International Adoption Program

Our program provides the following comprehensive services:

Pre-adoption medical record review

A medical specialist in our program is available to review medical records, photos, videos and other health care history or information for children currently living overseas. To request this service:

• Call (262) 432-6600. The medical reviewer will contact you with the initial impressions within three business days. Completion of the review may take longer than three days, depending upon the complexity of the child's condition.
• Download this document and complete the Evaluation Request Form on page 1 and the Release for Video and Medical Records Reviews form on page 2.
• Send us these forms along with copies of materials you would like reviewed. We recommend that you email these materials to speed up the process.

The fee for a Guatemalan pre-adoption medical review is $400, which includes the initial evaluation and all monthly follow-up medical evaluations. The fee for a pre-adoption medical review of children from all other countries is $300. We accept all major credit cards and personal checks. If paying by check, make it payable to "Medical College of Wisconsin." We will send you a link to pay via credit card online once your review is initiated.

Pre-adoption psychosocial consultation

A psychologist is available to discuss potential developmental or behavioral questions that families may have regarding a particular child or the transition to parenthood in general.

The psychologist works with families to provide special consideration to the needs of children coming from international foster care or orphanages.

A 45- to 60-minute consultation in person or by telephone is available to support families prior to adoption. Discussions may include the initial transition to the U.S., special needs of children adopted from orphanages, the effects of trauma and neglect on development, racial socialization and sibling adjustment. The cost for a pre-adoption psychosocial consultation is $150. To request this service, please call (262) 432-6600.

Arrival medical evaluation

Once your travel dates are set, you can make appointments to meet with a team of specialists at Children's. To request this service, please call Central Scheduling at (877) 607-5280 and request an international adoption program arrival visit.

Medical staff will meet with your family to discuss your child's healthcare needs and decide on a plan of care. After the visit, our staff will send your child's primary care doctor a summary of the visit and any follow-up recommendations.

Post-adoption physical and follow-up

After the excitement and confusion of the initial phase of adoption, the child and family begin establishing their new lives together. For most children, this involves learning and adapting to many new experiences. Our staff will support your family throughout this critical and exciting time.

We recommend follow-up visits over the first year of adoption. Developmental assessments of the child and overall family adjustment become the main focus of the visits. Evaluation and therapeutic intervention also is available for older internationally adopted children if there is concern about health, behavior or development.

Helpful resources

The Center for Child Development does not endorse, support, represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any included websites nor endorses any opinions expressed in any of the websites included in this listing. The Center for Child Development merely provides access to such content as a service to you. These resources are not meant to take the place of working with experts in the above identified areas.

• Referral Review worksheet for families
• Realistic Expectations: The first year home
• Parenting your adopted preschooler
• Parenting your adopted school-age child
• Parenting your adopted teenager
• Dear Teacher letter -advocating for your adopted child
• 2019 Adoptive Family training workshops and calendar
• www.championclassrooms.org
• American Academy of Pediatrics - Safe and Sound: Responding to the Experiences of Children Adopted or in Foster Care