Frank Adoption Center

Frank Adoption Center began in 1994 and worked for a number of years to place children from Eastern Europe with families living in the US and abroad. With the implementation of the Hague Treaty and other major policy changes, these adoptions ceased in 2012. In 2013, Frank Adoption Center re-opened its doors as an entirely new agency, working in Nepal and employing a new staff, as well as a new Board of Directors. The goal of the new Frank Adoption Center is simple: to make the international adoption process easier for all involved.

Process: Frank Adoption Center will be working with several orphanages, all of which have been licensed by the Nepal’s Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare and are authorized to conduct international adoptions. Once a family’s dossier (the set of documents representing a family to the authorities in Nepal) has been submitted, the match between prospective parents and child is made by the Matching Committee of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare. Frank Adoption Center is given fairly detailed information regarding how the child came into care, their medical status and their social history. We anticipate the time between dossier submission and match to be 3-6 months, though the wait time may be longer for families interested in adopting younger children. Once a family has accepted their child’s referral, the process will begin towards adoption finalization in Nepal. Frank Adoption Center will also begin working with the family and the US Embassy to complete the I600 and I604 investigation (investigations conducted by the US Embassy to ensure children are truly orphans or have been formally relinquished by birth family with a clear understanding of what international adoption means for them and their child). Families will not travel until these are complete. We anticipate the time from referral to travel to be 6-10 months. Families should anticipate a 10 day stay in Nepal.