Journeys of the Heart is pleased to announce a program in Bulgaria, a country in Eastern Europe, where approximately 10,000 orphans live out their lives in orphanages.  JOH has partnered with a non-profit  Bulgarian agency, New Beginning Association, that is accredited by the Ministry of Justice in Bulgaria. (http://bulgaria.usembassy.gov/adoptagency.html).  Bulgaria has ratified the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption and is thereby  supervised by a Central Authority.

The children available from Bulgaria are toddlers and older children. Families wishing to adopt a younger and healthy child will be able to adopt a child who will be around 20-24 months of age when the adoption is final. 

Families who wish to adopt special needs children, which range from minor to more serious, will be put on a “fast track” process that will take approximately six months.  Fees are less for special needs children. Waiting children are listed on our website under a password. If you would like to learn more about them, please contact Gabriel and request a password.

Eligibility

· A home study that approves the family to adopt

· USCIS I-800A approval

· Single women must be 25 years or older (single men cannot adopt)

Since Bulgaria adoptions are “Hague adoptions”, families wishing to adopt from Bulgaria must complete a home study and obtain the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) approval of the their I-800A application before they can be matched with a child. As in all “Hague” adoptions, families wishing to adopt from a Hague country should start the home study as soon as possible. Journeys of the Heart is approved to complete “Hague” home studies in the states of Oregon, Washington, and Illinois. Journeys of the Heart can place children from Bulgaria with families in all states.

Dossier requirements are straight forward. Once the dossier is completed (home study, CIS I-800A approval, and other documents) and submitted by Journeys of the Heart to Bulgaria, the family will wait between 24 and 36 months to be matched with a healthy child. The time between being matched and finalizing the adoption in Bulgaria will take about four months. Two trips are required. During the first trip adopting parents will travel to the orphanage and meet their child, staying approximately five-seven days in country.  The second trip of seven-ten days, is two-three months later, after the legal process is complete and culminates in the interview at the US Consulate in Sofia to obtain the child’s Visa.

Both parents must travel to Bulgaria during the first trip. Only one parent need travel for the second trip, or parents can request their child to be escorted by one of Journeys’ staff to the US.

The children may have developmental delays due to institutionalization.  Children with special needs range from minor to more serious.  Families can request a range of specific medical issues. Referral information will consist of a photo and a detailed medical report including tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and tuberculosis.