Request Information Where do we start? An Intro to KidsFirst Special Children Funds Available KidsFirst Foundation
KidsFirst Adoption Services, LLC.
KidsFirst International Adoption, Inc.
9135 North Meridian St., Suite B-4
Indianapolis, IN 46260
Phone: (317) 843-2300
Email: info@kidsfirstadoption.com
>  International Adoption Process
>  Domestic Adoption Process
There are essentially five steps to completing an international adoption. They are as follows:
1.   Applying for Approval to Adopt a Foreign Orphan from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) which is a Federal agency. You do this by submitting an I-600A form and fingerprint cards to the BCIS. You may obtain this form from us, through the BCIS form request line at 1-800-870-3676 or from the BCIS website: click here. This is critical to completion of your international adoption. The I-600A application requires the completion of a homestudy and the fingerprinting of all members of a household over 18 years of age. To expedite the BCIS approval, you should submit your application as early as possible, even if you have not completed a homestudy, because the filing of the application will enable BCIS to set a date for fingerprinting. Then, upon the submission of the completed homestudy, BCIS will already have a completed file and, assuming the BCIS is satisfied your application, they will be able to issue your approval in the form of an I-171H. There is usually a sixty to ninety day turnaround time for receiving your BCIS approval (depending on how long it takes to complete the homestudy and how fast your BCIS office processes applications), during which you may proceed with the completion of the Dossier, as described in Paragraph 3 below. Once you have received approval, a cable is sent to the American Embassy in the country of your choosing. Should you decide to work with KidsFirst Adoption Services, the Embassy identified would be in Moscow, Russia for a Russian adoption, Almaty, Kazakhstan for a Kazakh adoption, Guangzhou, Guandong Province for a China adoption and Guatemala City, Guatemala for a Guatemala adoption. Your BCIS approval is valid for 18 months and your fingerprints for 15 months. After 15 months, your fingerprints must be taken again. We are happy to walk you through the completion of your I-600A so you can submit it as early as possible.
2. Completion of an International Homestudy by KidsFirst Adoption Services or another licensed social worker and/or a licensed home study agency. Your final BCIS approval is contingent upon the recommendation for approval by your home study agent. In some states, including Indiana, you are allowed to file your I-600A prior to or during your home study process. In others, you cannot file for BCIS approval until your home study has been completed. Your social worker should be able to advise you of your state’s policy regarding this. The homestudy is valid for 12 months, although an update may be necessary if circumstances change prior to your adoption.
3. Completion of a Dossier. Once you have applied to our agency you will be given a Dossier packet. Your dossier consists of all documents necessary to process your adoption in the country of origin. We will go over the preparation of your Dossier in detail. These documents require authentication through notarization, and certification (for China and Ethiopia) or apostilling (for Russia and Kazakhstan). In some states, the certification or apostilling may require certification at a county level first. Our staff is available to answer any questions you may have regarding your dossier. The time frame of completion of the dossier is up to you; however, your child referral cannot begin until it is completed and in our office. For our Indiana families, we will schedule an appointment to finalize your Dossier at which you will sign your documents in front of us, and we will notarize them, apostille or certify them and submit them to the proper country.
4. Child Referral. Once your dossier is complete and you have received notification of your BCIS approval, you are ready for child referral. The first step in child referral is clarifying your child preference. It is important that you are honest with yourselves and your caseworker in identifying the child you would like to adopt. It will be helpful to take an inventory of what you are hoping for in your child and prioritize the most important characteristics, i.e., sex, age, health status. Although we try to honor, as much as is reasonable, your preferences, please be advised if your list of criteria is too long and restrictive, you may significantly narrow your options for referral.

Once you have clarified your child preference, you may receive a referral within as short a time as a couple weeks, up to 6 – 8 months, depending on your child preference and the country you hope to adopt from. Your referral comes in the form of a medical abstract, a picture or pictures and a video when available. Medical abstracts are faxed to you immediately and pictures and/or videos are sent to you by overnight mail. Medicals usually include birth information: weight, height, head and chest circumference, Apgar scores, information about the reason for availability, medical diagnosis and updated measurements. Information regarding birth parents is minimal, if available at all.

KidsFirst Adoption Services would like you to make the most informed decision possible in accepting your child. We advise our families to consult with their pediatrician and a physician familiar with children who have been raised in institutional settings. We provide a list of international consultants known for their expertise in this arena. They are independent practitioners, not connected with our agency, and therefore neutral parties to the decision making process.

There are several avenues to gathering additional information regarding your child and clarifying any questions your consultants may have. You will communicate your questions through your caseworker. Answers are generally obtained within a week. If necessary, conference calls can be arranged between your consultant and the orphanage physician, facilitator or lawyer. This does depend on the phone system/access in each territory.
5. Acceptance of Referral/Travel. Once you have accepted a child, your dossier is sent to the applicable country and a court date is scheduled for you. Your travel dates are scheduled around your court appearance. For Russia, you can expect to travel within two to four weeks of acceptance, but you will need to make 2 trips to finalize your adoption. If you are adopting as a couple, for the first trip, generally one parent can travel alone with the power of attorney of the other. For the second trip, both parents must travel. All families will arrive in Moscow. The first trip will be from 5 to 8 days in length. The second trip will generally be around 7 - 8 days in length. There is a required 10-day waiting period in all the territories, however, with the exception of one territory, the waiting period has been consistently waived. For Kazakhstan, you can only travel after your Dossier has been released by the Kazakh consulate. All families will arrive in Almaty. The trip can be from 17 – 30+ days in length. We can assist with travel arrangements from the United States to Moscow or Almaty. For China, you can expect to travel within approximately 6 weeks of being matched with a child. Your trip will be approximately 10 days in length. For Ethiopia, you will receive a referral within three to five months for a boy, or six to nine months for a girl, after your dossier is approved by Ethiopia's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. You will travel approximately two to five months after you accept a referral and the stay in Ethiopia is approximately one week in length.

For Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Guatemala, most families will travel with two or more other couples. You will be assigned to a coordinator who meets you in Moscow, Almaty or Beijing. For Russia and Kazakhstan, the coordinator travels with you to your child’s orphanage. For China, the children are brought to you in the Provincial Capital for the region in which the child’s orphanage is located. The coordinators arrange for you to be met at the airport, arrange your in-country travel and accommodations, your translation, walk you through the legal and adoption process, troubleshoot, problem solve, manage your schedule and, in general, are there to insure your adoption occurs in a safe, efficient, culturally sensitive manner.
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There are essentially five steps to completing a domestic adoption of a newborn or infant. They are as follows:
1.   Agency Consultation. You will meet with our Agency director and staff to learn about our programs and determine what program is the best for your family. You will learn about the options of open, semi-open, and confidential adoptions, begin to formulate your adoption plan, and begin to understand your role in the adoption process.
2.   Agency application and completion of a Homestudy by KidsFirst Adoption Services or another licensed social worker and/or a licensed home study agency. Your final agency approval is contingent upon the recommendation for approval by your home study agent. Your social worker should be able to advise you of your state’s policies regarding approval. You will also complete your education regarding birth family issues, adoptee issues, and adoptive parenting.
3.   Completion of a Dossier. Once you have applied to our agency you will be given a Dossier packet. Your dossier consists of all documents necessary to process your adoption and best present yourself to potential birth mothers. We will go over the preparation of your Dossier in detail, and our staff is available to answer any questions you may have regarding your dossier. The time frame of completion of the dossier is up to you; however, your child referral cannot begin until it is completed and in our office. For our Indiana or Kentucky families, we will schedule an appointment to finalize your Dossier. All dossier packets will be presented to birth mothers in a standard format, bringing your personalities and qualities into focus.
4.   Matching. Once your home study is approved and your dossier is complete, you are ready to be matched with a potential birth mother. The first step in the matching process is clarifying your child preference. It is important that you are honest with yourselves and your caseworker in identifying the child you would like to adopt. It will be helpful to take an inventory of what you are hoping for in your child and prioritize the most important characteristics, i.e., social or health status of the birth mother, race, etc. Although we try to reasonably honor your preferences, please be advised if your list of criteria is too long and restrictive, you may significantly narrow your options for referral. There needs to be a mutual level of comfort between the birth family and the adoptive family.

You should also clarify with your caseworker your preferences concerning open, semi-open, or confidential adoption. In a fully open adoption, identifying information is fully disclosed and contact between the birth family and adoptive family is frequent and continuous, depending on the agreement between the families. In a confidential adoption, all identifying information is confidential and there is no contact between the birth family and the adoptive family. A semi-open adoption falls somewhere along the continuum, often allowing for an initial meeting between birth and adoptive families and occasional correspondence through the agency of pictures and information. The families and the birth mothers have the freedom to determine the level of openness in the adoption, and you will only be matched with a birth mother whose preferences match your own. It is important to note that many birth mothers will prefer open adoption, as it is often considered a healthy choice for her. Please consider the well-being of all members of the adoption triad when making this plan. Whatever you choose, an honest and fair agreement made early in the relationship is the best choice for everyone.

Once you have clarified your child preference, the length of time until you are matched will vary from family to family. There is no way to predict the length of time you will wait until you are matched, and it will be different for each family. Your referral comes in the form of a medical abstract of the birth mother, prenatal information, a picture or pictures, and a meeting with the birth mother when appropriate. KidsFirst Adoption Services would like you to make the most informed decision possible in moving forward with a birth parent match. We encourage you to present the information you receive to an independent doctor to help you evaluate the referral.

There are several avenues to gathering additional information regarding your potential child and clarifying any questions your consultants may have. You will communicate your questions through your caseworker. Most answers can generally be obtained within a week. If necessary, conference calls can be arranged between your consultant and the prenatal doctor or other professionals involved. This depends on the cooperation of these service providers.
5.   The Birth. Once you have accepted a match, you will begin your relationship with the birth family. In some cases, financial support of the birth mother is necessary, and this will be determined on a case by case basis. You wait will be based on the birth mother’s due date. You may begin preparations to travel, based on her location. You may be invited to the hospital for the birth or you may be asked to refrain from visiting the hospital, depending on the birth mother’s wishes. The birth mother is making a life-long decision and all parties involved must be supportive during this difficult time. KidsFirst will have staff available to both the adoptive parent and the birth mother at the time of birth.

You must remember that no child belongs to you until the final papers are signed. This is very difficult to understand, as you will likely feel connected to the birth mother and of course to the child you perceive as yours throughout this process. While KidsFirst will do all we can to ensure that a birth mother does not proceed with an adoption plan unless she is certain, things can change once the child is born. Nationally, approximately 20% of birth mothers change their minds after the birth of the child. The birth mother has a minimum of 48 hours after the birth before she makes her final decision. Once the decision is made, it is final and cannot be revoked. It is in the best interests of your family that the birth mother makes the best decision for her and her child.

Once the birth mother signs the relinquishment papers, you will complete your adoption petition to the court. At that point, the child will be legally and officially yours forever.

KidsFirst staff will work to guide you through the complexities surrounding the birth of the child. We will ensure your adoption is carried out in a safe, efficient, and sensitive manner. We are committed to working with our families until adoption is complete, striving to minimize anxiety in the process.
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