What We Do

Heaven Sent Children is a private, 501c3 non-profit, licensed, child placing agency in the State of Tennessee. The mission of Heaven Sent Children is to assist all aspects of the adoption process, working closely with birth parents, adoptive parents and children who are in the need of a home.

Heaven Sent Children, founded in 1991, was established to provide the promotion of healthy adoptive family life through education, resources, counseling, advocacy and support services. Heaven Sent Children believes that every child should have a loving home prepared to meet their needs emotionally, physically, financially and spiritually.

Domestic Adoptions

Heaven Sent Children has worked with many families adopting children throughout Tennessee and the United States. We place children directly with adoptive families through our domestic program. We assist with Interstate adoptions networking with agencies in other states (see Professional Associations). We also do agency-assisted and identified adoptions for families who have identified birth parents.

Heaven Sent Children provides services for the birth parents as well as the home study and placement preparation for the prospective adoptive parents. Heaven Sent Children also works with birth parents who request our services to complete an adoption plan. Heaven Sent Children can assist you with whatever services you might require to help you build your family through adoption. Please call Stephanie or email her at: stephanie@heavensentchildren.com with your questions.

Domestic Adoption Opportunities

Domestic Adoptions – children are typically newborn African American and bi-racial. The birth mother may or may not have received prenatal care, and some birth-mothers have continued to smoke or use drugs and alcohol throughout the pregnancy. Adoptive families can be matched with a birth-parent during the 2nd or 3rd trimester of the pregnancy or after the birth. The match process involves the birth-parent reviewing the family’s profile and possibly meeting the family face-to-face. Being matched does not guarantee a placement as the birth-parent may change their mind. The adoptive family typically receives an official referral of the child following the birth-mother’s surrender during the ten-day revocation period. The adoptive family will receive medical and social history at time of referral, and information on whether or not it is a legal risk placement based upon the status of the birth-father. Following birth and prior to placement with the adoptive family, infants are cared for in a cradle home. The wait time can be 2-4 years or more dependent upon being matched with a birth-parent.

Interstate Adoptions – once your home study is completed and approved, it can be submitted to a placing agency in another state. Heaven Sent Children families have had successful placements with a number of out-of-sate placing agencies. Children are typically newborn and infants of Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American, or other ethnicity. Wait times for interstate adoptions can be 18 months or less. Adoptions are generally closed or semi-open, with some open adoptions. Each placing agency has its own criteria regarding age, marital status, and health history.

Agency-Assisted Adoptions – when an adoptive family has an identified birth parent, Heaven Sent Children can assist in all or some aspects of the adoption. This includes counseling with the birth-parents, attending the birth, advocating for the birth-parent at the hospital, taking the social and medical history, arranging the court surrenders, obtaining a waiver from alleged birth-fathers, and assisting the adoptive family and birth family in making an adoption plan.

Public Agency Adoptions – are adoptions of children in state foster care across the United States. Children are typically school age and up and are from all ethnic backgrounds. Children may have identified special needs that the family should be prepared to meet. With an approved home study and completion of PATH classes (for most states), family is eligible for placement. There are generally few restrictions on family criteria. Your Heaven Sent Children social worker can assist you in identifying available children to be considered for match.
Click here for adoption requirements

International Adoptions

Thank you for your interest in adoptong internationally. We are a licensed child placing agency in the State of Tennessee. Heaven Sent Children assists with adoptions from countries such as: Bulgaria, China, Colunbia, Ethiopa, Gambia, Haiti, Hungary, India, Korea, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Uzebekistan. At Heaven Sent Children, we have been helping build families through adoption for 17 years and have placed over than 900 children with families in Tennessee and throughout the United States. Many of our Social Workers are also adoptive parents and have first hand experience with international adoption. The staff are sensitive to the emotions families encounter when pursuing adoption and are eager to help you choose a country, decide on a referral, prepare for travel, and transition your child into your home.

