Legal Adoption? Forget it!
I have seen several cases of women looking to adopt children here in the DR. The paperwork in humongeous, the wait is forever-3-4 years and then it is a maybe, at best. Selection is not an option.
In the Dominican Republic, few children are "adopeted" like in the States. Thousands are 'raised' (Criado/hijos de crianza) a much more informal situation. My wife and I raised 7 children this way.
Also, if you have children, you cannot adopt in the DR. So, if you have any Dominican friends, and are ready to move at a moment's notice, here is what to do:
1) Find someone who is going to have a baby they want to enjoy a good life. See if they will literally "give" it to you.
2) If this happens, you and your husband get the papers from whereever the baby was born, making sure that your names are on the paper (or get someone to do a sort of "duplicate" for you to take to the Registro Civil in the locale where the baby was born.
3) Get the baby's Birth Certificate-with your name on it of course as mother and father, get it "Legalizado" -in the system so to speak.
4) go to the US Consulate and declare that this child is yours, and when it is old enough to travel it goes to the states as your baby.
Legal? No. Effective? Heck yes it is and it is the only way to do it if you want a baby.
Does it work? Heck yes it does...ask Mary Jo Fernandez!!
Hillbilly