Introduction

Adopolis is pleased to announce that an agreement has been signed with the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) to initiate Citizens of the World, a Hosting Program for children and host families interested in providing special needs and older children from Colombia an enriching family experience. This program helps to fulfill Adopolis’s commitment to education and service, recognizing the importance of a family life for a child. After the children return to Colombia the host families can support them in different ways or may be considered as prospective adoptive families.

Program Overview:

The goal of the program is to provide children, some with special needs 4 to 7 years old, and other healthy 8 to 12 year old children with a summertime or a Christmas season enrichment experience within the environment of a family’s home. The model for the program is family centered. The children will stay with a family for three or four weeks during the months of July-August or December-January, which is when families take their summer and Christmas vacations. It is preferable that one parent be at home and not working outside the home during the entire three to four weeks. The child will be accepted and treated as a family member. The family is expected to support the child throughout the stay. The child should experience educational and enrichment activities such as art, music or recreation during their stay.

Family Screening, Preparation, and Education:

We will require all families to undergo a complete home study in compliance with their state of residence, USCIS and Hague Convention standards for adoptive and foster homes. The home study is a comprehensive investigation of the family including police and child protective services clearances, medical reports, financial reports and references. The home study also has an individual educational requirement to prepare the family for the hosting experience. In addition, the families will be required to attend at least one full day group training session.

Ongoing Support for Host Family:

Adopolis is committed to providing on-going support and supervision of the homes while the children are here. In accordance with each state law, the families and children will be visited in their home by a professional social worker for a minimum of one time in the three to four week period. If either the family or child feels that further visits are needed, a social worker can visit as often as necessary. Three written reports will be provided to Colombia. The family will submit a weekly progress report. In addition, the families and children will be provided with phone contact information to reach a member of the professional staff 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Professional social work staff will provide all support services. There will be at least two group functions involving all of the children and families for the purpose of bonding and support. The preliminary ideas for this would be a picnic in a local park or an inside facility that has a variety of recreational activities for children and an outing to the zoo or aquarium. These would be closed events with attendance only by the professional staff, children, and families.

Medical Care:

As part of the program, the families would be required to purchase travel medical insurance for the children. Emergency dental care will be arranged for the children but we hope to also have a dentist available for routine exams.

Fees:

The fees range from $3,500 to $4,800 and will cover training, supervisory visits, professional support services, translation of documents, interpreter, travel expenses, visas, medical insurance for the children and Colombian chaperons.

If the Host Family moves ahead to adopt the child they have hosted, part of these fees may be credited toward the Adopolis adoption fees.

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