Families may have questions as to what to expect from their chosen country. In order to be prepared as possible, we have included the following up to date children profiles that you can reference. China Holt began finding families for children in China in 1993. At the time, the process to adopt from this newly opened country was relatively smooth and quick. Throughout the 1990s, Holt placed hundreds of children in loving, permanent homes and developed numerous child welfare programs to serve children awaiting adoption in China. Today there are two adoption tracks for the China Program. Due to the long wait for the standard process (5+ years) the majority of families adopt children from China who have known medical or developmental needs as this process is much faster; 12-18 months overall. Click here to read the full Child Profile for China. Korea Children eligible for international adoption will have at least some medical conditions noted in their medical file that are not considered “special needs.” Families who apply to adopt from Korea will be matched with a child who has at least one noted medical condition that has either already resolved by time of match with a family or is under follow up and not considered a major medical concern. Common medical conditions include prematurity and related medical issues and delays, reported use of minor to moderate alcohol/tobacco use during pregnancy, hospitalization shortly after birth for issues that are now resolved, heart murmur (often resolved), heart conditions not requiring surgery, low birth weight, minor to moderate developmental delays, skin conditions, and potentially hereditary family medical history. Click here to read the full Child Profile for Korea. Philippines The Inter-country Adoption Board (ICAB), the Philippines’ Central Authority, has a very child-centered process to select the right family for a particular child. After an adoptive applicant’s Dossier is approved, the family is listed on ICAB’s Roster of Approved Applicants. When a child is legally free and cleared for international adoption, an ICAB committee of professionals/specialists will carefully review both the child’s information and the files of several families at the top of their wait list of approved applicants. They will then choose the family they feel will best meet the needs of that particular child. Click here to read the full Child Profile for Philippines. Thailand Children become available for adoption in Thailand for a variety of reasons. These include: cultural stigma against single women parenting a child, serious poverty, family illness or other family crisis, incarceration. Most children referred to Holt International have been relinquished by their birth mothers. Some children were found by the Thai government to be legally abandoned by their birth parent(s) and have come into the care of our partner agency, Holt Sahathai Foundation (HSF) for adoptive placement. Click here to read the full Child Profile for Thailand. Vietnam Children become available for adoption in Vietnam for a variety of reasons – stigma against single parenthood, serious poverty, and family illness or other family crisis. Children are either relinquished by their birth mothers or abandoned at child caring facilities or other public places. Click here to read the full Child Profile for Vietnam. Haiti Thousands of children in Haiti need the love and belonging of an adoptive family. Perhaps your son or daughter is there this very moment. As you begin your adoption process, we want to provide you with the most current information about the profile of children in Haiti in need of loving, adoptive families. Click here to read the full Child Profile for Haiti. Colombia ICBF, the central adoption authority in Colombia, expects all adoptive families to have a realistic understanding of the profile of child from Colombia. The children and adolescents in Colombia who are eligible for international adoption present with a wide range of special needs and/or medical conditions. We see both correctable/manageable special needs and more involved conditions. In addition, Colombia considers children who are ages 10+ years old; sibling groups of 2 children where the eldest is 10+ years old; or a sibling group of 3 or more children as special need cases. Families must be open to both genders, however families can specify a preference and Colombia will do their best to honor that preference. The youngest age range a family can be open to is 0-4 years old and additional eligibility may be required (Note: all Colombia heritage families can qualify for 0-4 years old). For more child profile information, please reference the Medical Conditions Checklist.
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