A Family in Bloom Adoption has been involved with adoptions in Ghana prior to the country joining the Hague Convention for Intercountry Adoption in January 2017. Our agency has been responsible for the first cases for children that were successfully adopted and entered the United States under the more rigorous Hague standards in Ghana.

Since 2017, the Ghanaian Central Authority has gained experience in intercountry Hague adoptions. They have developed different protocols that have been more readily accepted by the United States government.

A Family in Bloom Adoption has worked directly with the Ghanaian Central Authority in international adoptions. Our agency’s long term foreign supervised provider partners in Ghana have been Hague Accredited by the Ghanaian Central government. There is one organization that combines social services and legal expertise to cover the necessary areas for our adoptive families’ international adoption process from Ghana.

Who Can Adopt

Our agency’s niche group, that we believe has the best chance of success for international adoptions from Ghana to the United States, will be Ghanaian-Americans. The adoption cases that A Family in Bloom Adoption will support through our Ghana Adoption Program will be from one of two types of backgrounds. Please note that, at this time, our agency is not attempting to find new matches for adoptive families with Ghanaian children:

• Kinship or close relative adoption cases of minor age children. Given the time constraints involved in international adoption process, our agency would work with a single child adoption case of a child 0 to 14 years of age. For sibling sets, our agency can accept an older child of 16 only if there are younger siblings involved age 14 or less.
• Adoptive children that have been previously matched and placed by the Ghanaian Social Services through foster care with a Ghanaian-American family. The same age constraints mentioned above would apply.

If your family’s adoption case falls into either of these two categories mentioned above, you are welcomed to contact our agency for assistance and evaluation of appropriate services. All designated and/or kinship adoption cases will be assessed initially by A Family in Bloom Adoption based on a family’s self-report and a review of child documentation.

Who Can Adopt From Ghana, cited from US State Department’s Intercountry webpage for Ghana:

• Minimum Residency: There is no residency requirement to adopt a child from Ghana.
• Age of Adopting Parents: Adopting parents must be at least 25 years of age and at least 21 years older than the child. If one of the adopting parents is a relative of the child, they must be at least 21 years of age.
• Marriage: Generally, only married couples may adopt in Ghana. A single person may adopt only if that person is a citizen of Ghana. Single males may not adopt unless the child to be adopted is his birth child or the courts determine that special circumstances apply. Same-sex couples may not adopt from Ghana.
• Income: Applicants must be gainfully employed.
• Other: The Department of Social Development in Ghana requires that applicants must be of sound mind and must undergo a medical exam as part of the pre-approval process. Applicants must also prove their ability to care for a child that may be socially and culturally different from themselves and who may have experienced trauma due to family deaths, institutionalization, neglect, etc.
• ** Unofficially, there can be an upper age limit for adoptive parents that the Ghanaian Central Authority or Ghanaian Courts may implement in their determination in approving prospective adoptive parents, including in kinship adoption cases.
Reflections of Life
A lake reflects life
A mother holds her child
A new reflection
— Edward Ebbs

About Ghana

Ghana is an ethnically diverse and politically stable country located in West Africa. The basis of the Pan-African movement is rooted in its modern history. The country’s name is derived from a powerful medieval trading empire in the region. Sea trade commenced with the Europeans starting in the 1400’s, initially around gold deposits. Cacao, which was introduced about 200 years ago, remains the country’s chief export today.

The geological terrain, descending from low-lying mountains to the ocean shore, resulted in wondrous natural surroundings. National parks and beachside hamlets are worth exploring to partake in the country’s flora and fauna. Tourists worldwide visit Ghana to experience its nature habitats.

The people of Ghana are known for their friendliness and welcoming attitude. Our agency staff has enjoyed working with our Ghanaian families.

Please contact us to learn more about our international adoption services.