Adoption Program
Philippines
Parent Requirements
HIC strongly encourages anyone considering application for a Philippines Adoption, to carefully read the following information prior to submitting an application to adopt.
General Adoptive Parent requirements:
Preference stated for couples with no more than two (2) children already in the home. Single women accepted for children over 5 years of age. Prospective parents must have adequate income to care for children and their needs and must have each completed at least 12 years of formal education. Clients must be free of anxiety, depression, and communicable disease. Preference is given to Hawaii residents. Non-Hawaii residents, please contact HIC for update.
Citizenship
At least one of the prospective adoptive parents must be a U.S. citizen.
Marriage
Prospective adoptive parents must be married for at least three years (marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman). If either the husband or wife has been divorced (no more than one divorce), the prospective adoptive parents must be married for at least five years before applying to adopt from the Philippines. Single women are eligible to adopt a child over the age of 5.
Age
Prospective adoptive parents must be between the ages of 27 and 47. There must be an age difference between both prospective parents and the adoptive child(ren) of no less than 16 years and no more than 47 years unless considering a special needs adoption or a large sibling group. To clarify, prospective adoptive parents who are older than 47 may adopt through this program but must adopt a child who is no more than 47 years their junior. Both the husband and wife must be at least 27 years old.
Health
Both the husband and wife must be physically and mentally fit and must not have the following medical conditions: diabetes mellitus, obesity (BMI of prospective adoptive parents should not exceed 35), a history of cancer, a kidney transplant or any other major transplant (heart, lung, liver), a pacemaker, a history of stroke or myocardial infarction, multiple sclerosis or other degenerative muscular disorders, autoimmune disorders, hepatitis C, or any other risk factors that would impede care for the child (e.g. blindness, deafness, or confinement to a wheelchair). Prospective adoptive parents may not have psychiatric disorders, mood disorders or major depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders, or sexual disorders.
Psychological Evaluation
Both prospective adoptive parents must have a favorable psychological evaluation from a competent practitioner that employs a reasonable combination of assessment processes – clinical interview, evaluation of collateral information and psychological testing among others. The psychological evaluation report should reflect the practitioner’s synthesis of all the gathered data and shall include, but not be limited to, the following: early experiences (e.g. childhood or adolescent years) that played a significant role in their development as individuals (How did those experiences shape their development? Will unresolved issues, if any, likely impact the applicants’ parenting capability?); functional assessment; general coping mechanisms and problem-solving strategies as individuals and as a couple; clinical impressions; the results of administered objective tests (briefly describe what each test is meant to measure and give the results as well as their implications on the individual’s capability as prospective adoptive parents); and conclusions and recommendations.
List of Required Psychological Tests
Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF); Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III (MCMI-III); Rorschach and Projective Personality Tests; Bender Gestalt Test; Fired Sentence Completion Test; DAP and RBE 2.*
List of Optional Psychological Tests
16 Personality Factor Questionnaire; Parent Awareness Skills Survey; Hare Psychopathy Checklist-R.*
*The psychologist is expected to have access to valid and reliable psychological tests within his/her jurisdiction. The Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) will expect a more comprehensive psychological and medical assessment for prospective adoptive parents who intend to adopt a non-special needs child. Prospective adoptive parents who seek to adopt a special needs child or a relative will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Employment
Either the husband or wife must have stable employment. The family must at least satisfy the state and federal poverty guidelines.
Education
Both prospective adoptive parents must be high school graduates or have vocational training equivalent to that of a high school graduate.
Religious Background
Prospective adoptive parents must demonstrate five years of affiliation with a church with a letter on church letterhead attesting to the couple’s faith and moral character.
Other Children
There must be no more than two children in the family under the age of 18 years. Preference will be given to childless couples.
Heritage
If either or both of the prospective parents has Filipino heritage, their case will be expedited.
Criminal History
Neither of the prospective adoptive parents may have a criminal history; they must behave honorably, with good moral character, and be law-abiding. Neither should have any of the following histories: a. Domestic violence, sex abuse, abandonment or abuse of children (even if they are not consequently arrested or convicted); b. Use of narcotics, use of opium, morphine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, etc., or any medication for mental illness; c. If they have a history of alcohol abuse they must show they have been sober for at least ten years. Adoption applications from persons with past criminal violations will be considered on a case-by-case basis when either the husband or the wife has fewer than three minor criminal convictions and it has been ten or more years since the last conviction, or has fewer than 5 records of minor traffic law violation.
Understanding about Adopton
The prospective adoptive parents must have an understanding of what adoption is and the expectations to provide a warm family for the orphaned children (or children with handicap or disability) via adoption and to meet the needs of the children for their proper development. Prospective adoptive parents must have an understanding of intercountry adoption as well, and be fully prepared for the potential risks associated with intercountry adoption such as potential diseases, developmental delays, post- placement maladjustment, etc.
Post-Placement/Post-Adoption Reports
The prospective adoptive parents make clear in their adoption application letter their willingness to allow post follow-ups and provide post reports and photos as required.
See the U.S. State Department website: http://adoption.state.gov/country/philippines.html
