|
Parental
Age
|
·
25-44 for healthy infant.
·
Exceptions may be considered if one parent is under 45, the
family has already adopted from Korea, the parents are
Korean-American, or the family is adopting a child with special
needs. Need pre approval from Korea for exceptions.
·
No more than 10 years between husband and wife.
|
|
Length of
Marriage
|
3 years
|
|
Divorce
|
1 divorce
each
|
|
Children in
Family
|
Up to 4 biological
or adopted children in home
|
|
Single
Applicant
|
South Korea does
not place with singles
|
|
Sexual
Orientation
|
Does not place with
homosexuals.
|
|
Children
Available
|
Infants (5-6 months at referral) and some
toddlers with special needs;
|
|
Race/Ethnicity
|
Asian
|
|
Gender
|
Boys and girls;
agencies have different policies on allowing parents to select
gender; may be longer wait for girl.
|
|
Adopting more
than one unrelated child at same time
|
Does not
allow
|
|
Travel in
Country
|
- Parents may travel
or child may be escorted to nearest US port of entry or to home
airport.
- If parents travel,
one trip of 3-4 business days; one or both parents may
travel.
- Parents do not
travel in groups, and guide usually not provided; interpreter
available when needed.
- Will be able to
meet child once or twice, but usually will not be given custody
until ready to return to US.
- Usually able to
meet child’s foster family.
|
|
Referral
Method
|
Standard; There are
4 child placing agencies in South Korea. Two of
them send the referral to the agency and the agency matches this
referral to a family on its waiting list. The other two Korean
agencies match the child to the family in Korea and then send the
referral to the agency in the US. Families are
able to select children with special needs
|
|
Wait for
referral (after paperwork submitted)
|
Since referrals are
made to the agency to match with families on their waiting list,
there is a fair amount of variation between agencies, depending on
how many parents are on their list (2-15
months). Shorter wait for child with special
needs.
|
|
Wait after
referral
|
3-6 months before
travel or child escorted
|
|
Approximate
Cost
|
$37,586 (total
cost, not excluding travel)
|
|
Youngest Age
Upon Arrival Home
|
In the past many babies came home younger than
6 months; however, due to a change in the Korean law to encourage
domestic adoption babies are now approximately 9-12 months when
they come home.
|
|
Orphanage/Foster
Care
|
Foster
care. Every IA doctor I interviewed rated the
care after birth to be the best.
|
|
How children
enter government care
|
Relinquishment due
to social stigma and lack of support for unwed
mothers.
|
|
Prevalence of
FAS
|
Birth mothers are usually interviewed
thoroughly, and according to agency and IA doctor interviews,
approximately 30-35% say that they drank some alcohol while
pregnant. Details are usually included on the
type of alcohol, frequency of consumption, and timing during the
pregnancy. IA doctors report that they are not generally seeing
neurological impacts, which may mean that the type, quantity, and
timing of consumption were not of the nature to cause FASD, or it
could mean that impairments are subtle and will not be detected
until the child reaches school age. If this is a
concern with your referral, consult an IA doctor.
|
|
Adequacy of
medical reports
|
- Every IA doctor interviewed rated the
Korean medical reports as the best.
- Usually fairly detailed information on
birth family medical and background information.
- Usually fairly detailed information on
prenatal history.
- Excellent medical care.
- Updates on child’s development
usually given to families while they wait, although not
monthly.
- Additional information and medical
testing is readily available.
|
|
Program
Stability
|
Very stable
|
|
Number of
children placed in the US 2002- 2006
|
8,631
|
|
Growing/Declining
|
Decreased 23% from 2002 to 2006. Korea has a
policy of phasing out international adoptions; therefore, they
reduce slightly the number of children they will place abroad each
year.
|
|
Post Adoption
Reports
|
Not required by Korean government, but may be
required at 1,3 and 6 months by some Korean placing agencies, and
will be required by your state for several months in order to
finalize the adoption.
|
|
Hague
Treaty
|
No
|
|
Additional
Information
|
Children are generally
healthy. Children are usually of average birth
weight and head circumference and arrive with no developmental
delays unless classified as special
needs.
Most IA doctors said that
the Korean program is the model for the world in health of the
child, post natal care, and providing accurate medical and
developmental information.
Adoptions must be
finalized in the US.
Korea specifies which
agencies may place in each state. To find an agency that places
children in your state, go to www.travel.state.gov, click on Children & Family,
click on Country-Specific Info, go to Korea. If
your state is not listed, call one of the agencies listed and ask
who has partnered to place in your state.
Due to the quota system
limiting the numbers of children placed for international adoption,
there may be a delay in travel to pick up the child or have him
escorted in the fall of the year when quotas have been filled. Ask
your agency.
No dossier is
required; therefore, paperwork is less.
There may be weight
requirement of no more than 30% overweight for parents adopting
from Korea, depending on which Korean placing institution your
agency works with. For a copy of the weight charts go to www.adoptkorea.com and discuss this with
your agency.
Korea expects families to
have an income higher than the national average and $35,000 is
often cited as a minimum.
It may be possible
for your child to search for and meet his birthparents.
Your agency will require
proof that adoption was finalized in the US and your child has US
citizenship.
|
|
Useful
Links
|
US Department of State
www.travel.state.gov, click on Children & Family,
click on Country-Specific Information
www.adoptkorea.com
Yahoo group
adopt_Korea www. groups.yahoo.com
|
|
Great
Blogs
|
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|
|
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|
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