Spence-Chapin’s mission is driven by a fundamental belief that all children deserve a forever family. Since 1995, Spence-Chapin has been finding permanent, loving adoptive families for children in Bulgaria.  Spence-Chapin partners with ANIDO, a highly reputable non-governmental organization licensed by the Ministry of Justice, Bulgaria’s central authority for adoption. Spence-Chapin is a Hague accredited agency with over 40 years of experience in international adoption and we continue to seek families living anywhere in the United States who are drawn to Bulgaria as the country to build their families and who will embrace the process of incorporating Bulgarian culture into the life of their family going forward.

Children in Bulgaria ages 0-9

In July of 2017, the Bulgaria Adoption Program seeks to find families for children in Bulgaria ages 0-9. There are thousands of young and school-aged children, sibling groups, and children with special needs in Bulgaria who are waiting for international adoption. The children are typically cared for in state-run institutions, small group homes or foster care. Children reflect the full range of ethnicities in Bulgaria and are primarily of Roma or Turkish descent. As ethnic minorities within the country, these children are more vulnerable to factors that leave them in need of a family.

The wait time for adoptive families to be matched with a child after dossier submission to Bulgaria varies based on each family’s openness around age of the child:

• The wait time to be matched with medically healthy children ages 0-3 years old is approximately 5 years after dossier submission.
• The wait time to be matched with medically healthy children ages 3-7 years old is approximately 4 years after dossier submission.
• Families can also request to adopt a healthy sibling group under the age of 7 and the wait time to be matched is approximately 4 years.

Greatest Need of Adoption in Bulgaria – Children Age 9 and Older

The children waiting the longest to find families in Bulgaria are boys over the age of 9 and girls over the age of 12. Additionally, there are many healthy sibling groups with one child over age 9 that are waiting to be adopted. These children are medically healthy and are typically matched with a family 6-12 month after dossier submission. ANIDO is committed to keeping sibling groups together whenever possible and additional fees to adopt siblings are minimal.

Thinking of adopting a sibling group? Listen to a Spence-Chapin family share their adoption story of Bulgarian siblings here!

In addition to older kids and sibling groups, there are also younger children diagnosed with medical needs, such as Down syndrome and developmental delays, in need of adoption. Families are encouraged to speak with a medical professional who can assist them in determining their family’s particular medical openness. Families open to a child with special needs ages 2 to 15 are typically matched in 6-12 months after dossier submission.

Waiting Children

In addition to the being matched with a child, adoptive families and Bulgarian children can be matched with a waiting child.

Through ANIDO, Spence-Chapin receives profiles of identified Waiting Children who are available for immediate matching with a family several times per year. The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice maintains a Waiting Child registry of over 1,800 children and provides profiles of these children to agencies as one more way for families and children to find one another. The Waiting Child profiles are reflective of all children available for adoption in Bulgaria and range in age and health status.

Spence-Chapin advocates for Waiting Children by featuring their profiles on our website in the hopes of identifying the right family. Families can be matched with a Waiting Child at any phase of their adoption process. Many families adopting older children are often adopting waiting children and therefore don’t experience the typical wait time to be matched.