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465 Fairchild Drive, Suite 215 • Mountain View, CA 94043 Voice: (650) 964-3800 • FAX: (650) 964-6467 |
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tags. Include a link to bypass the detection if you wish. Ethiopia
Types of CHILDREN
Ethiopian children who are available for adoption are well cared for as they wait to be matched with their forever families. While children are waiting for placement they are cared for in foster care centers, local orphanages, community care, or in the hospital of birth. Once a child is identified for international placement he/she is moved to the House run by the liaison agency in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
All the children who are available for adoption are examined and tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, and tuberculosis prior to being matched and referred to a family. Parents will receive biographical and medical information on a referred child, which will include photographs. Characteristics of children available include:
- Children 28 months old and above.
- Children with special needs - the most common special needs include cleft palate and lip, albinism, congenital heart disease, and hepatitis B.
- Older children, ages 3 years and above.
- Sibling groups
REQUIREMENTS
- Must live within the BAAS licensing area of northern California. Please read additional Legal Requirements.
- Both married couples and singles can adopt. There is no quota for single parents.
- Couples must be married a minimum of one year at the time the dossier is sent to Ethiopia. (It is important to note that first time parents should be flexible in gender preference).
- Applicants must be between 25 and 55 years old.
- Applicants must be in good health and be able to show sufficient
income to parent the child.
TIME INVOLVED
At present, the entire adoption process usually takes approximately 24-30 months. The first 6 months of the process involves completing the homestudy, receiving USCIS clearance, and gathering and notarizing documents required by the Ethiopian government. The referral time frame is 12-20 months, and usually shorter for boys. Please note, some children may be available for immediate referral. Once a child has been assigned, the family is expected to travel twice to Ethiopia. The stay in Ethiopia is about one week per trip. Currently time between accepting referral and travel is 4 to 6 months.
ROLE OF Partnering Agency
The partner agency (also known as the liaison agency) will translate your documents, forward your dossier to Ethiopia and monitor its progress. Once your dossier has been reviewed and approved, you will be placed on the waiting list for a referral. The partnering agency will inform you when you have been matched with a child.
IN Ethiopia
One parent must make the 1st trip to Ethiopia and both parents must travel on the 2nd trip. Once you arrive in Ethiopia, you will be met by a guide who will escort you throughout the entire stay in Ethiopia. The guide will accompany families throughout their stay in Addis Ababa and assist with lodging, transportation, as well as accompany parents to all official meetings and handle document processing. This person will remain with you until you are ready to leave Ethiopia with your child(ren) at the end of the second trip. FEEs Involved
FEEs Involved
BAAS FEE: -$6,400
Ethiopian adoptions are finalized in the US, and are therefore “Intercountry
adoptions”. The following is a general estimate of costs involved:
- Registration & Pre-adopt class
- Homestudy
- Paperwork Assistance, including dossier preparation and USCIS filing
- Overseas program consultation and liason agency oordination
- 4 post placement visits
- Assistance in finalizing the adoption and obtaining a California birth
certificate for the child, certificate of citizenship, and any other
post-adoption paperwork
- Services Fees
The service fee covers all case management, liaison work with the home study agency, (BAAS) dossier translation, and early preparation for adopting from Ethiopia. - Program Fees
These fees are directly related to the Ethiopia adoption program and the administration of this program. A portion of the program fee covers non-travel related fees within the country. The liaison agencies support orphaned Ethiopian children through their humanitarian aid projects, which include but are not limited to, the following: medical help and classes for children with disabilities; sponsorship to children living with next of kin or in foster families; educational assistance and scholarships to the children in the orphanages.
- Additional Fees
Other incidental expenses include Ethiopian government fees, visa and passport fees, coordination fees including communication with the Ethiopian government. These fees may include round-trip airfare and living expenses while in Ethiopia, state certification, authentication and translation of documents, Ethiopian government fees, visa and passport fee, coordination fee including communication with the Ethiopian government.
- USCIS filing fee
- Procurement of documents (i.e., birth & marriage certificates,
etc.)
- Photocopying of documents
- Notary fees
- Certification & Authentication of official documents
- Court filing fees
- Includes hotel accommodation
- Food, various expenses
- Internal travel during full stay in Ethiopia. Airfare to Ethiopia is additional
AIRFARE TO ETHIOPIA (VARIES)
Approximately $2000 per person roundtrip. This varies depending on dates, airlines, and departing location.
TOTAL COSTS
Generally speaking, the entire cost of completing an adoption in Ethiopia is approximately $27,000 to $30,000, including the BAAS fee, the Liaison agency fee (and all adoption processing in Ethiopia) and travel.
For more information regarding the Ethiopia program, please contact the
BAAS office at (650) 964-3800. Please note that adoption procedures,
fees and timelines for Ethiopia, as stated above, can change at any time
without prior notice.
- Please note that this information is subject to change without notice as changes occur in government/country regulations and/or adoption procedures. For the latest information, please call BAAS directly.
