Belize
May 23, 2007
It is possible to adopt a Belizean child as long as parents are either a citizen of Belize or meet the requirements of the Belize Supreme Court. The current requirements for prospective parents to adopt inter-country from Belize are that they do not have a criminal record, country of residence welfare office issues a recommendation to adopt, and provide documentation to satisfy the court that the country the child will be residing in will respect and recognize the adoption. For citizens of the United States this documentation would be the I-600A and the 600A.
One of the prospective parents in a couple must be at least 25 years of age or older.
Parents must be a minimum of 12 years older than the child they are adopting. Both married couples and singles may adopt from Belize, however, single men may not adopt female children. The difficulty in adopting a Belizean child for non-citizens is that prior to the court finalizing the adoption the prospective parents must reside with the child in Belize for 12 months. During this year time period a social worker will visit the home to assess the development of the parent-child relationship. It is possible to apply for a interim adoption decree. This is where the Government of Belize will give permission for the child to be taken back to the prospective parents country of residence and pursue an adoption through the laws of the country of citizenship. After the 12 months probationary period is over the social worker sends reports into the Government of Belize. Upon approval of the final report an attorney, hired by the prospective parents, will petition for the adoption to become final.
Adoptions in Belize are child specific. There is not a running referral program where parents are matched with a child. In Belize a parent may adopt a specific child that is either a ward of the government under the Department of Human Services or adopt a child that is not in custody of the department. Adopting a ward may take a year or more due to the amount of paperwork processing that must occur to satisfy the needs of the Department of Human Services. Adoptions through independent families where children are not in custody generally take less than a year.
Belize does not have accredited adoption agencies. Adoption are done through the court system with the assistance of attorneys. An official home study may be completed in the country of citizenship of the adoptive parents and sent to the Belize Department of Human Services. Belize also requires that the home study agency send a notarized copy of their accreditation or licence to the department. After a home study is verified the adoption goes before a Supreme Court judge presented by an attorney. The cost of attorney fees range from $1500-$5000 and should include court costs and filing fees.
The adoption authority in Belize is the Belize Human Services Department. They may be reached at:Human Services Department
2 nd Floor, Commercial Center
P.O. Box 41
Belize City, Belize
Central America
Phone: ++501-227-7451 or 501-227-2057
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_355.html