We look forward to sharing your adoption experience. If you have chosen Heaven Sent Children as your home study agency, you may contact us for an application to begin the adoption process. The fee due with the application is $200. Your Social Worker will contact you after receipt of your application to schedule the first visit to begin the Home Study process.

For questions about countries you are considering, please feel free to call our office and speak with a Social Worker. You may call us at 615/898-0803 or email us at stephanie@heavensentchildren.com

Can I Adopt?

Heaven Sent Children has very few requirements, but most countries have their own policies regarding the age and marital status of adoptive applicants. Some are open to individuals, while others prefer married couples.

In some countries, requirements may focus on the number of children already in the home or the income of the family. Other countries may consider you too young or too old to pursue adoption. If you are uncertain whether you meet the criteria of an adoptive applicant for that program.

• Heaven Sent Children asks that adoptive applicants who are interested in adopting be at least 25 years of age.
• Couples should be married at least a year before beginning the adoption process.
• Single applicants should be heterosexual and have a contingency plan for thier child in the event that they are unable to raise the child to maturity.

How Do I Choose a Program?

There are so many decisions to make before you even reach this point, attending an adoption seminar can help in this process. Many families must first decide that adoption is a good choice for starting or adding to their family. Then families must weigh their options of domestic versus international adoption. Now, finally you have to decide which program is best for your family. Here are some things to consider in choosing a country.

• What age range child do you want? Do you have a gender preference?
• Are you attracted to a certain culture/country?
• Can you parent a child that is of a different race color or culture?
• Can you parent a child with known medical needs or developmental delays?
• Is a particular program affordable for your family?
• How long are you willing to wait for placement of a child?
• Can you travel to the country to bring your child home? Can you take an extended trip to adopt your child?
• Attend an All About Adoption Seminarr. Please see our current seminar/workshop dates in our LOCAL EVENTS page.

The Process for International Adoption

1. Send us your completed application with your $200 application fee.
2. Complete a home study. The home study is a 6-10 page written report that tells about you and your family. The document includes sections on each member of the family, marriage, medical, employment, financial, description of the home, arrest record (if any), religion, attitudes towards children, discipline, and counseling for adoption. Typically, two visits in the home are required and each visit is about 2-3 hours in duration. Your Social Worker may recommend that you attend workshops, support groups, and read articles/books on adoption to better prepare your for the journey of adoption.
3. Decide on a Country & Placing Agency. Your Social Worker can assist you in choosing the program which best meets your criteria. Heaven Sent Children partners with placing agencies with programs in your country of choice (see Professional Association link). Families typically make this decision while in the Home Study process.
4. File with Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). Your Social Worker will assist you with completing the appropriate forms.
5. Begin Education. Hague requirements are that each adoptive parent complete 10 hours of adoption preparation education, unless your placing agency requires more. Your Social Worker can give you information on completing this education requirement.
6. Prepare the legal documents (dossier). The documents required by each country vary, but will include documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificate, physicians letters, reference letters, police clearance letters, and CIS approval. We can work with you in completing your dossier and having it certified and legalized. These documents will be filed in court or presented to government officials in the country your child resides in. They will be used to process your application.
7. Receive and accept a child referred to you. In consultation with your Social Worker, you will receive a referral of a child, from your placing agency, which usually includes a picture, a medical report, a sometimes a video. It is always advised that families seek a medical opinion to help them make an informed decision when accepting a referral.
8. Travel. You will be notified when you need to travel to the country and enter your petition to adopt in court, bring your child home after finalization, or when your child is being escorted to you. As soon as the legal work is complete, you are the child’s legal parent, and you complete your immigration visa with the U.S. Embassy in that country and return to the United States.
9. If your child is being escorted to you, the legal work and visa are completed first and then permission is granted for the escort to leave the country with your child. Home. After your child is home, we will begin the post placement visits with your family. These must be completed according to the laws and policies of Heaven Sent Children, your child’s country, and your state. The purpose of these reports is two fold. To show the country of origin that the placement of the child in your care was a good decision and to assist you with the adjustment of parenting a child from another country.
10. Citizenship and Re-adoption. Upon arrival home, begin the process to obtain your child’s social security number, certificate of citizenship and complete the re-adoption in Tennessee to receive a Tennessee Report of Foreign Birth Certificate. Your Social Worker can assist you in completing these steps.

