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International Adoptions -
About Lithuanian Adoption
Since September of 2005, Our Children's Homestead has been accredited with the country of Lithuania. Our Children's Homestead is proud to be one of only six agencies in the United States that have this accreditation.
Alma Zukauskaite has been OCH’s Lithuanian Adoption Coordinator for over a year now, and the program continues to grow. Zukauskaite was born in Lithuania and received her master’s degree in education. She served as a public servant of the Lithuania Republic and worked in the Child Rights Protection Service with foster care and adoption. Zukauskaite has been apart of four successful adoptions this year.
The adoption bureau stressed that they don’t want these children to grow up and not understand the importance of where they came from and the rich history and heritage, and with Zukauskaite on our team, OCH will make sure this happens.
One of Zukauskaite’s main goals for the summer is creating an awareness within the community of adopting special needs children from Lithuania. Special needs refers to children who have one or more of the following things; older than six years of age, are part of a sibling group containing three or more children, and/or have medical, physical, or psychological concerns. There are many children whose lives need to change and the adoption process can take place in as little as eight months to a year. Children without special needs can take longer to adopt. We hope everyone in the community can help us in bringing to light the difficult situation these children face in this foreign land.
To learn more about Lithuanian adoption, please contact Alma Zukauskaite -- azukauskaite@ourchildrenshomestead.org
Accreditation
About Filipino Adoption
The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,100 islands and approximately 86 million people predominantly of the Catholic faith. There are many orphanages throughout the islands that consist of children who have special needs and are eligible for adoption. Special needs describes a multitude of conditions that fall in the range of medical and psychological concerns. Children who are over the age of two as well as sibling who the orphanages want to keep intact are also considered special needs.
I visited three orphanages during my visit to the Philippines and observed many children, most with special needs, that need loving families to care for them,” said OCH Board Member John Forbes.
OCH is collaborating with Chicagoland Filipino-American communities to assist Filipino orphanages in finding adoptive homes for these children with special needs.
How To Begin
Adopting a Filipino child can take as little as 1 to 1 ˝ years to complete. This can be dependent on the following factors.
- Attending an informational meeting (held monthly)
- Finalizing application and obtaining necessary forms/documentation (i.e. marriage license, birth certificate, tax returns, etc.)
- Completion of home study (to be done by OCH staff)
- Identification of a child eligible for adoption by your family
Who—Filipino Americans are given high priority with identifying a childe eligible for adoption, however all nationalities are encouraged to adopt.
Marital Status—If applying as a married couple the couple should be legally married a minimum of three years. Single applicants may apply, however, they will have a low priority with matching unless applying for a child with special needs.
Age—The applicant must be at least 27 years old at the time of application and under the age of 42 unless adopting a child with special needs.
Religious Affiliation—Having an active Christian faith is strongly encouraged when applying for adoption.
Costs Associated
The cost to adopt from the Philippines is less expensive than in most countries. The Philippines requires only one adoptive parent to travel to the country for four days and all other follow-up paperwork can be completed in the United States in comparison to a country such as China, which requires both adoptive parents to visit for up to two weeks.
The average cost of adopting a child from the Philippines is approximately $10,000 (excluding travel costs). One resource available to help adoptive parents bring a child home is a considerable tax benefit.
To learn more about Filipino adoption, please contact
Cynthia Jasionowski -- cjasionowski@ourchildrenshomestead.org
Our Children’s Homestead is a Hague and COA Accredited Agency. We are available as a Supervised Service Provider to other agencies. We have extensive experience in completing Home Studies, as well as providing Post-Adoption Services. Please get in touch with Cynthia Jasionowski - cjasionowski@ourchildrenshomestead.org for further Information.
Domestic Adoptions –
Our professional staff will work with your private attorney to conduct home studies and post placement visits to the child and family in regards to domestic adoptions as well. Our professional staff can make sure that after adopting a child both the child and family are flourishing under the new conditions by receiving aftercare visits and obtaining any necessary therapy and medical appointments.