A "waiting child" is defined as a child who doesn't have a permanent family yet, but who is legally free for adoption and whose adoption papers are ready.  A child may become a waiting child due to various factors including medical special needs, developmental and/or emotional delays, being an older child or part of a sibling group.  These factors may range from mild to severe depending upon the individual circumstances. 

Dillon International has always had a concern for waiting children.  Our agency has worked behind the scenes for many years helping these children to find permanent families to love and care for them, to receive much needed services while they awaited adoption, and to continue receiving on-going services after they were adopted.

To View Current Waiting Children:
       CHINA
       INDIA
       KOREA
       VIETNAM

"The Perfection of an Imperfect Child"

Our son Maddox, adopted from Korea, was a 29 week preemie. When he arrived home at 8 months of age, we expected a little boy who would be delayed 3 months and had a crossed eye--that’s what all of his paperwork said. Instead Maddox had a severe flat spot (from not being turned in the ICU) that was affecting his brain growth, craniosynistosis that required surgery to re-shape his skull, global delays (he was not 3 months behind, he was 11 months), high muscle tone, possible mild cerebral palsy, and he was recently diagnosed with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. He does not have a crossed eye.

Resource Guide on Special Needs lists various special needs conditions along with definitions, treatment options and adopted children with each special need.

Use of Photolisting

Our first step in creating a more formal "waiting child program" was the development of our online photolisting several years ago.  The photolisting has allowed us to broaden our reach for prospective adoptive families, thus allowing us to help many more children end their wait for families to love and care for them.  At the request of several of our adoptive families, we are now expanding our photolisting pages to include additional resources to help adoptive families who are seeking to adopt and to parent a waiting child.

The Internet's broad access has given us the ability to introduce waiting children to more potential adoptive families.  At the same time, we feel a great responsibility to each child to protect their privacy as much as possible within such a public forum.  You will note that each child has an assigned case number made up of a combination of alpha and numeric characters.  Even though each child has a given birth name, case numbers are used in order to maintain the child's privacy.  We also strive to be careful in the information that is posted about each child to protect their privacy while providing families with enough information to make an informed decision on whether they could potentially parent a specific child. 

In addition, some countries do not allow the use of pictures on the internet with their waiting children as a means of protecting the children's privacy, but photos, and sometimes video, are usually available for families who inquire about a specific child.

Dillon International's photolisting of waiting children is separated by individual country.  In order to review a particular country's waiting children who are currently available for adoption, please first complete the online screening form for that country.  After your initial screening form has been received, you will receive a password via email so that you may view basic information about individual waiting children on secure web pages.  PLEASE NOTE:  Passwords will periodically be changed in order to further protect the privacy and anonymity of each child featured with Dillon's Waiting Child Program.

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Waiting Child Application

To be considered for the adoption of one of our waiting children, please download, review, and/or complete the following:

• Dillon Adoption Policy & Procedure Bulletin

• Waiting Child Adoption Application - Part #1

• Photo of your family

• Current or Previous Home Study

• Letter to Physician or Healthcare Provider
  (Download this letter ONLY if you have a medical condition or received mental health counseling that will require PRIOR COUNTRY APPROVAL before your Waiting Child Adoption Application may be approved.)

Once we have received the above information, we will send you specific information about the child you are interested in adopting.  We can only send information on one child at a time to a family (unless you are considering a sibling set).

Please remember that if more than one family is interested in the adoption of a specific child, Dillon International's Adoption Committee will determine which family has the ability to best meet the child's needs.  If all things appear to be equal, preference may be given to a family based upon various factors such as the family's "paperwork readiness," access to quality health care to meet the child's specific special needs, and/or individual family experience, etc. 

Families, who inquire about a specific waiting child, will receive a copy of the child's medical and social history, medical diagnosis and treatment, recent videos and/or photographs for review. We strongly encourage each family to have their family physician review a prospective child's medical information with them in order to explain various diagnoses and available corrective surgeries and/or treatment options. 

SPECIAL NOTE:  If you are approved to adopt a Waiting Child, you will be required to attend Dillon's pre-adoption workshop if you live within Dillon's 5-state service area or purchase & view the  "Preparing for International Adoption" CD/DVD prior to beginning your home study.

Should you have any questions in completing our Waiting Child Adoption Application, please review our Waiting Child FAQ section or contact our office at 918/749-4600 if you don't find the answer to your question.

