Tell me about the children from Lithuania.

Children from Lithuania range in age from 3 years old and up. Adoptive parents may specify the age and gender of child they would like to adopt. The children are Caucasian, and most are of Lithuanian or Russian background. There is a waiting list for healthy, younger children. Adopting more than one child at a time is possible since many sibling groups are available, particularly if you are flexible with age and gender.

Adoptive Parent Eligibility

Lithuania will accept both married couples and single women as adoptive parents. Adoptive parents may not be older than 50 years old at the time of the adoption in Lithuania. Single should expect a longer wait than married couples, as Lithuania gives preference to married couples. Lithuania gives preference to families with documented Lithuanian heritage.

Process

Once we obtain your home study, immigration approval, and receive all dossier documentation, your dossier can be authenticated. After authentication your completed dossier will be sent abroad to our in-country facilitator for translation and then submitted to the foreign authorities. Our in-country facilitator is a trained psychologist who has been working in inter-country adoption since 1995.

The central authority in Lithuania responsible for inter-country adoptions is the Adoption Service under the Ministry of Social Security and Labor. Once your dossier is reviewed and considered complete by the Ministry, they will register you on the list of waiting families. The length of time to receive a referral will depend upon the age and gender of the child desired and the availability of children at the current time.

Families who are not of Lithuanian heritage applying to adopt younger, healthier children should be prepared for at least a two - year wait. Families will receive the referral of a child prior to their first trip, including medical and social history information and a photo. Clients then make two trips-to meet their child, petition the court for adoption of the child, and to pick up the child after the court order goes into effect after 40 days. The bi-lingual foreign representative will accompany you during the entire process abroad and will handle all your legal paperwork.

After completion of the adoption in Lithuanian court, families travel to Warsaw, Poland, to complete the US Embassy portion of the adoption process before returning home.