Korean Adoption Quick Facts
Wide Horizons for Children, an adoption agency in Waltham, has averaged 70 Korean adoptions a year since 2000. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, in the year 2000, issued 1,797 visas to Korean adoptees. Since the early 1950's, it is estimated that more than 150,000 Korean children have been adopted in the United States, Canada & Europe.
Adoption Steps
Family receives a referral or match of a child from Holt, Korea. The child most likely is being cared for in a foster family. If a child is born outside of Seoul, he or she will have two foster families. The first foster family is located near the city of birth near the Holt branch office. The second foster home will be located in Seoul to be close to the main office of Holt, where the legal processing happens and where the main Holt Well Baby clinic is.
If the child is born in Seoul, he or she will have only one foster home. The foster families are dedicated to providing children with a great deal of care and attention.
Family's acceptance paperwork is sent to Korea and is translated. The legal process begins in both Korea and the U.S. The two legal processes meet at the end. The entire length of waiting between referral and arrival ranges from three to seven months.
Adoptive families anxiously wait for their little ones to come home. Foster families bond and attach to the child during this time. The baby is seen monthly in the Holt Well Baby Clinic. When all of the legal processing is complete, families receive a three-to 10-day notice that their baby has been scheduled on a flight.
If the family is traveling to Korea, they will receive the call that their baby is ready for travel and they will be expected to arrive in Korea within 10 days notice. Families traveling to Korea meet their baby for the first time and then pick up their child closer to depart from Korea. Most families will spend about one week in country.
Holt feels that having two meetings eases the baby's transition from the foster family to the adoptive family. Both meetings are held at the Holt office and can be very emotional for all involved Source: Wide Horizons for Children
Korean Adoption
Web sites:
www.adopting-from-korea-swicki.com
www.adoptkorea.com
www.kaanet.com/adopting www.adoptivefamilies.com/korea
www.adoptioninstitute.org www.adoptshoppepress.com
