About the Authors Jean and Heino Erichsen bring more than 25 years of experience and advice on international adoption to this third edition of their book. In 1981, the Erichsens founded Los Ninos International Adoption Center, the first nonprofit international adoption agency in Texas. This was also the first agency of its kind to be accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) under international standards. What began as a mom and pop agency soon became an internationally recognized agency with eleven staff members. Los Ninos serves orphans in Latin America, Asia, and Europe, prospective adoptive parents in every state, and U.S. citizens posted abroad. More than 2,000 orphans born in developing countries have already been placed with approved American singles and couples. The Erichsens are the parents of six children, seven grandchildren and the spiritual grandparents of thousands. One of the daughters they adopted from Colombia is now the administrative director of Los Ninos. The Erichsens continue to travel extensively in Latin America, Asia and Europe, in order to develop and to maintain adoption programs. They also conduct adoption seminars in the United States and abroad. The Erichsens earned Master's Degrees in Human Development from St. Mary's College in Winona, Minnesota, specializing in international adoption sources and procedures. They have continued their education and professional standing through workshops, seminars and memberships in the Joint Council on International Children’s Services, the National Council for Adoption, and the American Psychotherapy Association.

How to Adopt Internationally