Thousands of children of all races and ages are available and waiting to be adopted by loving families. These children often have special needs and will benefit from supportive, patient parents. If you're exploring adoption, choosing a waiting child can be a wonderful way to start or grow your family.
Most of these "waiting" children are currently living in foster care or in orphanages in foreign countries. If you're thinking about providing a loving home for another child, you may want to consider adopting a "waiting child."
As with any major life decision, it's important to be fully informed so you can feel confident about providing a nurturing home for the long term.
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Waiting children
Children who are waiting to be adopted often have special needs, and they will benefit from supportive parents who understand the level of care these children need.
Waiting children typically include the following:
- School-age or older children
- Victims of neglect or abuse (physical or sexual)
- Physically or mentally challenged children
- Siblings who want to be placed together
- Children in foreign countries who are toddlers or older, or have special needs
Agencies, exchanges and government legislation may refer to children in any of these categories as:
- Children with special needs
- Special needs children
- Hard-to-place children
- Waiting children
If you adopt a child with special needs, be sure to contact the Exceptional Family Member Program for support.
Eligibility
In the past, many adoption agencies were unwilling to work with military families because of their frequent moves, but that is no longer a barrier to adoption. You are eligible to adopt a waiting child if you:
- Have a stable, supportive home
- Understand the special challenges of parenting a child with special needs
- Are willing to undertake these challenges and to experience the rewards that will follow
Requirements for adoptive parents vary by adoption agency, by state and by country. Here are some general guidelines:
- Many agencies consider couples and single individuals as prospective parents.
- Parenting experience is not required, although families with other children in the home are welcomed.
- Adoptive parents must usually be between the ages of 25 and 50, but there is some flexibility based on the child's age and needs.
- A family doesn't have to be wealthy, own a home or provide a separate bedroom for the child, as long as the child shares a room with children of the same sex.
Steps to adopt a waiting child
In general, the steps in the adoption process are as follows:
- Contact your local child protective services office.
- Find an adoption agency that does international adoption if you're seeking a foreign adoption. Choose an agency with experience working with waiting children and with military families.
- Begin a home study. Obtain a social worker to help you assess your family's ability to care for a child. The home study can take up to six months to complete.
- Wait for a match. Your adoption agency will match you with your waiting child.
- Use tools to find a match. When you are looking for a match, you may want to use photo-listing books, which feature profiles and photographs of waiting children. Adoption exchanges, which do not have children in their custody, may have names, profiles and photographs of waiting children from agencies locally and around the world.
Whatever path you choose in your journey towards adoption, you have support. A Military OneSource adoption consultant can help you find the information and support you need.