| What countries do you we have the most experience with? | Most any referring country. Our clinic was established in 1986, the first clinic of its kind in the United States, and we have therefore reviewed medical records from all over the world. |
| Is this an adoption agency? | No, we do not provide home studies or provide referrals of waiting children. We are a resource for families, providing for the health needs of internationally adopted children through our clinic services, research and education. |
| Can we recommend an adoption agency? | While we are unable to recommend an agency, we can recommend the annual Adoption Guide published by Adoptive Families Magazine. Remember: - No one agency has "healthier" referrals than another
- Your agency should be able to give you adequate time to make a decision once you receive your referral. This is a huge, life-changing decision and you should be given adequate time to decide. Especially, the agency should be willing to wait for you to have an adoption medicine professional review the child’s health history.
- Find an established agency that has a good understanding of the government regulations of the referring country, has strong relationships with the authorities abroad, and that will be a good advocate for you while you are trying to collect information about your referred child.
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| List of diagnoses | We are happy to go over the checklist of diagnoses you received from your agency early in your adoption process. The service is called a preadoption consultation and can be done either via phone or in our offices. It takes about an hour. Email iac@umn.edu to set up the consultation. Suggested donation of $250 in exchange for the service. |
| Which country has the healthiest adoptable children? | There is no simple answer to this question. We have evaluated referrals from countries all over the world,. and we’ve seen referrals for both healthy children and those with special needs. A child's growth and development depends on many factors, including the care they received before adoption. Care differs from child to child, not country to country. Can you find a child in any country that will thrive under your love and care? The answer is yes. Choosing a country will be based on a number of factors, including your personal preferences, family situation and availability of adoptable children. |
| What age child should I adopt? | The sooner a child leaves an orphanage, the better. With a very young child, however, there is some risk that the child may have issues not possible to diagnose at an early age. The decision relies somewhat on the level of risk you are willing to assume, but the statistics that our staff have collected show that, by a large margin, parents who have the medical information reviewed by a medical professional (any medical professional) have higher satisfaction rates with the adoption (including the health of the child) than parents who don't. So, as long as you find a reliable professional to review the information, and you logically assess their opinion, you will gain a better understanding of the health risks of that child and will be able to decide whether you have the resources to provide what that child needs. |
| See also | Submissions FAQ | Technology FAQ | Clinic FAQ |
