Adoption Related Services, Inc. is accepting applications for individuals and couples who wish to adopt from Lativa.
International Adoption From Latvia
Latvia is a Hague Country and any adoption from Latvia must comply with the convention.
Central Authority: The Ministry for Children, Family and Integration Affairs (MCFIA) in Riga is the central child adoption authority in Latvia. Adoption Related Services, Inc. is working through the Central Authority in Latvia and with a experienced adoption associates to help families adopt Latvian children.
Children Available For Adoption
- Families who adopt a child from Latvia must be prepared to adopt children that are older. These children are usually between the ages of nine and fifteen at the time of referral.
- Younger children (under 9) will be a part of a sibling group or have special needs
- Latvian children are Caucasian. Both boys and girls are available for adoption
- Parents can choose gender
- Families will receive background information for the child they wish to adopt.
- Children are tested for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis before being adopted.
- The children are from orphanages. Parents must be prepared to parent children from an orphanage and children who were removed from their families.
Who Can Adopt?
- Married couples or single, females.
- Must be over twenty-five years of age and at least eighteen years older than the child.
- Older parent(s) may adopt
- Prospective adoptive parents must demonstrate they have the means to care for the physical, mental, subsistence and education of a child under eighteen years of age
Length of the Adoption Process
and Travel Requirements
- There are several phases to an adoption from Latvia. You must have a completed home study by a Hague Accredited Home study agency in your home state. This takes about two to three months to complete. You must complete a set of documents that is presented in your behalf to the Central Authority and courts in Latvia. This is called a dossier. A dossier will take about two to three months to assemble. Adoption Related Services’ Dossier Coordinator will offer you excellent dossier assistance. Once the dossier is submitted to the country it is translated. Then the process begins.
- Three trips are required to complete your adoption. The first trip is 10-14 days long, but may be shorter if you have hosted your child previously in the United States through a hosting program. This trip occurs about three months after your completed dossier arrives in Latvia (this includes CIS approval). Both parents must travel on the first trip. The second trip occurs about two months later and only one parent has to travel; your child has to travel on this trip only if they are age 12 or older; the third trip occurs about six to eight weeks later. One adoptive parent and the child (regardless of age) must travel on the final trip. Trips two and three are typically three to five days long.
- It is important to know that you may request guardianship of your child and bring them home with you after your first trip, if guardianship is granted. You must show that your child will be cared for and schooled while in your care. A post placement report must be completed by your home study agency during trips one and two if guardianship is granted.
Adoption Related Services, Inc. is now accepting applications for Latvian adoptions!
For more information about adopting from Latvia, contact us at 717-227-9560.