China
China is one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations, consisting of provinces and cultures dating back many centuries. It has the world’s longest continuously used written language system, and is the source of what are referred to as the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China: paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing. China is home to one fifth of the world’s population and tens of thousands of orphaned and abandoned children.
China also provides one of the most consistent, fast, and reliable international adoption programs available – the China Special Needs Adoption Program. These are children who desperately need to be nurtured in a stable, loving home. Yet parents who adopt these dear children so often report that they (the parents) and the siblings of the special child are the ones who receive the greatest blessing.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a small fascinating country of ancient culture, scenic beauty and friendly people located in Southeastern Europe. In recent years Bulgaria was slow in placing orphan children for international adoption, but recently, with the move to Hague Convention status, Bulgaria now offers, what promises to be, a consistent and predictable option for adoptive parents.
Russia
Russia has been the most popular country for IFS adoptions. While most of the available children are Caucasian, the vastness of the country (it encompasses 11 time zones) ensures a wonderful mix of ethnic groups including many Eurasian children. The children blend beautifully into American households.
India
The children in India are entirely of Indian descent. Most of these children are of fairer complexion, some are dark skinned, and all have black hair, dark eyes and beautiful features. Boys and girls range in age from 9 months-12 years, however, by the time a child arrives in the U.S., the children will usually be a minimum of 15 months old. Changes in the Program fee may apply for older (over 8 yrs) or special needs children. Please contact IFS for up-to-date time lines. Recent government guideline changes require all adoptive parents to travel to India to pick up their children. Our families travel to New Delhi to be met by our India coordinator.
Ukraine
IFS is happy to be able to offer healthy Ukrainian children. While all ages are available, due to the child’s wait on the central registry in Kiev, the youngest will be at least one year old at the time of referral, and typically no younger than 18 months. This gives Ukrainian families the chance to adopt the children before they become available for international adoption. Certain cases of special needs children do not need to wait on this registry, so they could be younger.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a beautiful country situated in Eastern Africa near the Red Sea with a population of 53 million. It is one of the oldest countries in the world and was the home of the Queen of Sheba. Seventeen years of civil war bankrupted the country and left thousands of orphaned children. The numbers continue to increase as the diseases of poverty cause premature deaths of parents.
United States - Domestic Cross-Cultural Adoption
We are excited to announce our new Cross Cultural Program for families who are interested in adopting newborns. We, in the U.S. find ourselves facing increasingly hard economic times and this has impacted the ability of single birthmothers to parent their children. Sadly, there are situations where the birthmother may need to make adoption plans for the baby she is carrying.