International Adoption Programs

BULGARIA
AIAA is pleased to announce the reopening of their Bulgarian program which was established in 1998. Children are at least one year of age at time of referral. Married couples and single females are accepted. Age restrictions are flexible but appropriate for birth children. The adoption process require two trips. The first trip lasts 4-5 days, and three months later the family travels for a short 3-5 day trip to bring their child home. For more information, contact AIAA at www.aiaaadopt.org.

CHINA
We partner with Chinese Children Adoption International. The program is open to married couples 30-49 years of age, must be married 2 years or 5 years with a previous marriage. There are income, family size, physical and mental health requirements a family must meet. Most of the children are infant girls 7 months up to three years old. Time from entering this program to referral is 24-30 months. After the referral, travel to China is in 4-8 weeks. Only one trip is required. Families travel in groups to China for 2 weeks to complete the adoption process. Please contact CCAI for more information at www.chinesechildren.org.

COLUMBIA
We partner with Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS) for this program. Couples must be married at least 3 years. Couples 25-38 years of age with no children and couples 24-40 with one child may adopt infants. Couples up to 55 years of age and single heterosexual women, can adopt a child 7-15 years of age. Referral can take one year after submission of the dossier for and older child. For tottlers and infants it can take 2-3 years. Travel after referral is within 2 weeks. Both parents are required to travel to initiate the adoption, but one parent may leave after 10 days. The in-country stay is approximately 6-7 weeks. Contact CHSFS for more information at www.childrenshomeadopt.org.

ETHIOPIA
We partner with Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS) for this program. Infants up to school age are available for adoption. Adoptive parents should be between the ages of 25-50, married couples, must be in good health and also show sufficient income to parent the child; no single men or women. First time parents must be open to gender. After the dossier is submitted, it is approximately 5-6 months for referral of a boy and 6-9 months for referral of a girl. Travel occurs 2-3 months after referral. The children in the Care Center range in age from newborn to around 9 years old. Parents may choose to travel or have their child escorted. For those who travel, the adoption trip is about 1 week. Please contact the CHSFS at www.childrenshomeadopt.org.

GAMBIA
Heaven Sent Children has partnered with Kentucky Adoption Services (KAS) in their pilot program in The Gambia. The Gambia is a beautiful English speaking country. Children in need of families are typically abandoned infants or children who are orphaned by both parents with no extended family to care for them. The youngest children we expect to come home from The Gambia will be nine months, although families should be open to children up to 18 months of age. KAS is actively seeking families for older children and/or those with special needs. The adoption process will take approximately one year or less. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about this exciting new opportunity at kentuckyadoptionservices.org.

HAITI
We are partnering with Chinese Children Adoption International for this program. Couples together 10 years or more and single women can apply. Individuals must be between 35-55 yearss of age. Infants and older children are available for adoption with referral time around 18 months after submission of dossier. Two short trips are required, the first for 5-6 days and the second for 1-2 days. Visit www.haitiadoption.org for more information.

HUNGARY
We partner with Americans for International Aid and Adoption (AIAA) for this recently opened program. Children will be 6+ years old, sibling groups, and those with special needs. Married couples and single females are accepted. There can be no more than 45 years difference between the child and parent. Referral approximately one year from dossier submission. In-country stay is 35 days. Contact AIAA at www.aiaaadopt.org.

