VIDA - US
Domestic Adoptions
VIDA’s US domestic programs include infants,
special
needs adoption and US waiting children adoption. Special emphasis is
placed on the children who are waiting over three years in foster care
or a facility. We work closely with Adopt US Kids, The Adoption
Exchange and state and local agencies.
Infant Program- infants are usually placed with US
families in the U S or abroad and foreign nationals living in the US
unless a family cannot be matched within a reasonable time frame.
Waiting Children-US citizens living in the US and
abroad
and foreign nationals living in the US and abroad are considered.
Therefore if you are not a US citizen and live outside the US, you can
consider waiting children. Please look at Adopt US Kids www.adoptuskids.org
and The Adoption Exchange www.adoptex.org.
The US is now a member of the Hague and as such,
any
child adopted by a foreign national living outside the US must follow
the Hague State Department procedures for outgoing cases. Your Central
Authority or a recognized agency in your country will be working with
VIDA. In all cases you will need an approved home study from an agency
recognized by your government and meet your government’s requirements.
Requirements
- Generally, families are granted more
flexibility with the requirements
- Applicants are generally between the ages of
25and 55
- Married applicants are generally married a
minimum of two years
- Single applicants are considered
Domestic Service Fee
Infant Program- Fees range from $20,000-$30,000
USD.
Waiting Children- Fees range from $6,500-$10,000
USD and may be, in part, require no payment.
Note: There can
also be subsidies for many US waiting children.
Each family must address the fees they can and
cannot accept according
to their income and resources. The VIDA fee is non-refundable.
Domestic Adoption and Subsidy
Children who have recognized challenges or
adjustment problems,
supervised by state agencies, are also referred. There may be
subsidies for these children. If this is of interest to you,
please clarify. The government subsidy and the assurance of health
benefits, may be helpful.
Travel
Adoptive parents are responsible, in advance of
arrangements being
made, and for all expenses related to travel. If a family is required
to travel, all travel related expenses are the family’s responsibility,
unless the public agency referring the children agrees to cover the
travel expenses. These expenses include, but are not limited
to,
transportation, food and lodging, ground transportation, legalization
and final documents, amended birth certificates, medical exams, photos,
passport, visa, taxes. You can expect travel. Plan
this
expense in your budget.
Referral time for infants is not predictable. In
all cases there must
be substantial effort to find US families for the infant unless the
prospective adoptive family has located a birthparent without the help
of an agency. This situation is not common.
Referral time for waiting children also requires
patience, and outreach
on your part. You may make several requests before you are considered.
Legal Expenses
You will, most likely have the expense of an
attorney to finalize your
adoption. Although this fee may be included with the placement fees,
but not always. They can range from $2,000 - $4,000.
The first federal and only national web site that
focuses on waiting children is www.AdoptUSKids.org
Geographic barriers and the waiting time to
connect children from across the country with
adoptive families has now been reduced. Adopt US Kids features
pictures and profiles of over 6,500 children from 46 states
who are available for adoption, as well as a database of approved
adoptive families.
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