Georgia
Adopting from Republic of Georgia
Georgian children waiting for adoption by foreign families are generally between the ages of 1 and 15 and have a variety of medical and/or developmental diagnoses, including Down Syndrome and other genetic syndromes, brain anomalies, intellectual disability, autism, epilepsy, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy. In 2021, there were fewer than 200 Georgian children cleared for domestic and/or international adoption and nearly 80% of these children were considered to have significant special needs. Over 2000 Georgian families wait for a domestic adoption placement. Georgian children are not eligible to be adopted internationally until after they have been registered by the government for an 8-month period and all domestic options have failed to place the child. Children are identified and referred by Georgia’s Central Adoption Authority, the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia. Eligible children reside in foster care or orphanages. The quality of care cannot be measured due to the lack of supervision and monitoring of children in state care. Although from time to time Hopscotch may be provided with certain information regarding identified eligible waiting children, a family may only receive a referral after registering a dossier with the Central Adoption Authority and receiving approval. Soft matching prior to dossier approval is prohibited. Georgia is a very small adoption program with the number of Georgian children entering the US annually in the single digits.
Eligible Applicants
Married couples and single women are eligible to apply. A minimum age difference between prospective adoptive parents and a child of 16 years is required as is a maximum age difference of 49 years, unless an exception is made in the best interest of the child. Divorce and non-Christian faiths are acceptable but must not have a criminal record or substance abuse history. Families seeking to adopt a relatively healthy child of any age or one with minor or correctable needs are discouraged from pursuing this program.
Program & Process
To begin the process, a family will assemble a complete, apostilled dossier, including a home study. Upon submission of your dossier, Hopscotch will review it for completeness and accuracy and then it will be sent to Georgia for translation and submission to the Central Adoption Authority. Your dossier is hand-delivered and registered for approval by Hopscotch’s foreign supervised provider. After the Central Adoption Authority approves the family for adoption, a search for a suitable referral within the government registry of children cleared for international adoption can begin. Once a child is identified, a referral will be presented to the family, consisting of limited medical information, as well as the child’s gender, age, and a photo. If the prospective family is interested in proceeding, they write a letter indicating their desire to move forward with the adoption and a request for additional information. The Central Adoption Authority will then send the child to have the medical and all other specialist reports updated and provide the child’s referral file with current medical, developmental, educational reports (if applicable) along with any known medical, developmental, educational history reports. The file will contain some photos and a video. Any social history will be recorded in the file as made known to the Central Adoption Authority. If the family now wishes to accept the referral, the child’s documents and the family’s dossier begin the final approval process, resulting in the issuance of the child’s Article 16 packet. Upon receipt of the Article 16, a family will file their I-800A and I-800 with USCIS, along with a home study no older than 6 months and await the subsequent immigration pre-approval for the child.
With the pre-approval received, Hopscotch will file the DS-260 which notifies the US embassy in Tbilisi to issue the Article 5, signifying permission to request a court hearing for the child’s adoption in the Georgian court. Once a court date is secured, you will be notified to travel to Georgia with relatively short notice to begin the final steps of completing your adoption.
If married, BOTH parents must travel and attend court. After court, one parent may depart and leave the other parent with a Power of Attorney to complete the process. A stay of approximately 23 days in-country should be expected, but we ask families to remain flexible as some factors are not in the control of Hopscotch or our foreign super provider.
You will be met at the airport by our foreign supervised provider and reside in a private host apartment which can be arranged for you along with any transportation or translator services. If you prefer to book an Airbnb or hotel on your own, let us know in advance and we can share which areas of Tbilisi will work best. Nearly everyone speaks English in Georgia and aside from your getting out of the city and sight-seeing, you won’t have any trouble getting around for shops, dining, parks and entertainment. All official appointments will be coordinated and attended with Hopscotch’s foreign supervised provider. Sightseeing is optional, but we hope you’ll take full advantage of coming to know and love Georgia.
Post Adoption Requirements
Post Adoption Report (PDF)
Department of State’s Case Data Verification Form
Post Adoption reporting is required by the Social Service Agency of Georgia. This consists of a 3 month, 6 month, 1 year and annually thereafter until the child reaches the age of 18 years.
Upon request, Hopscotch discloses the following information to all prospective adoptive clients:
• The number of parents who apply to adopt through a Hopscotch Adoptions’ program annually.
• The number of adoptive placements Hopscotch Adoption has made annually.
• The number and percentage of those placements that have disrupted or dissolved.
• The number of children eligible for adoption and awaiting referral from any Hague compliant country from which Hopscotch Adoptions assists in child placement, when known.
To request this information, please contact our office and we will respond to you within 7 business days.
The Country
The ancient and historically significant country of Georgia borders Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey. The climate is similar to the southeastern section of the United States. The terrain is mountainous and often lush, as evidenced by the beautiful sea sides and stunning views from every city vista. Georgia is the second nation to adopt Christianity as the national faith. St. Nino brought Christianity to Georgia in 317 AD. The primary Church is the Georgian Orthodox Church. Georgians are spiritually and physically beautiful people with creamy fair to dark olive complexion, dark hair and dark eyes.
The top ten causes of death in Georgia are attributed to ischemic heart disease, stroke, hypertensive heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cirrhosis, diabetes, stomach cancer, and chronic kidney disease as reported by the CDC in 2019. HIV is reportedly on the rise and measles and rubella as well. The CDC also reports the life expectancy for men to be on average 69 and for women to be 78 years of age. Per 2021 statistics, the average gross monthly salary in Georgia is $482.
Fees
Contact Hopscotch Adoptions directly to request a fee schedule.
Recommended Reading
Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
Georgia In the Mountains of Poetry by Peter Nasmyth
Yes and No Stories: A Book of Georgian Folk Tales by George and Helen Papashvily
Knight in the Panther’s Skin by Shota Rustaveli
Stories I Stole by Wendell Stevenson
The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili
The Georgian Feast: The Vibrant Culture and Savory Food by Darra Goldstein
Lonely Planet Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan 77th Ed. By Tom Masters, Joel Balsam, and Jenny Smith
Georgia by Tim Burford
Recommended Videos and Movies
Since Otar Left Director Julie Bertucelli
In Bloom Directors Nana Ekvtimishvili and her German partner, Simon Gros
Taming the Garden 2021, Director Salome Jashi
Power Trip Director Paul Devlin
And Then We Danced Director Levan Akin
I Am Truly a Drop of Sun on EarthDirector Elene Neveriani
What Do We See When We Look at the Sky 2021, Director Alexandre Koberidze
Georgia and the Great Caucasus: by Planet DOC