Adoptions

Children are best served in loving homes with loving families. There are millions of orphaned and abandoned children throughout the world whom we believe all deserve the opportunity to have a home and a family. However, being alone in this world is only part of their problem. These children are also in physical danger, having little to no food, clothing or shelter. Adoption in African countries are growing slowly although, in April 2011, the Ethiopian government recently changed the country’s policy to enable a maximum of only five adoptions a day and Rwanda has postponed its adoptions until it receives Hague certification.  Many countries, like the Democratic Republic of Congo are among the poorest in the world and children are orphaned by disease, poverty and social unrest. Social unrest can sometimes disrupt the adoption process, which can be devastating for prospective parents who must either wait or work around any governmental and policy changes.

Another big concern for potential adopters of African children are related to the child’s health. For the most part, the process for African adoption is like any other international adoption. Prospective parents must find an agency, fill out paperwork for visas and birth certificates and travel to the child’s country of origin. Some agencies may require the prospective parents to live in the country for up to three months to understand the child’s culture and parents will also undergo a home study in the African country.  After a home study is successfully passed, the adoptive parents will be placed with a child who they then foster and are observed while doing so. After that, the parents can petition for adoption and may have one to two hearings to attend as well as counseling and court reviews before the adoption is finalized in Africa and a U.S. state. Good news! If any of you have been waiting for Sierra Leone to re-open, the day has come. On April 30, 2012, the government of Sierra Leone released a notification that they have re-opened their inter-country adoption program. This program has been closed since May, 2009.

The notice states that the adoptions will take place under the old legal structure but new laws are being processed. Sierra Leone officials strongly encourage all prospective adoptive parents to read all of the laws governing adoption from this country in order to fully understand what is expected.

African adoption is sometimes difficult because there is little regulation. When conditions are so hard and regulations not in place, fraud and mishandling can occur. This is what has slowed down and stopped so many of the adoption programs in this area. In this regard, Malawi continues to be under a shut down due to a judicial strike. The governmental officials of this area have released a statement regarding the shut down stating that no one should travel to Malawi until an absolute court date is given to them. If you are interested in adoption from Africa, research all venues carefully. Almost every program from this area has been touched by fraud or paper mishandling in the last few years. This has caused a drop in the number of adoptions that are being processed greatly. Africa is aware of the situation and is working to rectify it but this takes time, effort and money- none of which are plentiful. There are many blogs, groups and books that can keep you updated about the current status of all areas of adoption in Africa. This would be worth your time and effort so that you are fully aware of all circumstances. Some African countries are not party to the Hague Convention and do not hold to its statutes.

Kenya is part of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. Therefore all  adoptions between Kenya and the United States must meet the following requirements of the Convention and U.S law implementing the Convention. For an IR-3 (Child adopted in Kenya) transition cases, the prospective parents will need to obtain an adoption order from the high court of Kenya at Nairobi and a Certificate of Entry to open the adopted children register. Prospective parents must reside in Kenya with the child for at least three months before legal proceedings begins. Adoptive parents must submit post adoptive reports and pictures on the child’s welfare for five years, every three months for the first two years and every six months the last three years. These reports are submitted through the adoption society that initially started the process. A recent change in the Kenyan Adoption law does not permit the issuance of IR-4 visas for any children to be adapted to the United States. The new law says that all intended adoptee children living in Kenya must be adopted in Kenya prior to their departure. Any exceptions to this law must be granted directly by the High Court. It is illegal to publish an advertisement indicating that a parent or guardian desires to give up a child for adoption, that a person wants to adopt a child, or that a person (who is not an adoption society) is willing to make arrangements for the adoption of a child.

Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services. For U.S. based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located.

Adoption Procedures

For information about adopting, please see the Adoption Procedures page.