Anyone familiar with La Vida International???Cambodia adoptions???

[Kimberly H]

BIG posting on the main ChinaAdopt board that Yuona is being prosecuted at the state and possible federal level. No confirmation yet, but interesting...

[Kimberly H]

Lauren, how about talking to a large multi-country agency like Holt International? They'll be able to tell you what countries you can qualify for and what the various options are for other cicumstances, for example, I'm too overweight for us to adopt from Korea.

I've seen LaVida pop up on the China adoption boards but not terribly often as I think a lot of folks tend to use China-only agencies like we did, except for a few such as Holt that have really excellent reputations.

When we began looking at China, we requested a packet from Holt and it covered the basics of all of the countries they worked with so that might be a good starting place.

[crl]

In additon to asking on adoption boards, you can check locally for references. In many places there are local Families with Children from China groups, I think there are similar groups for other countries. The members of those groups can be a good source of information about agencies.

Also, check with the state licensing agency for adoption agencies. In VA, MD, DC and MA (the states I checked with because they are where my China agency and my local agency are licensed) they will tell you whether there are any complaints against an agency you are considering. (Depending on the person on the other end of the phone, you may get a bit more than just the facts too. When I called MA, the person said, Oh, they are a really big agency and we NEVER get any complaints about them. And the person in VA managed to convey a positive impression without "endorsing" the agency.)

Hope that helps,

[momathome]

Unfortunately, I do not think this agency will work for us right now for a few reasons. The countries they deal with are China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. From what I have read, as of right now, Cambodia and Vietnam are closed for adoptions. As far as China goes, as I mentioned, I am too young at 26 to adopt from there. I am also somewhat interested in Korea but I need to find a local agency that deals with Korean adoptions. The search continues...
-Lauren

[crl]

Hi,

Korean agencies are limited--the Korean government has set this up. Depending on where you live, you may not be able to find a local agency that does Korean adoptions. But people frequently use an out of town or out of state agency and contract with a local social worker. Holt is an agency that does Korean adoptions--I have no personal experience with Holt, just a name I know.

Good luck,