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International adoption is adoption of a child from a foreign country to parents who are both United States citizens. The foreign country needs to have diplomatic relations with the United States as well as a U.S. adoption program; the child must be found eligible for adoption in their country of birth. International adoption is overseen by the governments of the two countries involved.

Domestic adoption is adoption of a child—usually a newborn baby—born within the United States and adopted by U.S. citizens. Domestic adoption can happen in numerous different ways—from adoptive parents being chosen by birth parents before a child is born, or foster children adopted by their foster parents, as well as other avenues.

With international adoption, the birth parents usually have no remaining contact with the child, though the child may desire to search for birth family members later in life. A domestic adoption often functions as an open adoption, with occasional ongoing contact between the adoptive parents and birth parents.

Yes! In fact, this is an important first step. A family must choose a country from which they meet distinct eligibility such as age of parents, income and education levels, and health and marital status; each international country has different requirements.

A family will also want to research the parameters of children usually available in the countries they are considering. Some countries allow choice of gender and number of children (always siblings). Some countries have distinct ages of children and prevalent medical needs. (This information can be found by speaking with an international adoption agency or by searching adoption information or agency websites.)

A good first step is to research available intercountry adoption programs in the United States, and to see which country’s requirements best suit you—and which process seems attractive to you.

Many foreign countries like to see that parents intend to encourage their adopted child’s ethnic and cultural heritage—so it is a good idea to choose a country in which you have a sincere interest!

Once you have decided whether to pursue international or domestic adoption, you will want to communicate with and select an agency that appeals to your family and has an adoption program in your country of interest. Either one can come first—searching for an agency you’d like or a country you’d like—but both of these things must be determined before beginning an adoptive process.

Depending on the country, adoption can cost from $20,000 - $40,000, and sometimes more for a private domestic adoption. In every international adoption, there are two governments as well as numerous accredited agencies and social work professionals involved in the process.

The total is a tally of according fees in the several years’ worth of work executed in order to match and bring a child home to a forever family. The cost includes document fees, translations, travel fees, and many miscellaneous items. For adoption of siblings, nominal fees will be duplicated, but the total cost is not multiplied.

Yes, there are plenty of grants that might be available to you; plus, many families find fundraising or sales endeavors to be a successful way to generate finances toward a great cause. The Sacred Portion Children’s Outreach can point families to possible grants.

Please keep in mind that the above dollar amount is paid over the course of a couple years or more—not all at once. The U.S. government also offers a one-time federal tax credit of up to $14,440 after an adoption has been finalized.

Not typically. Adoptive families are able to select the age range, gender (in many programs), and special needs that they desire in a child or sibling set. There are some international countries that provide lists of waiting children, but you can only submit a request to be matched, and it is up to the country to match that child or a different child with your family.

After a family is approved in the United States, the family becomes approved by the foreign country, and is then matched with a child by the foreign government’s adoption service provider. Families have the opportunity to accept or decline any child referral.

Families who have met a particular child during an orphan-hosting program in the U.S., or who have a pre-identified child in the foreign country due to their being a relative or some other connection, have the greatest likelihood of being matched with that child.

In domestic adoption, approved families are chosen by the birth parents of the baby to be born. The birth parents are usually presented with several family profiles, and it is solely the birth parents’ choice that determines the placement of the child.

Domestic adoption is a good choice if you are flexible about an unpredictable wait time yet would rather have a healthy infant or at least a complete knowledge of the baby’s health history.

International adoption is a good choice if you prefer more sequential wait times and are open to some level of medical and developmental needs in children who are toddlers and older.

The age of children available depends on the route you are taking to adopt. In international adoption, children typically range from toddler-age through mid-teenage years. It usually takes a year or more for a baby to become eligible for adoption, thus there are never newborn babies available from international countries.

In domestic adoption, children are basically always newborn babies. Children in domestic foster adoption can range from toddlers to late teens.

For foster care adoption, our own state (Montana) does not use or accept home studies by private agencies such as ours. The State of Montana (as do many other states) facilitates its own home studies and supervision, and you are welcome to contact your state of residence.

Foster care adoption can be a result of the permanency pursued for children of all ages who have been taken into protective custody by the State. Often, children become reunified with their families or relatives. The focus, for good reason, is finding families for children—not the other way around—so this can lead to an unknown wait time for families wishing to adopt via foster care. However, there are ways for families for take initiative in becoming matched with foster children available for adoption.

