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Cambodia
Adoption Program
 Children
available for adoption
* Infants, toddlers, and children up to age 8.
Twins and siblings may be available.
* Children are cared for in a private orphanage
with a high caretaker-to-child ratio.
* Children may be abandoned or relinquished by
birth parents.
* Children are tested for Hepatitis B and HIV.
Eligibility requirements
* Married couples and singles are accepted.
* Married couples should be 25-55 years old.
* Single parents should be 40-50 years old.
* Parents should have no more than two children
currently in the home.
* No more than two children can be adopted.
Process before travel
* Apply to INS for advanced approval to be eligible
to adopt from Cambodia.
* Satisfy the laws of the state where applicant
resides.
* Complete a homestudy by a licensed agency social
worker.
* Provide the documents that the Cambodian adoption
law requires.
* Have the documents notarized and submit to this
adoption agency.
Time Frame
* It takes approximately 3 months to obtain INS
approval, complete a homestudy, and prepare a
dossier.
* The time between the dossier being sent to Cambodia
and the assignment of a child may vary, but is
expected to be 1-3 months.
* After receiving the child's assignment, which
includes a photo and a medical, families can usually
expect to wait 2-4 months to travel.
* Only one parent is required to travel to Cambodia
for a stay of approximately one week.
General information
about Cambodia
(Statistical information taken from the 2000 CIA
Fact Book)
The Kingdom of Cambodia is located in Southeast
Asia, bordering Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. For
a size comparison, the country is slightly smaller
than Oklahoma. The weather in Cambodia typically
has a stable temperature year-round. There is
a rainy or monsoon season from May to November,
and the rest of the year is considerably dry.
The land itself consists of low plains, with the
exception of the mountains in the North and the
Southwest regions. Due to the terrain, rice is
a major crop, and the forests have provided a
lucrative logging industry. The downside of the
logging industry is that it is taking its toll
on the environment. Deforestation has seriously
affected biodiversity, and has caused massive
soil erosion.
The Kingdom of Cambodia is a multiparty liberal
democracy under a constitutional monarchy. This
was established in September of 1993. The economy
has been expanding very slowly since 1993 however,
the growing textile industry is providing lots
of new jobs.
Cambodian people and
culture
The population of Cambodia is 12.2 million. The
largest ethnic group is the Khmer. They account
for 90% of the population. The other 10% is made
up of Vietnamese, Chinese, and mixed Chinese and
Khmer. The official language of Cambodia is Khmer,
although you may hear some French and English
as well. The overwhelming majority of the population
(about 95%) is Theravada Buddhist. The result
of this is that the culture is very reflective
of that belief system. For example, a person's
head is considered to be the most sacred part
of the body, so they do not touch one another's
heads. This applies to children as well.
The majority of Cambodians are subsistence farmers.
This is a reflection of the fact that 80% of the
population lives in rural areas where there is
a lack of jobs, education, opportunity, and food
in the rural areas. A third of the population
is living in poverty. The staples of Cambodian
diet are soup and rice. Rice is eaten with every
meal, and seafood and vegetables are often added
when available.
Due to the reconstruction of society by the Khmer
Rouge, a very radical communist organization,
Cambodia has many orphans, widows, and single-parent
families. Women are the head of the household
in nearly a fourth of the families in that country.
Education is expanding after the Khmer Rouge killed
almost all of the educated people. At this time,
only 4% of the population has received secondary
schooling. Cambodia is in transition as society
recovers from the past few decades of discord.
A family receives a dowry when the daughter marries,
so most of the children in orphanages are boys.
Cambodia's orphanages have a very low ratio of
children to caregivers, so they receive a lot
more attention than one might expect. There have
been an unusual number of twins available for
adoption in the last few years.
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Please
note that the Cambodia program is temporarily
on hold for new applications. Check back here
or contact us for the latest information.
Contact us
The Alliance for Children assists families throughout
the entire Cambodian adoption process, which includes
document gathering, assignment, travel, accommodations
and the in-country process in Cambodia.
To discuss our Cambodia adoption program, or adoption
in general, please contact a staff member at Alliance
for Children: info@allforchildren.org
or (781) 431-7148
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