Making a Program Choice: What to Consider

By Janice Hoffman

Many families come to Wide Horizons For Children with a clear preference for a particular adoption program. Perhaps they have a friend or family member who has adopted a child from a certain country and had a very positive experience. Some prospective parents feel drawn to a region of the world - for any number of reasons - and can clearly imagine parenting a child from there. However, just as many prospective adoptive families are eager to move ahead with an adoption but feel unprepared to decide between countries. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of this process, take heart. There are a number of steps you can take to help guide you:

Your social worker is a great source of information. It is important to remember that you do not need to know with certainty which adoption program you will be selecting before completing your application or starting the home study. Indeed, the home study process itself is an excellent opportunity to discuss the children typically being placed from a program and how each fits with your expectations around parenting an adopted child as well as the pros and cons of various programs.

Our Program Staff are experts and can provide detailed information about all aspects of an adoption program. While there can be unexpected changes in adoption, many steps of a program are predictable. Each of our programs is staffed by a specialist or team of specialists who can help you fully explore questions around requirements, process, document preparation and in-country travel. Once you have begun working with us, we can provide you with very detailed program information that will answer all of your questions.

Network with other adoptive families. Wide Horizons For Children has guided thousands of families through this process - our broad network of families is an important resource for families just starting out. Explore the opportunity to talk to other adoptive families. You may also want to attend one or more of our cultural events and see parents and children who might one day reflect your own family configuration. Most of these events take place in the spring or fall and a list is available on our website.

Review each of the criteria/requirements of an adoption program and decide which of those are most critical to your decision. A good place to start is adoptive family requirements. Each program reflects the requirements of the placing country such as the age of the prospective parent(s), marriage or religious requirements. You may not qualify for all programs and this is a very basic mechanism to help you determine your options.

Each program has its own timeline - the average wait for the referral of a child and the average wait for the child's arrival in the U.S. Perhaps most importantly, there are differences between programs in the age of the children being placed, the care they are receiving prior to placement and the amount of information you can expect upon your child's referral. Fees vary considerably from one program to another, as do travel expenses. These are all key considerations for adoptive parents. What might be critically important to you may be less important to another prospective parent, and vice versa. Again, your social worker is an excellent resource to help you explore these areas.

Many prospective parents initially focus on waiting times and fees. It may be helpful to think of your program decision as having important repercussions for your family both short-term and long-term. Adoption is a lifelong commitment to a child and while these differences between programs may seem significant now, in the future they may seem much less important.

For most, making a decision about the birth country of your future child is both emotional and practical. With the right preparation and knowledge you can be confident that your decision is uniquely right for you.

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