As an initial point of guidance, we offer a detailed information meeting, in which couples receive personal and confidential advice on general questions concerning intercountry adoption, including requirements, possibilities, and risks.

After the first information meeting, a two-stage assessment of suitability takes place:first, a general assessment by the youth welfare office, followed by a country-specific assessment. If the initial assessment is positive, the country-specific assessment is carried out. In this process, we work together with the local adoption placement agencies. Once country-specific suitability has been established, the social report is requested from the local service. Finally, a concluding country-specific consultation takes place. After this, the application documents are compiled, translated, and sent to the responsible specialist authority abroad.

This is followed by a waiting period, due to the imbalance between the large number of applicants and the small number of children available for adoption. This waiting period often lasts several years. During this time, we offer preparation seminars for prospective parents. 

If a child is proposed to us by the foreign specialist authority, the prospective adoptive parents are invited to a meeting with our specialist professional, following consultation with the local specialist authority and the state youth welfare office. If the adoption applicants accept the child proposal, their declaration of willingness to adopt this child is notarized. We then inform the child’s country of origin of the acceptance. Depending on the regulations in the country of origin, the prospective adoptive parents either travel to the child’s country of origin to complete the procedure there, or to meet the child in person and officially accept the child. 

After the child has been accepted into the family, the so-called adoption care period begins. During this period, home visits and interviews with adoptive families are organised by a local boys' office. Depending on the requirements of the country of origin, development reports are prepared and sent to the specialist centre in the child's home country. The statutory adoption care period ends when the adoption is finalised in the child's home country. As the adoption decision abroad does not always automatically have legal effect in Germany, it is necessary to go through a procedure of recognition and determination of effect before a German family court.

After the adoption, we continue to offer support and guidance . This includes, for example, advice on parenting issues, support with searching for one’s roots, discussion groups for young people, biography work, and an annual family gathering.