Adoption Program in Colombia
Program Overview
Colombia is a Hague country with a proud heritage and a strong program of adoptions in place. The central authority in place to oversee adoptions is the Instituo Colombiano de Bienstar Familiar (ICBF), otherwise known as the Colombian Family Welfare Institute. It is a well-established and organized institution whose main purpose is to provide children the opportunity to be adopted by a loving and welcoming family. All adoptions must be approved by the ICBF; however, there are private licensing orphanages that are also able to process adoptions under the auspices of Colombia’s central authority.
Process of Adoption
Colombia is currently open for adoptions by U.S. citizens. Because Colombia is a Hague country, all of the services must adhere to Hague procedures. Families interested in adopting from Colombia must have a home study done. Once the home study is completed and all dossier documents are collected, Heartsent will assist families in submitting their dossier and application to ICBF. It usually takes about forty-five days after receipt of the dossier for ICBF to approve a family. At that point, applicants will wait for a child referral. The waiting time varies depending on the child request of the family. Those interested in adopting a waiting child can have timeframes as short as six months!
Families will travel to the capital city of Bogotá, where Heartsent’s attorney representatives meet them to assist with the completion of their adoption. Families will stay in Colombia for approximately 4-6 weeks, depending on the location of the child. Both parents (or one single) must travel to Colombia to pick up their child(ren); however, once the interview with the ICBF has taken place, one parent can then return to the U.S. The remaining parent will stay in Colombia throughout the entire legal process.
The Children
The ages of adoptable children range from infant to 14 years old. There are about 9,000 children waiting to be adopted. Healthy children are available for adoption as well as sibling groups and waiting children with minor to more serious special needs. Colombia’s children reside in government or private orphanages or foster programs.
Family Requirements
- It is preferred that couples be married 2 years or have a history of living together for some time to show stability within the household.
- Adopting families must be open to gender for this program, but a preference can be noted if they already have children in their home.
- Singles may apply to adopt children who are slightly older. Please call for details about your situation.
- Families who are older must be open to the adoption of older children (7 and up). The age of the child referred is dependent upon the age of the adopting parents. Families under the age of 38 have first choice of children 0-3 years of age. In general, the youngest children are offered to the youngest families. These age requirements do not apply to applicants adopting waiting children. For this program the only requirement is that they be over the age of 25.
- Adoptive families should have no criminal record in order to adopt from Colombia.
Costs
The basic fees for an adoption from Colombia are estimated to be $22,000. Total fees could range from $29,000 – $34,000. The costs can be lower when the family chooses to lodge in Residencias (guest houses) used by adopting families during their stay in Colombia.
A Community of Support
Families will be assisted throughout their entire adoption process. The staff at Heartsent is readily available to answer questions and support families during this time. When the time comes for adopting parents to travel, our lawyers in Colombia will escort them during their time in country. Adopting parents will receive custody of their child within a few days of arriving to Colombia, which will allow them and their child to start bonding before coming back to the U.S.
Adopting parents who choose to stay in Residencias will have the opportunity to connect with other adopting parents. This will be especially important for those couples for which one of the partners cannot stay in country the entire time.