ADOPT A CHILD FROM HONDURAS
Children’s Hope works with the Honduran government welfare agency, DINAF (the Dirección de Niñez, Adolescencia y Familia). DINAF Guidelines for Ages of Couple & Single Parents:
Children’s Hope works with the Honduran government welfare agency, DINAF (the Dirección de Niñez, Adolescencia y Familia). DINAF Guidelines for Ages of Couple & Single Parents:
Heterosexual Couples 25 to 60. At least one of the spouses must be 25 or older; the other may be younger. Single women 25 to 60.
For All Families:
For a single child 0-4, the wait is approximately 5 years.
For a single child 5-11, the wait is approximately 2-3 years.
For 2 siblings 0-7, the wait is approximately 2-4 years.
For 3 or more siblings or children 11 and older, the wait is 6-8 months.
You must complete the 3 year marriage requirement before submitting your dossier.
All adoptive parents of Honduran Children must be 25 years old or older when the dossier is submitted. There must be a minimum 15 year age difference between adoptive parents and adopted children per Honduran law.
Previous divorces will be considered, with the current marriage of sufficient length to show that this marriage is stable. The home study will include in-depth information on any counseling, classes, groups attended, etc., that show growth and change in this area.
DINAF prefers the adoptive parents to be in good health, but they have not established specific parameters for those who may not adopt. In general, they should not have degenerative or infectious diseases, but some health problems are acceptable. With respect to disabilities, these may be accepted in an adoptive couple if the other spouse is in good health.
If you fall into one of the above categories, it would be good to call or e-mail us and let us know the specifics of your situation so we can tell you what our experience has been with people in similar situations.
The US Immigration form used in Honduran adoptions is the I-600, since Honduras is not yet a party to the Hague Convention. This simplifies the process. The family files the I-600a here in the US and receives a “pre-approval” and then the child’s information is taken to the US Embassy in Honduras, where the I-600 is filed, completing the process to receive the child’s visa to enter the US.
Families usually travel within 2-4 weeks after receiving the child information and accepting the referral.
5-6 full days minimum for the 1st trip, which includes interviews with psychologists and social workers. If the child is not from Tegucigalpa, the family will travel to the city the child lives in to meet and spend some time with him or her. Approximately 2-4 months later, the family will return to Honduras for a stay of approximately 6 weeks to complete the adoption. Once the family signs the final paperwork at DINAF, the child, having been brought to Tegucigalpa if not from there originally, will be placed with them permanently. Only one parent need remain in Honduras with the child after the paperwork is signed; the other is free to return to the US.
We take all necessary precautions to safeguard our adoptive families and children. We make sure families are met at the airport and all appointments necessary for the adoption are scheduled by our in-country staff and families are escorted to them. When you adopt a child from Honduras, we want to make it a totally positive experience.
The cost for our Honduras adoption program is approximately $30,500 not including homestudy & post-adopt fees (which varies). This amount does include all travel and your room & board and expenses in Honduras. About half of the total amount is paid within the first six months. The remainder is paid when you travel to Honduras. If you adopt more than one child, there will be additional expenses of approximately $3800 (including room and board while in Honduras, out of pocket expenses such as visa, passport, public writ, etc.) Child’s airfare home is not included in this amount since it varies widely due to the age of the child adopted.
All of the children placed through the government agency have an abandonment decree or consent to adopt from the birthparent.
Abandonment: There are true abandonment situations in which the necessary proceedings have taken place to locate the child’s parents but they were not found. However, children may enter the care of an orphanage or a foster family due to a variety of reasons: economic or social pressures, neglect or abuse. About 80% of the children have abandonment decrees.
Consent: The birthmother or biological parents have given their formal consent for their child to be adopted either before DINAF, the Family Court, or the US Embassy. Approximately 20% of the children to be adopted have birthparent consents.
The majority of the children are Hispanic, but some may also have characteristics from other races.
Children in the adoption process are placed in foster families or in Civil Society Protection Centers. DINAF does not have orphanages under their direct control, although they do pay for the care of the children whether in an orphanage or in foster care. Children in foster care may have been previously in an orphanage. Children have reported good experiences in both types of care.
Our representative/attorney in Honduras coordinates all Children’s Hope adoptions in the country. She will make reservations for hotels, appointments with DINAF and the courts, and will stay on top of all details about when you receive your child, how the case is going in court and when the final decree will be issued. Our staff will escort all families to each adoption-required appointment. Once the final decree is issued, all families will complete the adoption in Tegucigalpa (Embassy-required medical exam, passport, US visa, etc.)
For the 1st trip, most adoptive families choose to stay in a hotel such as the Marriott, Intercontinental or Clarion, which costs appropriately $95 to $100/night. When the family returns for their second trip, they have the option to stay at a smaller hotel in Tegucigalpa that has apartments, and which costs approximately $60/night. This smaller hotel is very close to DINAF, the Supreme Court of Justice, malls and supermarkets.
To adopt a child from Honduras, the Honduran government considers the following to be children with special needs, and therefore families wishing to adopt them receive priority on the waiting list:
The wait to assignment of a special needs child is approximately 6-8 months.
Approximate Cost of Adoption not including travel (Sibling groups require extra fees) $17,650.00
Approximate Total Cost for 2 adults adopting one child . $30,850
FEES WILL BE PAYABLE ONLY AS SERVICES ARE RENDERED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF POST ADOPTION FEES. NO FEES ARE REFUNDABLE AFTER SERVICES ARE RENDERED.
Other costs will include:
*Payment Schedule (Fees are payable by check made payable to Children’s Hope International or by credit card):
Payment #1 $400 upon application to CHI (CHI fee)
Payment #2 $2,200 upon agency approval of application (CHI fee)
Payment #3 $7,000 upon submission of dossier to CHI ($3500 dossier ee +$3000 International program fee +$500 Humanitarian Aid)
Payment #4 $7,5500 upon identification and approval of a child ($1000 post adoption support fee + $500 refundable post-adoption deposit +$5000 program fee #2 +$3150 post adoption translation and authentication +$400 translation)
E-mail: Nicky.Losse@ChildrensHope.net
Pictures on this page are used by permission. Children pictured are not available for adoption.
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