What's New?
September 10-12, 2012 | Anna Belle Illien, Founder and Executive Director of Illien Adoptions International, Inc., was in Washington, D.C. this week to accept a prestigious congressional award for her 30+ years of service for vulnerable children and adoptive families: Ms. Illien was nominated by Georgia's Senator Johnny Isakson and selected as one of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's "Angels in Adoption" in September 2012. She was honored in a pinning ceremony on 9/11 and attended a reception and gala the next evening as part of the festivities. [Read more here.]
August 2012 | Illien Adoptions International is approved and recognized and awaiting finalized documents to begin working in earnest in El Salvador. Be watching for an announcement on this website: We will be officially accepting applications soon for this program.
2 February 2012 | Under the Hague regulations, the Council on Accreditation (COA) will provide the general public with an opportunity to provide feedback about Illien's performance as an adoption service provider. Here is the link to the information about this opportunity on COA's website: Submit your feedback to COA about Illien Adoptions International, Inc.
2 June 2011 | U.S. Department of State announcement about Ethiopia: "The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia has received information from the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs indicating that processing of cases that received a court summons prior to March 8, 2011 is still ongoing." The State Department further indicates that the "processing of cases with court summons after March 8 is proceeding at 5 cases per day, and there is no indication that these numbers will increase in the short term." Read the rest of the announcement here at adoption.state.gov } Country Information } Adoption Alerts & Notices (sort by country).
19 May 2011 | Visitors from the Republic of Georgia: Illien Adoptions International, Inc. was honored this past May 19th to be included amongst the organizations visited by a delegation of intercountry adoption and child welfare experts from the Republic of Georgia. This visit was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP). Illien Adoptions has submitted the required documentation to request the opportunity to collaborate with the Georgian Social Service Agency to find homes for Georgian children with special needs, sibling groups, and older children. Please check back for updates if you would like to consider adopting a child from the country of Georgia!
26 April 2011 | Illien just accredited in Azerbaijan! Illien Adoptions International, Inc. received approval in Azerbaijan as the first US adoption agency accredited under the Hague Adoption Convention! On April 26, 2011, Sarah Brittingham met with the government officials in Azerbaijan, who announced our agency's accreditation. We are very honored to have been selected, and we are working with our first families to adopt. Prospective Adoptive Parents may call (404) 815-1599 for more details on the program.
11-13 April 2011 | JCICS's 35th Annual Conference / Orphan Medicine and Nutritional Institute: Earlier this month in New York City, Anna Belle Illien, Sarah Brittingham, and Brett DuPree attended the 35th Annual Conference and Orphan Medicine and Nutritional Institute, of the Joint Council on International Children's Services. For information on the subjects covered at this conference, and for information on all of the activities of Joint Council, please refer to the JCICS website.
March 2011 | Developments in Illien's program for non-US citizens to adopt US-born children: Illien is pleased to announce the opening of an exciting program for children in our U.S. Foster Care system to find families in France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Candidate families should be open to adopting a child up through at least age 10 or a sibling group, and should be open to children with some special needs. For more information, visit the program page.
March 2011 | Adoption Law and Policy Conference in New York: Anna Belle Illien is attending the Eighth Annual Adoption Law and Policy Conference at New York Law School on March 4. The topic of the conference is the Federal Government and Adoption: How International Law and Domestic Policies are Transforming Adoption. This is a great opportunity for Illien to stay abreast of the policy environment in which we work!
28 February 2011 | India Program News: On February 28, Illien Adoptions International received notification from the Assistant Director of CARA that our license to work in India was renewed! We are looking forward to another five years working to identify families for children in India, the country we have worked in the longest – since 1982!
23-25 February 2011 | Visit from the French Authority: Illien was honored to receive a visit from Ambassador Jean Paul Monchau and Anne Denis Blanchardon of the French Central Authority to discuss the program for children to be adopted from U.S. foster care by French families. Our three day visit went by so fast and consisted of meetings at Illien’s office, a lunch at the French Consul General’s residence, a visit to the offices of attorney Irene Steffas, and meetings with the adoption authorties of the State of Georgia. We look forward to further cooperation with the French Central Authority to find homes in France for children in the U.S. Foster Care system! (Read more here on the French consulate's website.)
December 2010 | Staff Update: In December 2010, Sarah Brittingham returned from The Hague, the Netherlands after completing a 16-month program at the Institute of Social Studies. She earned a Master’s Degree in Development Studies with a focus on Children and Youth Studies and completed her thesis on the subject of birth parents and intercountry adoption in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We are excited to welcome Sarah back and look forward to the contributions she will make to Illien in the future with her newly-gained knowledge!