Children available for adoption range between the ages of 5-17, though the majority are over the age of 8. We see a variety of needs, most related to malnutrition and general orphanage care. Siblings groups are available, as are unrelated children who have been living in the same care center. Some children have spent time in foster families; others have lived solely in an orphanage setting.

Adoptive parents must be at least 25 years old and 21 years older than the child(ren) they intend to adopt. Single woman are eligible for the program and single men may be considered on a case by case basis (per the rules of Sierra Leone).

Once a family’s dossier (the set of documents representing a family to the authorities in Sierra Leone) has been submitted, the match between prospective adoptive parents and child is made by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, working in conjunction with the orphanage director. Frank Adoption is given fairly detailed information on how the child came into care, their medical status and their social history. We anticipate the wait time between dossier submission and match to be 2-4 months, though the wait time will be longer for families hoping to adopt younger children.

Once a family has accepted their child’s referral, they will make the first of 3 trips to Sierra Leone, each trip lasting between 14-21 days. Families typically finalize their adoption in Sierra Leone 6-8 months after their first trip and return to receive their child’s visa 4-8 months later.

While in Sierra Leone, you will be accompanied by our in country staff for all appointments.

Average time from dossier submission until arriving home with your child: 12-18 months
Estimated cost (not including travel expenses or fees paid to third parties): $25,000