The Process at a Glance
Get Started!
Apply to WHAL
Submit Contract
Meet Your Coordinator and Develop Your Personalized Adoption Care Plan
Begin Compiling Your Dossier
Submit Your Dossier For Approval
The dossier will then be translated into Polish and submitted to the Public Adoptive-Guardian Center
Once the Public Adoptive-Guardian Center grants permission to adopt in Poland, the Center identifies the child(ren) who meet the prospective adopting family’s criteria
Receive a referral including medical, family history and photos
Upon acceptance of a child referral, applicants will sign a child acceptance agreement
The overseas agency will be notified by Adoption Plus, Inc., and the required adoption documentation will be submitted to the appropriate Polish court
The family will travel to Poland for the completion of the legal process and to receive the child
Approximately three weeks total time necessary in Poland
Two trips to Poland may sometimes be necessary before all requirements are completed
We Celebrate TOGETHER the expansion of your FAMILY!
Process Overview for Adoption from Poland
Adoptive Parents apply to WHAL to be accepted into the Adoption Program. Click here to request an application!
Effective June 15, 2008 WHAL is pleased to announce a new cooperative program with Huminska's Anioly (HA), located in Woodstock, Georgia, to place children from Poland. Poland is located north of the Czeck Republic and Slovaia, south of Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, east of Germany and west of Belarus and the Ukraine. The county covers 120,726 square miles (about the size of New Mexico) and has a population of 28.6 million.
Children come into care because of overwhelmed parents or parents who could not care for them. Boys, girls and sibling groups of 2, 3, 4, and 5 up to the age of 16, children with correctable medical conditions, or health issues that typically will improve when the child is placed in an appropriate environment, are available for adoption. The wait time for a referral is between three and 24 months. A referral for sibling groups of three to five and one or two older children may arrive within eight to ten months.
The children reside in orphanages and foster family homes. There are nearly 16,000 children in these facilities. The children have very good care, are loved and are competently prepared to enter the public school system by age 7. The children are basically healthy and those who have been adopted have adjusted well to their adoptive families. Child's background information and medical history are available. The Huminska Anioly, Foreign and WHAL fees related to the adoption of a sibling group are the same as for the adoption of a single child.
Eligibility
Eligible couples should be married for three years. There should be no more than about 40 years between the age of parent(s) and child. Single women are eligible to adopt children 10 years of age or older. Divorced persons are eligible to adopt. Parents should demonstrate a vibrant and healthy lifestyle.
The Adoption Process
As with all international adoptions, an approved home study, clearance from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the completion of a foreign dossier is required. After the dossier is submitted, a referral of a specific child from Poland, including photos and some medical information is provided. If the parents are interested in the child/sibling group presented to them, they submit a list of
questions. After the questions are answered, the parents make a decision to adopt or not.
Travel
Two trips to Poland for both parents (if applicable) are required. The first trip occurs between three weeks and three months after the initial referral acceptance and lasts two to three weeks. During the first trip, the prospective adoptive parents meet their foreign attorney and their child/sibling group. During the first trip, the adoptive parents visit with the child(ren) and spend each day with the child(ren). Sometimes the children stay with the parents the entire time; other judges prefer
the child are returned to the orphanage each night. After spending about two weeks with their child(ren), the parents adopt the child(ren) in family court. The adoption is finalized and legal within 21 days. A second trip to Poland four to five weeks later is required to obtain the child(ren)'s passports and visas, The duration of the second trip is five to seven business days. Poland requires three Post Placement reports over a period of two years.
With Hope and Love
Adoption Agency, Inc.
Specializing in Forever Families
Contact Us: (732) 688-7978 or info@whaladoption.org
