Category - Bulgaria

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24

Apr

Bulgaria Trip 2019

by Katelyn Smith

Being able to start out as an intern in January 2018 for the Eastern European programs helped me transition into my full-time role as the Bulgaria program director beginning in August 2018. This year has been filled with several learning experiences and furthering my knowledge about international adoption, specifically in Bulgaria. The biggest impact thus ...

10

Apr

2018 Bulgaria Program Recap

by Katelyn Smith

The past year that I’ve been able to work with the families in the Bulgaria program have been nothing short of magnificent! To give you an idea of all that was accomplished in 2018, here is a recap of the number of children that were brought home, the referrals received, and new families that joined ...

1

Apr

BULGARIA MAKES IMPROVEMENTS TO PREPARE CHILDREN FOR ADOPTION

by Karlene Edgemon, MS, LSW

In early 2018, Vesta, one of MLJ’s partner agencies in Bulgaria, asked for our assistance to suggest potential curricula for a working group in which they were participating. The group of Accredited agencies in Bulgaria wanted to address the pre-preparation of children in Bulgaria for both domestic and international adoption. Consisting of representatives from ...

25

Mar

ORPHANAGE CARE IN BULGARIA: A TWO-PART BLOG

by Karlene Edgemon, MS, LSW

PART 1: CHANGES TO INSTITUTIONALIZATION IN EUROPE In Bulgaria as with other European Union countries, there is a movement which has been funded by the European Union’s Structural and investment Funds (ESIF) since 2014 to close orphanages and institutions in eight EU Member States (Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania). The goal ...

11

Mar

Immigration Process for Adopting from Bulgaria

by Katelyn Smith

When going through the international adoption process, there are several different puzzle pieces that work together to bring your child home. Some of the biggest and most confusing pieces come from the immigration process. All prospective adoptive parents find the immigration process daunting. Filing immigration is the part that most adoptive parents dread the most ...

27

Jun

Adopting from Bulgaria: More than Special Needs

by MLJ Adoptions

Adopting from Bulgaria has grown in popularity over the past several years. MLJ Adoptions’ Bulgaria adoption program has abundantly flourished in recent years! We have had the pleasure of completing nearly 40 international adoptions from Bulgaria in the past three years alone. One reason we have been able to place so many vulnerable children with ...

4

Jun

More Referrals Received from Bulgaria!

by Caitlin Snyder

As 2017 came to a close, we were excited about the number of referrals and children who had come in our Bulgaria program. It was our best year to date serving children in need of families and the families in the program! Until this year! Since the beginning of 2018, seven children have been matched ...

23

Apr

Consider Adopting a Sibling Group of 3 Children!

by Caitlin Snyder

Where’s the need? How can we speed up the waiting process? These are two of the most common questions families ask at the beginning of the adoption process. Families adopting from Bulgaria can expect to wait 18-36 months to be matched with a child from when their dossier is submitted to the Ministry of Justice. ...

18

Apr

Bulgaria Adoption Story: The Loboda Family

by MLJ Adoptions

in Adoption Stories, Bulgaria

We are the Loboda Family: Luke, Ashley, Noah (9), Jonah (7), Isaiah (5), and Eliana (3). From early on in our marriage, we knew that we wanted to bring an adopted child into our family. Ashley had volunteered in an orphanage in Ukraine and Luke in an orphanage in Guatemala. From these experiences, it was ...

19

Mar

MLJ Completed 30% of Adoptions from Bulgaria in 2017!

by Caitlin Snyder

Choosing an adoption agency isn’t an easy task! Location, references, country programs and success can all go into picking the agency you choose to partner with on your international adoption journey. If your family has decided to adopt from Bulgaria, you have many options for an adoption agency, but there are several reasons to choose ...

28

Feb

Let’s Celebrate Baba Marta Day!

by Iris Dauterman

If you travel to Bulgaria in early spring, you might be surprised to see something in the trees around you. Strands of red and white thread, bracelets, and maybe even dolls will be tied to tree branches in Bulgaria- sometimes there will be so many bracelets that you can barely see the tree beneath them! ...

