Lithuania
The Republic of Lithuania is located in the center of Europe, situated at one of the largest crossroads of the continent. It is part of the economic region known as the Baltic Republics, extending along the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Republic of Belarus borders Lithuania on the east and south, and Poland and the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation border it on the southwest.
The rich culture of Lithuania dates to thousands of years. During the 14th century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. Since that time, various countries overtook Lithuania. However, even in recent history (armed resistance to Soviet domination was as recent as 1990), the people’s determination for independence has always brought them to freedom from other’s domination. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare its renewed independence.
In 2000, Bethany Christian Services began developing its adoption program in Lithuania, and in the following year, we began recruiting families for the Lithuania program. In the summer of 2002, our first family submitted their dossier.
During 2004, a growing number of American families of Lithuanian descent came forward expressing interest in adopting from Lithuania. In October 2005, Bethany Christian Services was granted accreditation with Adoption Services in Lithuania, allowing the agency to find even more permanent families for Lithuanian children.
Bethany has a cooperative agreement for services in Lithuania with the Family Law Center, which contracts with an attorney who specializes in domestic and intercountry adoptions in Lithuania and is accredited with the State Adoption Services. The Family Law Center provides adoptive families with services both in document preparation prior to their travel and guidance while completing their adoption in Lithuania.
Each year, Bethany receives information about many children with special needs who are awaiting adoption. In 2008, Bethany Christian Services received the “Pride of Lithuania Award” for matching many Lithuanian children with special needs with families in the U.S. The award winners were selected from nominees by a jury that consisted of the first lady of Lithuania, as well as prominent members of Lithuanian society.
The majority of Lithuanian children Bethany places in adoptive families are older children or have identified special needs. However, we also receive referrals of children without identified needs. Each year, we place between ten and fifteen children from Lithuania.
Click on the program title to learn how you can help.
Adoption
Intercountry Adoption