The babies who are available for adoption are usually infants 3 - 5 months of age.  The children generally range from fair to medium brown in skin color, with dark brown to black hair and dark brown eyes.  The 5 – 6 weeks stay in the country is viewed as a wonderful time to relax and spend quality time with their child.  Crossroads works with a FANA, a child facility approved by the ICBF.  FANA works with birth mothers who are unable to parent their children.  FANA will work with married couples who live in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Adoptive families are referred the next available baby.  First-time adopters cannot choose whether to adopt a boy or girl.  Adoptive couples must be under 38 years of age.  Children are cleared for adoption within a couple of months after birth and the adoptive family travels immediately and obtains custody of their child.  The initial adoption work takes a week.  One parent must stay until the adoption is finalized in court ( 4 – 6 weeks).

The Government of Colombia wishes to place children with married couples.  Preference is given to :

• Adoptive parents between the ages of 25 and 38.
• A family who is childless.  Families with one child, either birth or adopted are allowed to adopt.
•  Families who have no history of drug abuse
•  Adoptive parents in good health. 
•  A family who will accept either a boy or a girl.

Single women are encouraged to request a child of school age.

The babies who are available for adoption are usually infants under 3 months of age.  The children generally range from fair to medium brown in skin color, with dark brown to black hair and dark brown eyes. Adopting families are thrilled to have the opportunity of meeting and obtaining custody of a child this young.  The 4 – 6 weeks stay in the country is viewed as a wonderful time to relax and spend quality time with their child.  Crossroads works with FANA, a child facility approved by the ICBF.  FANA works with birth mothers who are unable to parent their children.  FANA will work with married couples who live in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Adoptive families are referred the next available baby.  First-time adopters cannot choose whether to adopt a boy or girl.  Adoptive couples must be between 25 and 38 years of age.  Families also are welcome to request an infant directly from the ICBF.  Children will be a few months older through ICBF.  When a child is for adoption the adoptive family travels immediately and obtains custody of their child.  The initial adoption work takes a week.  Both parents travel; one parent may return after 2 - 3 weeks, but the other must stay until the adoption is finalized in court ( 4 – 6 weeks).

Colombia has older (to 12 years of age), including sibling groups, who are seeking loving families. There are healthy and special needs children. Families will receive photos, medical history and a brief description of the child’s background and current status.  Both married and single women will be considered for these children.  Families are allowed to make two trips to complete the adoption process.   The first trip is approximately 1 week in length.  Plan on 2 weeks for the second trip.

Bogota time is the same as Eastern Standard time.  Families traveling from Minneapolis will usually fly via Houston, a 2 hour and 40 minute flight.  There is a direct flight from Houston to Bogota, a flight time of 4 hours and 44 minutes.  Most families will book their flight within a week of accepting the referral.

Families are met by a driver and car used by adoptive families and taken to their housing of choice.  Some families like the hotel atmosphere where they can come and go and have meals at will.  Others like the family atmosphere of a guest house where meals are family style.  Families are well-prepared for their stay in Bogota learning beforehand of the things they might see and do while waiting for their court date.

Often, extended family members will visit for a few days to get to know the newest member of the family and enjoy the culture of Colombia.