Our foremost commitment is to serve children and families with respect, care, compassion and excellence. Our knowledgeable staff, who will work in partnership with you to reach your dream, delivers that excellence to you. We take pride in working diligently every day to make the adoption process more understandable and manageable for each of our clients. La Vida’s goal is to walk hand in hand with you every step of the way. Additionally, we will be there for you after the adoption, whether to provide support or to celebrate a joyous milestone in your child’s life.

La Vida’s primary focus is on international adoption, the adoption of children born and residing in a country other than the U.S. For a variety of excellent reasons today more and more couples and singles are choosing the international path to build their families. We offer programs in countries where children are in need, programs are stable, regulations are consistent, and where the overall health and developmental outcomes for children have been positive.

Currently, our largest international program is with the People’s Republic of China. La Vida has been placing children from China since early 1992 and unites children with families throughout the entire United States. We were one of the first U.S. agencies to be approved by the Chinese government to place children from China. Since that time, the China adoption program has grown and thrived. The success of the program lies in the cooperative attitude of the Chinese government, the overall stability and consistency of the China adoption program, and the general good health of the children who need families.

We also have a complimentary international program in the country of Colombia and we continually look for other countries with whom to develop additional adoption programs. Additionally we have a domestic adoption program, including counseling and referral for birth and adoptive parents.

La Vida is a full service adoption and child-placing agency assisting families throughout the United States. All families are guaranteed access to services without regard to race, religion, age or socio-economic status. We provide comprehensive and flexible services to meet your needs through each step of the adoption process. We are pleased to offer the following services as we assist families to reach their goal of adoption:

We believe that every child deserves a family and in response we reach out to individuals and couples to share the news of adoption. We do this by holding community information meetings throughout the United States, presenting at professional conferences and workshops, and maintaining a web site and literature packages with a strong educational component for those who wish to learn about adoption. Additionally, we offer free individual in-person or telephone conferences. We also place a high value on the importance of education and preparation of adoptive parents. Each family with whom we work is provided with a comprehensive packet of educational literature designed to provide a good foundation of understanding of issues relevant to international adoption. Additionally, each family is invited to attend a Saturday preparation for international adoption workshop. This meeting is required of families with whom we are working to complete a home study and optional for all out of state families.

We will provide you with forms and instructions for making application to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). Additionally, we review, file, and monitor the USCIS review process and ensure that you are always in compliance with U.S. government regulations.

We provide you with the necessary country specific paperwork for your adoption along with samples to guide you in completion. We then carefully review your documents to ensure that they will meet the country’s requirements. We do as much of it FOR you as we can and carefully walk you through the paperwork that requires your direct attention.

Complete Dossier Certification and Authentication Service

For each of our adoption programs, we offer a unique and very convenient service. Each document that you prepare must go through a process of certification and authentication. This is a very intensive process, which involves writing letters, including payment and shipping documents through many steps and to many different agencies in order to obtain appropriate stamps, seals and approvals for your documents. Many families find that overseeing their documents through this process is very frustrating and confusing. We have solved that problem by taking on the responsibility to do it ourselves and you won’t have to worry about learning the process or finding the time to understand and complete all of the tasks involved.

La Vida can conduct your home study if you are a Pennsylvania resident. From the time we receive the paperwork associated with your home study, we can generally complete the home visits and report within 30 to 45 days. If you are not a resident of Pennsylvania, we can assist you to locate a local home study agency and once selected, we can assist the agency in understanding any information specifically required by the country from where you are adopting.

Over and over again families tell us that while the initial paperwork for adoption felt challenging, when they had completed it, they wished that they had more paperwork to do! Why…because, at times, the wait for your child to come can feel very long. Sometimes, having something to do helps pass the time and ease the wait. To assist you with this wait we will provide you with monthly updates regarding the country program and the child referral process, our quarterly newsletter, regular telephone calls of support and small monthly gifts which have been selected to help you to keep your spirits up. Additionally, we are always available by telephone or in-person just to talk.

Child Placement

Through international adoption programs and strong relationships with overseas officials, we offer programs for child placement for families in all 50 states and overseas. Typically, families may request the general age, gender, and health status of a child.

Comprehensive Travel Preparation and Planning

La Vida provides each family with a complete travel preparation handbook designed to prepare you for such things as what to pack, what will happen during your trip, meeting your child for the first time and many other topics. Additionally, each family is invited to attend a travel preparation meeting where further preparation is provided and you get an opportunity to meet those with whom you will be traveling. We help link you with the other members of your travel group after you are assigned a child and the members of your group are known.

Trips to China are accomplished in "groups" of families adopting children at the same time, generally from the same provinces. The size of typical groups ranges from 8 families to 25 families at a time, with an average group size of approximately 12 to 15 families. La Vida carefully plans every element of your overseas trip including your international flights, hotels, meals, and activities. Additionally, La Vida arranges for guides, translators, facilitators, site seeing activities, transportation, and coordination of all staff and professionals knowledgeable and experienced in each of the necessary steps for completing your adoption, and guiding you through the entire in-country process. Each adoption trip is carefully planned to offer the best services, great accommodations, a wonderful travel experience, and the successful completion of your adoption.

Affordable post-adoption legal services are available for re-adoption of your child, whether required or desired. We can also assist you in obtaining a passport, applying for a naturalization certificate, registering with the Social Security Administration, or creating a will and naming a guardian.

Post-placement Supervision & Counseling

After you return home with your child your home study agency will generally conduct 1 or 2 post placement visits to your home. The purpose of these visits is: 1) to collect some basic health and adjustment information for a report that is forwarded to your child’s country; 2.) to provide support to your family if you feel the need; and 3.) to share in the joy of finally seeing that your child has arrived and your family has grown. For families who reside in Pennsylvania, La Vida will usually conduct these visits and write the necessary reports. For those living outside of Pennsylvania, your local home study agency can conduct these visits. As with the home study, La Vida can assist your supervising agency in understanding the supervision and reporting requirements of your child’s country.

Families receive a "Welcome Back" package that includes information about obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship, Social Security number, and U.S. passport for your child. You can also receive a summary of your adoption expenses so that you may take advantage of any tax or employer benefits to which you may be entitled.

Support After Adoption

After adoption, you may participate in a family directory which keeps parents and children connected to others throughout the United States. All La Vida families continue to receive our quarterly newsletter and are invited to attend family and cultural events during each year. In early February we host all La Vida families in a celebration of the Chinese and Vietnamese New Year. Occasionally, in the summer, we also host a family picnic for all. After your adoption and as your family grows and develops, we will be readily available for support and referral if needed.

La Vida has a staff of approximately 28 individuals who guide families through the adoption process every step of the way. These include our founders, adoptive parents of 4 children, our director, an adoptive parent of two children from China, administrative staff, and social workers. Our staff has over 150 years of adoption experience and everyone works diligently each and every day to assist families from the point of initial inquiry about adoption through planning and implementing your trip to adopt your child.