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Waiting Child Frequently Asked Questions

Who is a "waiting child?"
A waiting child is a child who is paperwork ready, but has no family matched already.  Waiting children may be older, be a member of a sibling group, or have special needs.

What does "special needs" mean?
The term "special needs" can be frightening at times for people.  Our waiting children have a wide range of concerns.  Often these concerns have caused or continue to cause the children to be harder to place than other children.  For this reason, they are placed in our Waiting Child Program.  Sometimes one family may be more comfortable with one child's situation and not comfortable with another child's.  Our goal is to match children and families in the best possible way for both the child and the family.

Some special needs may be correctable with a surgery while others may require more long-term care.  There exists no single definition or way to quantify "special needs."  Each child waiting for a home is unique and special in their own way and must be considered in that way.

Who would make a good family for a waiting child?
In considering the adoption of a child who is waiting, families must make several considerations.

• Families need to look at their own family dynamics and their preparedness to care for a child who has special needs

• Geographic location and resources such as special medical centers may be a factor

• Flexibility and patience to care for a child who may have life-long problems

• Health insurance and benefits that may be needed by a special needs child

Who can adopt a Waiting Child?
The general requirements for a specific country's adoption program usually apply for waiting children.  At times exceptions to some requirements may be made for a waiting child.

Are fees different for a Waiting Child?
The fees for the adoption of a waiting child are the same as any other child's adoption.  However, special consideration will be given to families adopting a waiting child in the application process for our Building Famliies Fund grant.  Several other grant programs are designed especially to assist in the adoption of waiting children.

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Family Testimonials

"We have three children that we adopted through Dillon's India program and each one was considered a child with special needs. We chose these children because we felt that despite their physical conditions, each one had so much potential and we had the love and resources to help them reach for it.  It took a leap of faith to begin each adoption, but we've been rewarded by seeing each child blossom in their own way once they were part of a loving family.  It is an awesome honor and responsibility to love our children and to be loved by them in return.  I wish that I could bottle up a little of my kids' love and share it with anyone who is considering special needs adoption so they could experience what a blessing it is."  --Culbertson family, OHIO

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"We should have been nervous when we saw all the abbreviated medical terms on our son's referral but we weren't. We knew this was our son and that he would be fine!  We now have a second son (also considered special needs at the time) and both boys are healthy and on target!  Dillon International was with us every step of the way and now we have two incredible children that make us laugh every single day!"  --Weldy family, MISSOURI

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"The moment we saw our daughter’s video we knew she was ours. She was 8 months old.  She had had one previous assignment of a family who had decided not to pursue the adoption.  She was shown to several other families who also declined.  We like to think of her as our unexpected gift from God.  In other words our hearts were opened to the child God had planned for us, whatever her special needs were."  --Bayer family, OKLAHOMA

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When my husband and I began the process for our daughter, we had NO idea the plan God had for us. We already had one son  through Dillon and felt God's leading to adopt another child. 

I had the opportunity to go to Korea on Dillon's M.O.M. trip.  I got to see first-hand how the wonderful staff at Eastern took care of the babies.  I also got a better understanding about the wonderful medical care and information that is provided on babies with special needs.  It was there that I felt very sure that God had a child for us.

We knew in our hearts that God wanted us to take a baby with special needs.  When filling out the paperwork, we prayed over the special needs list.  We felt sure about many of the needs on the list including cleft lip and palate. To our amazement, just a few weeks after we turned in our paperwork, Dillon called us about a baby girl with a cleft palate.  She was a waiting child. To our surprise, she had been born a few weeks after I had been in Korea.

Our daughter is an incredible child and has added so much to our lives.  When I look at her, I can't believe that she was a waiting child. We feel so blessed that God brought her into our family. We feel it is important to tell others our story because special needs adoption doesn't have to be scary. We learned how many things classified as special needs are minor or with good medical help, can be cured, fixed or helped. We hope others will prayerfully consider these special children and wait for an answer from God.  One of these children may just be the child they have been praying for.  --Argent Family, MISSOURI

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Discussion Forum

Dillon's Special Needs Forum is for Dillon adoptive families who have adopted a child with identified special needs.  The forum gives families the opportunity to meet with other adoptive families whose children have special needs and share their children's developmental milestones plus swap new treatment resources and ideas with each other, parenting tips, and encouragement during challenging times. 

Click here to subscribe to the Dillon Special Needs Forum!

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