How to Apply for WHFC Horizon Kids

Mesay
Home from Ethiopia in 2005

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Waiting Child Adoption - A Video by Love Without Boundaries

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Although you may contact us for information on WHFC Horizon Kids at any time, please be advised that, as with all international adoptions, you must have an approved home study and USCIS approval to be eligible for the referral of a waiting child. A dossier and certain pre-adopt education classes, including our older child and/or special needs adoption preparation, are also required in most cases. For this reason, to ensure you qualify for a match, we recommend you complete the following steps before viewing our waiting children profiles:

1. Complete the WHFC application process. Although there may be exceptions to this requirement for certain hard-to-place children, you would still need to complete the application process before being eligible for a match.
2. Notify your social worker of your interest in WHFC Horizon Kids, so that your home study will reflect your family's openness to considering a waiting child. You should also consider completing our older child and / or special needs pre-adopt classes during this period, as these are required for most WHFC Horizon Kids adoptions.
3. Apply for USCIS approval once you have an approved home study.
4. After applying for USCIS approval, contact a member of the WHFC Horizon Kids team for detailed information on a particular child or children.
5. If you feel you might want to be matched with the child(ren), notify the appropriate WHFC Horizon Kids case manager. She will use her considerable knowledge and experience in a thoughtful, sensitive way to explore your family's readiness to accept the challenges you may face should you decide to move forward. You will also be advised to consult with a physician experienced in international medicine for his or her evaluation of the medical information you receive from your child's birth country and WHFC before making your decision.
6. Once you request a match with a specific child, we will consider your family's ability to meet the needs of the child(ren) you wish to adopt and whether you have met the requirements of your child's birth country. Other factors affecting the matching process include your program application date, how long you have been waiting and how quickly you are able to bring the child home. Once a decision is made, we will present our recommendation to child welfare authorities and birth country officials for final approval.