Why so long???

We've been getting a lot of questions about why the wait is so long.....and I didn't know either - so I asked our Family Coordinator. Here's what Nicole said...

Currently the wait time for an infant male is 6-8 months and an infant female is 9-11 months, in comparison to other International adoption programs, this is a significantly short wait. Although there is a great need in Ethiopia, and other countries that may have longer waits, the nature of international adoption is, as you are familiar with, full of paperwork, and dealing with other governmental structures.

A piece that goes into the wait time is the paperwork that has to be gathered on the children to be sure they are true orphans, adoptable, healthy, etc. While prospective parents are able to complete their dossier paperwork on their own, these children have to have others complete it for them. If this is not a priority in a country, or if there is a lack of resources to complete this process- it can take awhile to gain this information.

Another piece, is dealing with other governmental structures and countries in general. America’s processes are very different than, especially Ethiopia. “Time” is a completely different concept between our two cultures, and so is the structure of processes, etc. Paperwork needs to be done with orphanage directors, the government, etc. to get agreements/licenses to work with certain orphanages, etc. These orphanages need to complete some work themselves to be licensed to work with international adoption agencies. If they do not complete this work- this will cause a slow down/delay in referral from that orphanage.

Finally, in combination with the above, the program is growing and blossoming- which is a great thing – but puts a higher “demand” on the process. The growth of the program is more of a blessing as there is such a great need, but also makes the wait slightly longer.

I hope the above information is helpful when trying to explain some of the reasons the wait time and the nature of international adoption! Unfortunately the paperwork/”red tape” regulations all add to this wait. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

In Him,

Nicole Wiegold
Africa/Asia Family Coordinator