Colombia
February 28, 2007
Prospective parents interested in adopting from the country of Colombia should
contact an adoption agency that is registered with the Colombian Family Welfare
Institute. The country of Colombia does not allow private adoptions to occur.
The adoption agency that a prospective parent works with from their country
will, such as a U.S. based agency, will need to make certain that any Colombian
based agency they are working with is also a part of the Family Welfare
Institute. There are several adoption agencies listed on the website for the
United States Department of State, however, they remind consumers that their
list is not a guarantee of a good and responsible agency.
Parental Requirements
Colombia is very receptive to young families and families with children. Single men and single women are able to adopt a Colombian child. Parents should be 25 years of age or older at the time the adoption takes place. Parents must be able to demonstrate, through a homestudy, that they are physically, emotionally, and financially secure and capable of raising a child.
Travel
Both parents must be willing to travel to Colombia as law states that
both parents must be present before the judge when the adoption decree is
given. After the court hearing is over one parent may return home
while the other remains to attain the visa for their adopted child. This travel and in-country process can take 4-8 weeks.
Children Available
The children available for adoption range in age and health. There are both
healthy children and children with disabilities that are in need of stable,
loving, permanent homes.
Children have been as young as 8-12 weeks old when
adopted out of Colombia. The age range is between infant and adolescence.
Colombia has siblings groups available as well.
Children in Colombia are cherished. However, due to the poverty experienced by many Colombians parents, especially single women, can not afford to care for their child.
Children are relinquished or abandoned by parents in hopes that they may find a
better future than what the parent can offer. There are also cases where
parental rights were taken away due to drug use, abuse, or neglect where
reunification was not an option. Colombia keeps children in need of a family in
a foster home or orphanages called Special Protection Centers. Children are
connected to resources they most likely would not have had at home such as good
medical care and psychologists. Children in foster homes and the orphanages have
a caretaker where they can learn about learn safe and healthy human attachment.
Inter-country adoption from Colombia may take a long time from beginning to end.
The timeline can be as short as 6 months, however, as taken up to 18 months. As often occurs, parents that are adopting a waiting child may
