Traditional vs. Waiting Child

Here is your adoption informational lesson of the day...

In international adoption, there are two paths to bringing home your child. They are typically referred to as "traditional" and "waiting child." Here is a brief, very basic overview of each. (This is basically what happens in most countries, but referral times and travel looks different, so this is written about Bulgaria only.)

Traditional Referral

This is the path we are on. 

The traditional route begins with paperwork and ends with being "matched" by receiving a referral for a child. All of the paperwork is done up front with specific parameters for your future child. These parameters include gender, age range, and any special needs. This paperwork sits in an office in Bulgaria until the branch of the government responsible for adoptions looks at it. This is what we refer to as the "waiting list." (We are currently on the waiting list in Bulgaria. All of our information is there; it is now just a matter of time before our information is reviewed and we are matched with a child who is within our parameters.) When your time comes, the government branch will make a match.

Your agency will then receive your referral information and pass it on to you. At this point, you can accept or deny the referral. (There is a lot that goes into this, often including a medical review by an international pediatrician, so let's just assume that the referral is accepted since that is what is typically going to happen.) This is when you get to make travel arrangements. For Bulgaria, you travel once to meet your little one and then you return home without him/her/them (cue: loads of tears) for more paperwork and for the court process to take place in Bulgaria. Once your case has passed court, you return to pick up your newest family member and return home. The time between trips in Bulgaria is typically 3-5 months, oh my heart.

Waiting child

You can think of this as almost the opposite of the traditional path. 

A "waiting child" is a sweet one who is on a "waiting children" list, typically with an agency but there are several organizations that have these lists. Often, these kids have more serious special needs, are older, or are sibling groups, but that is not always the case and it's not nearly that cut and dried. 

If you find your child on one of these lists, all of your paperwork is done to adopt that child. So, instead of finding out at the end of the process who your child is, you know from the beginning. This process goes faster than a traditional path because you aren't waiting for a referral. The time between trips doesn't change, but the overall timeline is shorter than the traditional way. 

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There is not one path better than another and it is an extremely personal decision as to which path you take. Many, many people start out on the traditional path then fall in love with a waiting child and switch. That's very common. The beauty of this adoption thing is that it's family by God's design and He has come up with a whole lotta ways to make a family. 

Thanks for taking the time to share in this with us and learn more about adoption. 

xoxo