Every child deserves a family.
In the United States and around the world there are infants and children waiting for the love and stability of an adoptive family. Spence-Chapin offers a number of adoption pathways, including our Waiting Children Program. The children in the Waiting Children Program are in immediate and urgent need of an adoptive family. They may have substantial special needs, higher ages , or be part of sibling groups, and the Waiting Child Program provides an avenue through which adoption agencies like Spence-Chapin can advocate for each child individually to their networks of prospective adoptive families and partner organizations to find eligible, perfect families for each child.  The Waiting Children Program offers the opportunity for prospective adoptive families to inquire about a specific child and take next steps with Spence-Chapin social workers to evaluate if it is the right fit for the family and the child. To receive updates on the Waiting Children Program, please subscribe to our newsletter. Learn more about how Spence-Chapin advocates for children in our Waiting Child Program.Â
Spence-Chapin is currently accepting applications from families who are open to adopting a child residing in the United States with significant medical needs. View our Special Needs Adoption page to learn more about the Special Needs Adoption Program, which waives all professional views for adoptive families, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. In order to be considered, complete our free pre-application and send us a copy of your current homestudy (completed within the last 12 months) conducted by a licensed adoption organization.Â
Don’t have a homestudy completed yet and reside in New York, New Jersey, or Arizona? Spence-Chapin’s expert team of professionals is ready to help you start your adoption journey!  Â
Read our Domestic Special Needs FAQ on the blog.
We regularly receive information from our international partners about children who are in need of immediate adoption. We are able to share the profiles of children who are considered to be the most in need and are waiting internationally to be matched with an adoptive family. Children who are considered part of the Waiting Children Program’ generally have multi-faceted characteristics and needs which exceed the common characteristics and needs of children otherwise placed through our other pathways in our International Adoption Programs. The children featured in this program have been waiting the longest to find families and consist of children who are older, part of a sibling group, or children with a diagnosed medical condition. Â
If you receive and accept a referral of an international waiting child through Spence-Chapin, you will be eligible to apply for the BriDen Adoption Fund which is made possible by a Spence-Chapin family. To learn more about this and other financial resources that may be available, please speak to a member of our team. Visit our International Adoption page to learn more about our international programs.
Spence-Chapin advocates for children who are in immediate and urgent need of an adoptive family through our Waiting Children Program. Children in The Waiting Children Program are not the only children placed through our Domestic and International Adoption Programs. Contact us at [email protected] or visit our How to Adopt page to learn more about all of our adoption pathways. We encourage you to learn more about our Waiting Children Program and how we advocate for the children in the program.
Spence-Chapin takes the privacy rights of the children whom we are seeking to place very seriously. We don’t publicly use a child’s photo unless we have permission from their guardian. We are happy to share photos and videos of these children to families who email us about international adoption. These images may not be released, copied or distributed in any form. Impermissible disclosure of the images may result in legal action.
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