Adoption Associates, Inc: Domestic Infant and International Adoption Agency

Ethiopia has been doing adoptions for several years with European countries and most recently, with American families. Ethiopia is now fifth on the list of countries providing children for American families. AAI has been licensed in Ethiopia since February, 2006.

Adoptive parents, either married or single, must be at least 25 years old and couples must be married for at least two years. Parents up to age 55 will be permitted to adopt an infant.

At the present time, Ethiopia does allow singles to adopt. This is currently under review by the Ethiopian government, and a new law prohibiting singles from adopting may be passed in the future.

Yes, couples must have been married for a minimum of two years. Same sex marriage partners are not permitted to adopt.

Yes, a family may have up to six children already in the home. It is possible for a family with more than six children to adopt, but they will need special permission from the Ethiopian government.

There are a great number of sibling groups in Ethiopia waiting for families. It is also possible, and greatly encouraged, to adopt unrelated children, especially older children. Adopting more than one child at a time requires only one dossier, so there is no additional paperwork, and it is much less costly to adopt two children at once than to complete two separate adoptions.

It is recommended that families take an additional $300-400 with them when they travel. This will be for tips and other nominal charges, such as entrance to the museums and orthodox churches.

No, it will be translated into the Amharic language when it arrives in Ethiopia and that fee is included in the total in-country adoption fees.

Yes. The prospective adoptive parents will write a letter to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (the branch of the Ethiopian government that oversees adoptions) requesting permission to adopt a child from Ethiopia. The letter will give information about the adoptive family. The letter will also state why the family wants to adopt a child from Ethiopia and how they will maintain the child’s culture and heritage. A sample letter will be provided for you by AAI with all of the necessary information.

Once your dossier arrives in Ethiopia, you can expect a wait of four to six months before traveling. During this time, your dossier will be translated into Amharic and sent to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, where it will be reviewed and approved. After your dossier is approved, a referral will be made and a court date will be set. You will travel approximately four weeks after the court date.

Children may travel with adoptive parents. However, the family will incur greater travel costs as a result. The trip may be difficult for young children, but older children will have a wonderful experience.

Yes. AAI is currently working with several orphanages in and around Addis Ababa. Most of the orphanages operate on limited budgets, and, therefore, they greatly appreciate donations. Most of the orphanages prefer donations of money so that they can buy exactly what they need and avoid the taxes that they must pay on any goods that are donated. If you are interested in donating to an orphanage in Ethiopia, please contact AAI or visit our donation page for more information.

You will be in Ethiopia for approximately one week. You will also have one day traveling to Ethiopia and one day traveling home. You will receive your child the day after arriving in Ethiopia in most cases. During the week that you are in Ethiopia, you will have many opportunities for sightseeing and you will also have an appointment at the U.S. Embassy to apply for your child’s visa.

You may choose to stay in a hotel that our contact in Ethiopia approves. Generally the hotels have restaurants, internet connection, laundry service and the cost is reasonable.

AAI has created a simple way for families to bring donations to their child’s orphanage through the Blessings in Bundles project. Blessings in Bundles seeks to aid the children in AAI-sponsored orphanages with bundles of donated clothing and medical supplies. We have partnered with local charity organizations to collect these needed goods. When you travel abroad to finalize your adoption, AAI will ship a box of items to your home that you can deliver to the orphanage. If you have questions or would like to participate in this project, please e-mail blessingsinbundles@adoptionassociates.net. We would be happy to add you to the list of families that desire to bring relief to children who live in poverty.

Babies as young as six months of age at the time of referral are available. There are also many toddlers available who have lost their parents due to economic conditions, illness, or AIDS. Many older children up to age 12 and sibling groups are also waiting for families.

For the most part, they are either a) economic orphans, b) completely abandoned, or c) orphaned due to the death of their HIV-infected parents.

The children in the orphanages receive excellent care. Infants and small children are out of their cribs and with the caregivers as much as possible. Older children have a great deal of interaction with the caregivers and with each other.

The children have been tested for HIV on at least two occasions. Some children are tested when they enter the orphanage, but all children are tested by our pediatrician at the time of the referral medical evaluation. They are also tested again by the U.S. Embassy doctor before the child’s visa is issued.

It is possible to adopt a child who is HIV positive. In order to do so, however, the family must obtain permission from the U.S. government and from the Ethiopian government.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is not common among Ethiopian children, mostly due to the economic conditions of the country.

Yes. When you receive the referral of a child, the referral will include as much social history as we have available to us and a medical report. The social history may include birth parent information, why the child is an orphan, and how long the child has been in the orphanage. The medical evaluation is performed by a pediatrician and tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and VDRL are completed.

Yes! New to AAI is a site that will allow you to create your own adoption-themed journal and post updates about your adoption journey that your family and friends can respond to with their own comments. Best of all, this service is free to families adopting through AAI.

Families adopting from China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Nepal, and Russia can customize their journal by choosing a country-specific background. These themes feature children’s artwork created with various types of artistic mediums or international artifacts and will give your adoption journal an international flair. Generic backgrounds are also available for families adopting from other countries.

Have photos that you would like to share? When you create a journal, you will be able to post an unlimited number of pictures to your journal for your family and friends to enjoy without ever leaving their homes. Because all journals are password-protected, you’ll be able to rest easy in the knowledge that only those who have your password will be able to view your postings. Once your journal is set up, simply share the site link and password with friends and family that you would like to keep updated about your adoption journey.

To start your journal today, visit http://www.adoptionjournals.org, or ask your international consultant for more information.

Yes! Because Adoption Associates, Inc. is committed to providing the most professional and comprehensive services to our clients, we offer adoptive parent preparation and adjustment sessions designed to support parents up to and even beyond the placement of their child.

We believe that these sessions will help give adoptive parents the tools they need to make their child’s transition as smooth as possible and allow them to parent their child with more confidence. Because of this, both sessions are required of all AAI families adopting internationally. The cost is included as part of the program fee for families signing up after August 1, 2007.

The first session is designed to prepare parents to receive their child from the orphanage. Led by a licensed psychologist, this hour-long meeting will help to educate clients on what to expect when first meeting their child and include information on the initial adjustment period and how to facilitate attachment and bonding. This session will be scheduled a short time before parents leave to bring their children home and will be conducted in a small group setting with between three and five families in attendance.

The second session will occur four to six weeks after the family returns home. In contrast to the first session, this meeting will be conducted on an individual basis and include a scheduled appointment with the psychologist. The purpose of this meeting will be to monitor the child’s adjustment by discussing topics such as the child’s behavior and the progress he or she has made in attaching and bonding to his or her new parents.

Sessions are also available for domestic adoptive families and non-AAI families. Extra sessions are also available to international adoptive families who would like additional services.

Please contact Kurt Ellis at 616.667.0921 with questions or to schedule a session.