Ethiopia Adoption Program
It is all about the children!Dillon Southwest is thrilled to announce that we are now able to place children from Ethiopia through a collaborative working relationship with Illien Adoptions International, Inc. a licensed adoption agency in Georgia. This arrangement will allow Dillon Southwest to help children in Ethiopia who are in need of finding good, permanent homes. The goal of both Dillon Southwest and Illien Adoptions International is to provide professional, ethical and quality adoption services with a focus on communication and continuous program oversight and evaluation. This work will be enhanced and supported by dedicated and experienced in-country staff. The children available for adoption are from infants to early teens. These children also include sibling groups and children with special needs. Program DescriptionEthiopia is one of the few countries in Africa that is favorable to intercountry adoption. US agencies are licensed under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) which is under the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice oversees all of the intercountry adoption activity and the process has many built-in safeguards. The US Embassy coordinates with the Ethiopian government to ensure the eligibility of the orphans. Ethiopia is a country comprised of many different ethnic groups and the children available for intercountry adoption are representative of these ethnic groups. The children who are available for intercountry adoption range in age from infants to older children, sibling groups and children with special needs. Families may state their preference for a boy or girl. Families seeking to adopt two unrelated children must be pre-approved by Dillon Southwest and Illien Adoptions International.
Ethiopian children have become orphaned or are abandoned for a number of reasons stemming from the country's overwhelming social issues of widespread poverty and disease. When a child has been orphaned or abandoned, he or she must be registered with the government to initiate a two-month waiting period after which the child can be declared legally eligible for adoption. In Ethiopia, there are many waiting children of every age who have been declared eligible for adoption. Many of the children are orphaned because their parents did not have access to adequate nutrition or medical care. All children available for adoption have been tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, and venereal disease. The children are provided chest x-rays for TB screening, if suspected. The medical care provided at the orphanage is better than some but there is much that can be done to improve certain areas of care. Malnutrition is a health concern as is upper respiratory illnesses. By US standards, children are typically small for their age and can have mild to severe developmental delays. In many cases, the children may be small for their age due to poor nutrition, and the developmental delays may be due to the lack of appropriate stimulation and interaction. With proper nutrition, growth can be stimulated to some degree and with appropriate evaluation and intervention, developmental delays can be overcome in many cases. Typically, Ethiopian children tend to be very social and interact well with other people. However, this does not necessarily mean that attachments are secure and that they have not suffered from abuse or neglect prior to their placement in the orphanage. Dillon Southwest is able to work with families throughout the United States for the placement of a child from Ethiopia. Our networking agency maintains an in-country office and staff. The Agency works with small non-governmental organizations (NGOs) licensed by the Ethiopian government. Working directly with the NGOs, the Agency becomes familiar with all of the child's needs and we are able to help support the NGOs for the care of the child during the adoption process and give assistance to that organization for the advancement of their mission and services. RequirementsGuidelines for parents adopting Ethiopian children are established by the Ethiopian government. The government of Ethiopia, in its review of adoption law, is considering some changes to these guidelines. The Agency will update these guidelines as necessary. The requirements are that those wishing to adopt:
Timeline and Adoption Process Overview
Our goal is to complete the adoption from Ethiopia within twelve months from the time that the family's completed application is received by DSW until the arrival of the child. An approximate timeline for the processing is:
When a child is available, the initial information may be minimal as the staff works to secure medical, social and laboratory testing results on the child or children. This information is not gathered until a child has a potential family. The Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) can expect to receive a complete Child Profile Report within one to two weeks after receiving the initial information. The time frame greatly depends on whether or not the child referred has met the three-month waiting period for availability. Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) have two weeks in which to review all of the supplied information before they must either decline the referral or submit the signed and notarized Child Profile Report which then signifies the acceptance of the child or children. Once the referral has been formally accepted, the processing time to complete the adoption is usually four to six months. This is time frame is based on past cases and can change at any time. No one can predict unforeseen delays in any case. The time frame for this process from when the dossier is transferred to Illien's Ethiopian office until the time of final adoption is approximately seven to nine months. Generally, the adoption process in Ethiopia has been very predictable and follows clear, well-defined steps. Additional DocumentsAdditional documents will be required for both the Dillon Southwest application and the Ethiopian dossier. If you do not already have the following documents, you should begin to collect them.
Once a decision to proceed with our program is made, it is very important that the family apply to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for pre-approval of the family to admit a child into the US. For information on filing the I-600A form, click here. TravelThe law as it pertains to Intercountry adoption in Ethiopia states that Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) are not required to travel at any time during the adoption process and that an escort may be appointed to bring the child home. However, the Agency strongly urges families to travel. The experience of traveling to your child's country of origin and seeing the people and culture firsthand is invaluable for you and for your child. The trip also allows you to start the bonding process with your child and offers you the time to speak with the child's caregivers. This trip will also give you the opportunity to learn more about your child's current environment and the culture from which he or she comes from. If you decide to travel, the stay in Ethiopia to obtain your child's visa is approximately one week. If Escort services are needed this can be arranged through the Agency. You will have the opportunity to discuss this option and make a decision prior to or during the adoption process.
Fees and ExpensesCountry Fees are never to be considered a stable or set fee as it is not determined nor in the control of the U.S. adoption agencies. The Agency makes every effort to stay current as to fees but third party and Country Fees may change without notice or reason.
Out-of-state families will be responsible for the fees for all local services such as application fees, home study and post-placement fees. Local agencies charge different fees for these services. Please check with them directly for a list of their services. Additional Costs
REMINDER: The Adoption Tax Credit that is available to most families will be $11,650. Please contact your tax advisor for more information. How to Begin
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