26

Feb

Working to Find Families for Children with Additional Needs

by MLJ Adoptions

in Bulgaria, MLJ Adoptions

Simona Hoy works for Vesta, MLJ Adoptions’ Bulgarian partner organization. She primarily works to advocate for waiting children, who can be viewed on MLJ Adoptions’ Waiting Child Photolisting. As much as it can be rewarding and personally satisfying to work in helping orphaned children, it may also often leave you with a heavy heart. I ...

19

Feb

Bulgaria Adoption Story: The Winstone Family

by Caitlin Snyder

in Adoption Stories, Bulgaria

Hi y’all! We are the Winstone family: Tyler, Laura, and our children are Amos, 6, Eden (almost 5), and Esther (4). We’ve been married 9 years in May. Tyler works in the oil field, and I (Laura) stay-at-home, while working part time for my family’s accounting business. We also have a ranch as a family ...

14

Feb

A Spotlight on Adoption from Bulgaria!

The number of international adoptions has continued to dramatically decline over the past few years. Thousands of children are living their lives in orphanages in countries around the world, not necessarily due to the lack of desire to adopt them, but because of bureaucratic red tape caused by government. Many countries such as Ethiopia and ...

6

Dec

Adopting from Bulgaria- A 2017 Spotlight!

by Caitlin Snyder

What a joy to see our Bulgaria program continue to thrive! This year, 19 children from Bulgaria were matched with MLJ families! The children ranged in age from one-year-old twin sisters to a fifteen-year-old boy. This year, MLJ Adoptions received nine referrals for single children, all three years old and under! We had two families ...

11

Oct

Adopting from Bulgaria: An October Update

by Caitlin Snyder

Over two hundred children joined U.S. families last year from Bulgaria! It’s an increase in placements from 2015 when about 180 children joined forever families from Bulgaria. This increased number of placements demonstrates that Bulgaria is thriving adoption program! As the number of international adoptions is on the decline, more children each year from Bulgaria ...

11

Sep

Bulgaria Adoption Story: The DeArmond Family

by Caitlin Snyder

in Adoption Stories, Bulgaria

Our names are Scott and Mary DeArmond and our sons are Colin (9), William (7) and Benjamin (5)! We were originally brought to adoption through our battle with infertility and deep desire to have a family. Looking back, it was all just part of our journey to our children. After we decided to adopt, we ...

24

Jul

Bulgaria Adoption Story: The Newbrander Family

by MLJ Adoptions

in Adoption Stories, Bulgaria

Meet Dan & Laura Newbrander who pursued a Bulgaria Adoption. They have two sons; Sam is 2.5 years and Tom is 2 months old. Sam joined their family through international adoption from Bulgaria.

19

Jun

Bulgaria Adoption Story: The Jones Family

by MLJ Adoptions

in Adoption Stories, Bulgaria

We are Ryan and Amy Jones. We have been married for 13 years, but we have known each other for 23. Ryan is a physical therapist and Amy is a part-time youth coordinator at our church. We have a 9 year old biological son, Carter. He is an energetic, silly, creative, 3rd grader! Our daughter, ...

14

Jun

Adopt Older Children from Bulgaria!

by Caitlin Snyder

Children in need of families from Bulgaria are of all ages, but there is a specific need for families to adopt older children from Bulgaria. While not every family feels qualified or able to adopt an older child, several families in our Bulgaria program have seen the benefits of doing so. The age range of ...

5

Jun

Adopting from Bulgaria – A Current Snapshot!

by Caitlin Snyder

Adopting from Bulgaria appeals to families looking for stable and predictable program. Prospective adoptive parents are often drawn to country programs with consistent wait times, so they can better predict how long they may wait to receive a referral. Families adopting from Bulgaria with MLJ Adoptions can expect to wait between 12-24 months from dossier ...

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