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PolandProgram: Effective June 1, 2008 Lifelink 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. Sixty-five percent of the children available for adoption reside in orphanages and thirty-five percent reside in foster care.
 Available Children: Boys, girls and sibling groups 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. Generally, sibling groups are healthier. The Huminska Anioly, Foreign and Lifelink 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.
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. 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. There are three Post Placement reports required over a two year period.
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