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About the Program
- Infants as young as three
months old at the time of referral and children up
to 12 years old are available for adoption. Due to
the process time, the youngest child will be approximately
6-9 months old at the time they come home.
- Average process time is
6 months, for a dossier ready family that is willing
to accept a waiting child. Families that have not
started a home study and desire to adopt an infant
should budget for 10-12 months or longer. This is
due to a limited number of infants, and the unknowns
of the exact time it will take us to match you with
a child under one year. We base these time lines on
current trends, which of course can change rapidly.
- Referral pictures, complete
blood tests, and a social report are available for
your review on each child.
- Children in this program
live in a care center in either Addis Ababa or Mekele.
These are residential facilities that IAG helps to
support. The centers keep a 1:6 caregiver to child
ratio and have a full time nurse and social worker
on staff as well.
- IAG has been licensed in
Ethiopia since 2006 and has since completed 143 adoptions.
We have a perfect track record, are fully licensed
by Ethiopia’s government ( click
here for current license ), and are highly respected
by the Ministry of Woman’s Affairs and the US
Embassy as well.
Adoptive Parent Criteria
- Maximum age for adoptive
parents is 55 years old. Minimum age for adoptive
parents is 25 years old.
- No more than 5 children
in the family already.
- Single females can adopt
through our program and choose gender as well. Be
aware that MOWA is taking a strong stance against
adoptions by single women, while IAG does not think
the laws will change anytime soon, we do feel that
MOWA will soon start to selectively deny single moms
that are older, with lower incomes and or with several
children already. This is a guess and nothing more.
- No more than two divorces
for either parent.
- Minimum income is $8,000
per family member, including the new adopted child.
I.e., a two parent family with 3 children already
will need to earn a minimum of $48,000.
Travel Requirements
- Travel will be from your
home to Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Ethiopia now requires
a parent to be present at the time of court, making
this a two trip process. The court trip can be very
short and only one parent need travel, literally arriving
the day before court and leaving the day of, if so
desired. Our agency will help you with all travel
arrangements, including how to get your visa upon
arrival. The final pickup trip to Ethiopia can vary,
but in general it will be as follows: Arriving in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday night or Tuesday before
noon. Processing through the US Embassy will happen
on Wednesday. On Friday you will depart for home after
a very short stay of four to five days in country.
Escort service is offered for the pickup trip, however
we strongly encourage that at least one parent make
that trip happen if possible. If this is not possible,
then an escort option will be considered and a decision
made on a case by case basis.
- You will exit through the
US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to complete the
immigration process.
Cost
- Total program and procedure
fees range from $18,500 to $23,500 depending on the
age of the child, the number of children you adopt
and the number of people traveling. These estimated
expenses are inclusive of agency fees, travel, lodging,
CIS clearance, home study, paperwork, etc. (see cost
sheet for details). While these costs can vary somewhat,
we feel this is a very accurate accounting of what
your total out of pocket expenses will be from start
to finish.
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