INDIA
We partner with Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS) and Americans for International Aid and Adoption (AIAA) for this program. CHSFS is accepting applicants for waiting children only. AIAA is accepting applicants for older and special needs children only. Couples age 30-55 may adopt and single heterosexual women age 30-45. No more than 3 children can be in the home. Couples must be married 5 years and one divorce each is allowed. Preference is given to Indian families. After submission of dossier a referral is received within 12-16 months. Travel to the country is 4-7 months after referral. Infants are available to Indian families only. Travel is one week and the Government of India strongly encourages parents to travel to pick up the child. Please contact the Partnering Agency for the Country Program Fees. Website: www.aiaaadopt.org and www.childrenshomeadopt.org.

KOREA
W partner with Americans for International Aid and Adoption (AIAA) and Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS) for this program. Married couples of at least three years and between the ages of 25-44 may apply. There must be more than a 9 year age gap between the parents. There can be no more than 4 children in the home and only one divorce for either parent. Families must have an annual income of $35,000 with more for each additional child in the family. Adoptive parents must be in good health and nore than 30% over weight. Parents must also have at least a high school education. Most children are under 12 months at referral and some toddlers are available. First time parents must be open to gender. Referral for a girl may take up to 12 months and referral of a boy will take 6-8 months. Travel occurs approximately 3-4 months after referral. Please contact the Partnering Agency for more information at www.childrenshomeadopt.org and www.aiaaadopt.org.

NEPAL
We partner with Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS) for this pilot program. Couples married 4 years and single women can apply. Can only have one child in the home, unless parenting two children of the same gender, then can adopt a child of the opposite gender. Children available 12 months to 3 years old. After submission of dossier, referral is received 6-12 months later. In country stay is 1-2 weeks, with adoption occurring in the US upon return home. Website: www.childrenshomeadopt.org.

RUSSIA
We are currently partnering with Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS). THE PROGRAM IS ON HOLD FOR NEW APPLICANTS. Interested applicants can be single or couples married at least one year. Available children are 12 months of age to school age with a shorter referral time for toddlers and older children. The children are from orphanages. The time from submission of the dossier to referral is about 6 months. The first trip occurs 2-4 weeks after acceptance of a referral and is for one week. The second trip to finalize the adoption occurs 12-14 weeks after trip one and length of stay varies from 12-24 days. Both parents must travel, although one parent may leave early on the second trip. Please contact the Partnering Agency for more information at www.childrenshomeadopt.org.

THAILAND
We partner with Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS). THE PROGRAM IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO HIGH DEMAND. The program is open to married couples (no more than 2 divorces combined), 25-40 years of age for a child 16 months and up; 40-45 years of age for a child 24 months and up. No serious health issues, including obesity; 0-2 children currently in the family. Children are 16-24 months at referral up to age 5. The child referral is 1-6 months after submission of the dossier and travel occurs in 5-8 months after referral acceptance. Travel is a 10-14 day in-country stay and both parents must travel. Please contact the Partnerting Agency for Country Program fees. Website: www.childrenshomeadopt.org.

UKRAINE
We partner with Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS). Couples, married one year, under 50 years of age may adopt. Children are 24 months and older. The time from submission of dossier until invitation to travel to the country is approximately 12 months. Adoptions may be completed in one or two trips. The one trip process is for 5-6 weeks. The two trip process involves families staying for 2-3 weeks and then returning approximately 1 month later for a 1 week trip. Only one parent is required on the second trip. Please contact CHSFS at www.chsfs.org.

UZBEKISTAN
We partner with Children’s Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS). This is a new program! Married couples may apply, but mother must be less than 45 years old. Neither parent can have any serious health issues or history of depression. Children available are age 3 and older. After submission of dossier referral is received within 3-4 months and travel after referral is approximately 2-3 months. Length of time in country is 4 weeks. Please contact the Partnering Agency for Country Program Fees. Website: www.childrenshomeadopt.org.

Additional Fees to Consider