super important with families who go through stress, anxiety, and many times loss, during the journey. All of these aren’t specific to our experience, but again, I do tons of reading and see these complaints most often. At the bottom are my most used resources for info, mostly Facebook pages because they contain up-to date stuff and real life, unbiased situations.

Possible Challenges:

The Children Decide
The children are asked multiple times during the adoption process if they want to go to America with their potential adoptive family. The Latvian adoption court takes their opinion very seriously (even when the child is young). There may be influence on the child to stay in Latvia by friends, family or orphanages or the child may be too afraid of leaving everything they have ever known. It is common for a child to want to stay in America while here, but change their mind after returning home. If their answer is no, then you will not be allowed to adopt at that time. You may be able to host again (if the child is willing) and then re-approach the courts at a later time, but paperwork and fees may need to be resubmitted depending on the length of time that has passed.

Family
Even though parental rights may have been terminated, it may be, that a member of bio family will fight for their rights back when they are informed about an international adoption. If the child is in a foster family, they may choose to proceed with adoption.  The courts will do what is in the best interest of the child, and many times, they view that as staying in Latvia.

In-Country Delays
Delays in the Orphan Court system are common. As in most Eastern European countries, holidays are taken regularly and the courts shut down. Many other factors influence the pace of an adoption!

Availability of Information
If you are adopting a child you have hosted, they may not be on the international adoption list. If that is the case, you will not get information listing your child’s medical history, family history and potential disabilities until the time of your referral, which is just before the first trip. After receiving the referral, you will give your official answer as to adopt the child(ren) or not.

Schooling Upon Arrival
If you choose to take your child(ren) home after the first trip, they will be traveling on a visa that does not permit enrollment in school. You do have the option to home school, or have them ‘visit’ a school for no more than 18 hours a week for subjects like art, gym, lunch, music ect.

Transition from Hosting to Adoption
If you have hosted before, be prepared for things to be different once the adoption is complete. Hosting is a month long vacation and now it’s for real. People treat acquaintances (even close ones) differently than they do family, and sometimes family gets the worst of us. Remember these kids are coming from a place of fear, instability and trauma (even if you didn’t notice any signs during hosting). That doesn’t just go away…ever!

Positives of Latvia Adoption:

On a happier note, I do think there are SO MANY positives regarding Latvia adoption!

Children Are Cared For
The Latvian orphan courts truly care about the well being of the children in their care. Additionally, the children are well taken care of when in an orphanage setting or in a foster family. Whenever possible, foster families are utilized, making adjustment into a family as setting smooth as possible.

Home After First Trip!
Unlike many adoption programs where families are unable to bring their child home until the final trip, Latvia gives families the opportunity to take their kiddo home with them after the first court hearing on the trip so that they can start bonding!

Option to Host
Many older children are available for hosting, so you can get to know them before deciding to adopt.

Children Learn English
Children are taught English in school. Many are fluent, or quickly learn when in the US.

Positives of Hosting

• Hosting our kiddo has been one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives!
• We had a connection with our host child right away, despite some language barriers.
• It’s wonderful to see her experience things for the first time.
• She learns so much each time she visits (we’ve hosted multiple times) and is completely fluent in English now!
• We bond with her more and more each trip. She has close relationships with us and our families. She also has friends in the US that she looks forward to visiting each time.
• We get to provide our kiddo with new experiences and skills like theater class and swim lessons.
• We also send her home with warm clothes. It’s good to know that we can help be comfortable even when we are far away.

Working With CAN

Our family is so excited to be adopting a son from Haiti! We feel called to adopt from Haiti because of the significant need. Haiti as a country is so poor and there are so many children in need of homes and a family. We feel we can make the greatest impact in adopting from Haiti and can’t wait to be matched with our son! We’re so excited to give love, family and a home to the child God chooses to bring into our family!

We have known for a long time that international adoption was in our future and we are so excited to finally be starting this journey. We believe that through adoption, we will complete our family with the son God chooses for us. It means we get the opportunity to love, care for and make a world of difference in our future son’s life.

The Why’s of Adoption – by Hilary (CAN’s Haiti Matching Specialist)

Being one of CAN’s international adoption counselors is by far one of the most rewarding and unique opportunities I’ve had the privilege to experience. Working with several different countries has truly opened my eyes to the differences in people and cultures all around the world. For almost a year and a half now, I’ve had the pleasure to work with many of our amazing in-country representatives to achieve our common goals of finding forever families for our kiddos.

Although I thoroughly enjoy working with all six of my countries, our Burundi program has always held a special place in my heart. Between our fantastic in-country staff, the simple and straight-forward adoption process, and the beautiful children, it’s no wonder Burundi has remained my favorite program since day one. Once families have submitted their paperwork to country, they can expect to receive a match within 1.5 years. As more and more Burundi orphanages begin to open up to the idea of international adoption, we anticipate the wait times to be matched will decrease. All of the children we have previously matched have been happy and healthy and are so eager to meet their forever families. There is an array of ages available, including very young kiddos under the age of 2 which is not commonly seen in the majority of the programs we work with.

I can honestly say that each one of our in-country staff members is willing to go above and beyond to help advocate and match the available kiddos. The passion and dedication they have for the children is phenomenal. Our representative is in constant communication with CAN as well as the Ministry in country, which makes it incredibly easy for us to get the most accurate and up-to-date information. If I can ever make my dream of visiting Africa into a reality, you can guarantee I will be visiting our rep to give him a huge hug for all of his hard work on behalf of the children!

I’m often asked about the safety of Americans traveling to country – it’s no secret that Burundi is a poverty-stricken country that continues to struggle on and off with political protests. The protesting has not affected the adoption process thus far and has not proved to be a huge impact to any family that has traveled to country. Additionally, our rep acts as a guide and translator throughout the entirety of a family’s visit; families will never find themselves alone while they are in Burundi. Although our family’s safety is CAN’s number one priority when traveling, I also think it’s crucial for families to experience firsthand the country and culture where their child was spent a portion of their childhood.

If you have longed to adopt a child from Africa, are curious to learn more about our Burundi program, or simply don’t know how or where to begin your adoption journey please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m always happy to talk your ear off about the ends and outs of the international adoption process.