A home study is a screening and assessment of the home, lifestyle, and history of the prospective adoptive parents. A home study is required for every adoption, whether international or domestic. It is an overview of the important things in your life—including criminal background checks, analysis of finances, and evaluation of personal characteristics and relationships. A home study is used by adoption organizations to assess if your family and household offers a safe, stable environment to receive a child.

Home studies, once completed, are given to the agency facilitating your adoptive placement. If it is an international program, the home study is included in a packet of additional original paperwork called a dossier and sent to the foreign country for approval, as well as to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service for the purpose of obtaining a visa for the adopted child. If the family is in a domestic program, the home study may be used in creating a family profile to show birth parents, and is also used by attorneys when an adoption is finalized in court.

Our agency provides international and domestic home study services in the State of Montana; families who contract with any adoptive placement agency may use our agency for a home study. Families who contract with one of our placement programs, yet live outside of Montana, can use an agency in their state for a home study.

An adoption process goes through a several important steps. Families should begin by finding a placing agency that is authorized to place children from the country they have chosen—or from the United States. Then, the next step is to undergo a home study—which is like a “family resume” to describe yourselves as well as to obtain approval to adopt.

For international adoption, the home study is sent to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to obtain permission to bring a foreign child into the U.S. as a member of your family. Once that permission is gained, your home study in included in a collection of documents called a dossier that is presented to the Central Adoption Authority in the foreign country from which you are adopting.

The family then waits until they are presented with a child referral from the foreign government via their placing agency, and the placing agency prepares the family to travel to the foreign country to bring their child home. In the child’s country, families are assisted throughout the process of receiving their child and completing any necessary legal procedures before coming home.

Domestic adoptions can take numerous routes. If a prospective adoptive family has been chosen by birthparents and matched with a newborn baby, the adoptive family then follows the particular procedures of the agency, consultant, or attorney with whom they are working, and sometimes travels to be present at the location of the child’s birth.

Both international and domestic adoption can take numerous years. International adoption typically takes within the range of 2 years to 5 years, depending on your family’s parameters as well as the program chosen. Domestic adoption has the potential to take as little as 1 - 2 years, but it can take longer than this to be chosen by birth parents and matched with a newborn.

Families adopting internationally who desire the youngest and healthiest children will have the longest wait times. Families willing to adopt an older or special needs child internationally (or through foster care domestically) may have a shorter wait time since there is more urgency to provide for these children.

In international adoption, there will be a numerous-month time period between acceptance of a child’s referral and traveling to the child’s native country to meet, stay for various legal proceedings, and bring the child home.

In domestic adoption, the chosen adoptive parents travel to the location of the child’s birth in order to be present for the termination of rights, the transfer of custody, and until the baby is released from the hospital (such as if additional care was needed after their birth).

After unification takes place between adoptive parents and their adopted child, there is a period of post-placement or post-adoption visits from a social worker—for as little as six months and up to three years—depending on the type of adoption and the state or country from which it takes place.

As a religious non-profit organization, we request that clients concur with the tenets outlined in our agency’s Charter of Faith and sign our Statement of Faith. There are no specific denominational requirements for our clientele. Our main objective is to place children into Christian families.

For questions about needing Hague-accredited home study services in Montana, or any other requirements for adoptive families, please feel free to contact us!

Awareness and attitude are both key as a family approaches an adoptive process. The process can be long and tedious. Complications will arise—and inevitably emotional and financial risk. You will learn a lot about yourselves, and you will learn about children from hard places, as you study some excellent training materials.

Your motivation, patience, and flexibility will determine what your adoptive journey will be like. For an adoption to come to fruition, there has to be a commitment that carries you past the tedium of paperwork, and a heartfelt calling that carries you through the length of waiting.

And then, when it happens, adoption is the most amazing and life-changing opportunity—the one for which you’ve been dreaming and preparing! Your family can be involved in the inspiring mission of creating “better environments and brighter futures” for a child in need of lifelong advocates and a loving family.

Some questions to ask yourself and your spouse are the following:

• Why do you want to adopt a child?
• What can you contribute to a child’s future?
• Is your marriage and family stable?
• What age and gender of child would you prefer to adopt?
• Which cultural backgrounds and health conditions will you consider?
• How much are you willing to spend, and how far are you willing to travel?
• How long are you willing to wait for an adoption to take place?