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For more than 25 years, Spence-Chapin has been connecting children in Bulgaria in need of adoption to incredible families throughout the United States. Our Bulgaria Adoption Program is focused on finding families for toddlers, pre-school age, and school-age children with special needs. There are also siblings in need of adoption.
Bulgaria is a Hague Convention Country. We work with the Central Authority in Bulgaria that is responsible for all intercountry adoption matters, the Ministry of Justice. Spence-Chapin’s foreign supervised provider in Bulgaria is ANIDO.
Please visit our waiting child page to learn more about waiting children in Bulgaria.
Read about new adoption pathways for families in Bulgaria.
Interested in a different country? We also have international adoption programs in Colombia and South Africa. If you would like to adopt from a country other than the three we currently work with, we can do your international home study to get your process started!
There are thousands of children with special needs in Bulgaria waiting for a permanent family to love them. In Bulgaria, there are children of all ages in need of families, as well as sibling groups and children living with identified needs ranging from minor/correctable to lifelong. We work with our partners in Bulgaria to identify children who are in need of immediate adoption. Families pursuing adoption from Bulgaria may apply to adopt a pre-identified Waiting Child or to be matched with a child through traditional registration of their dossier in Bulgaria, based on eligibility and openness around age and medical needs.
Please visit our waiting child page to learn more about waiting children in Bulgaria
Special Characteristics: All children placed through this program have special needs. The following needs have been identified by our foreign supervised provider as the most common needs of children waiting for adoption from Bulgaria: unpredictable or unknown developmental delay, behavioral and learning disorders, intellectual and physical disabilities, fetal alcohol syndrome, blindness, autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome
Predicted wait time to be matched with a child: Approximately 24-36 months after dossier submission.
Travel: In order to complete the adoption process, families will be required to make two (2) trips to Bulgaria of approximately 1-2 weeks each in length. The second trip may only require one parent to travel.
*There is no wait time to be matched for families pursuing the adoption of a waiting child. Families pursuing the adoption of a waiting child can anticipate the entire process to take 12-18 months. Families seeking to adopt a specific waiting child should be previously home studied or be willing to undergo additional pre-screening before entering the program since dossier submission must occur within 6 months of submitting a letter of intent to adopt a specific waiting child.
Read program updates and stories about Spence-Chapin families adopting from Bulgaria on our blog.
Visit our waiting child page to learn more about children currently awaiting their forever families.
Explore special needs resources for an adoption from Bulgaria.
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