Waiting for Referral - dossier translated, legalized and registered

Our dossier has made it thru the Ethiopian process, where it was translated, legalized, and registered.


We are now officially waiting for a referral!!
Expected wait time is about 3-4 months. Hopefully it'll be sooner...especially since 'baby girl' is out there in the midst of a drought. Haley's like "mommy, we have to go get her *today*" Maybe we'll have a referral (that we can/will accept) within the next *couple* of months.



Per US Dept of State Intercountry Adoption website
11 steps total - we are awaiting Step 5 (the referral)

Step One - Prospective adoptive parents must take or send all of the required documents already certified and authenticated, to the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C. for additional authentication. Once the Embassy has completed its authentication, the completed packet is returned to the adoptive parents/agency. Then it's should be mailed to:

Ministry Of Women’s Affairs (MOWA)
Children and Youth Affairs Office, Adoption Team (CYAO)
P.O. Box 1293
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

MOWA reviews the documents for completeness and creates a dossier on the adoptive parents.
The documents have to be translated.

Step Two - The parents’ dossier is taken to the Claims and Authentication Section of the Protocol Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ethiopia to be authenticated (legalized).

Step Three - The parents’ dossier is returned to CYAO. CYAO will then affix a summary sheet, on which will be noted items such as court decisions, background data on the adopted child or children, and the names of Adoption Committee members who will complete the form at a later date.

Step Four - CYAO submits the parents’ dossier to the Adoption Committee for review and approval to adopt. Only if all the members of the committee agree, and sign the recommendation, is the request approved.

Step Five - Once the Committee has approved the parents’ dossier, a child is selected and referred to the prospective parents to adopt, according to the parents’ preferences for age and sex. The child selected must have its own dossier at MOWA. That dossier describes the child, the child's history, how the child came to be an orphan, and who has legal guardianship of the child. Once a referral is made, the prospective adoptive parent may accept or refuse the referral.