America World’s Adoption Options: “What is My Next Step?”

Families who begin to look into the adoption option are usually met with an overwhelming list of options, and many times families become paralyzed with these options and simply do nothing.  Where do we start?  Would we consider a child with medical needs? How about an older child? How long does it take to adopt? And the list goes on…

Because of this, America World wants to help you and your family's next step.  Below are some “next steps” for moving your family forward.

The Pre-Application
Over the past few years, the international adoption process has changed.  Wait times have grown and options continue to increase.  To help simplify things for those families who are called to adopt but are feeling overwhelmed, America World offers a free pre-application.

The pre-application will help to narrow options and provide clarity as you begin the adoption process.  This is a great opportunity for families who are concerned about a particular country’s requirements and whether they ‘qualify’.  The information entered in an America World pre-application is transferred to the full application, which makes the application process easier for all of our countries/programs such as India, China and Ethiopia.

Special Note:  China Adoptions
Families considering an adoption from China have a few ways to proceed:  a general Waiting Child adoption, a Special Focus adoption, or an LID-only adoption.

• Waiting Child Adoptions – families considering a ‘non-healthy’ child from China can fill out an application to adopt a medical needs child.  The application allows families to determine what medical needs they would be comfortable accepting and those they would not.  Once the family’s adoption paperwork (dossier) is completed and sent to China, the family either waits for a child to become available who meets their requests, or the family can review Waiting Children from our website (LID or Special Focus) to adopt.  Children are added to the Waiting Children pages of our website often.
• Special Focus Adoption – one designation that China has for children who they consider harder-to-place is “Special Focus”.  This typically means that a child is older or has moderate (correctable or non-correctable) medical needs, or simply needs to adopted soon.  This process is usually the quickest in terms of wait time.
• LID-only Adoption – another designation that China has is “LID-only”.  Normally children who are designated as LID are correctable or lesser medical needs children.  Families with a Log-In Date (LID) with the adoption authority in China are eligible to adopt an LID-only child.  This process is also much quicker since the family’s paperwork is already completed.

Still have questions? We want to help. Lots of great information is available on our website and on our official Blog. You can also join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (americaworldadoption).  

Please contact us at 800-429-3369 with any questions you have or email general questions to Info@awaa.org or Waiting Child adoption questions to WaitingChildren@awaa.org.

 

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11