International vs. Domestic Adoption Part 2

Following up from my last post, when it comes to having a child or children of your own, cost is a factor but some people may say money is no object! OK, you are over one hurdle, but what about the number of children actually available to adopt domestically? What about how long it takes to wait for your child if you adopt internationally? In this second part of my blog, I dive into the availability of children for domestic adoption and the wait times for international children.

Difficulty of Domestic Adoption

It’s not as easy as people think to adopt from the U.S. For every newborn placed for adoption, it is estimated that there are 20 willing couples hoping to adopt that baby. Before Roe. v. Wade, 8% of births resulted in adoption. Since abortion was legalized, only 1% of births result in adoption. In addition, 15% of couples have a fertility issue. As a result, abortion has nearly eliminated the number of babies who could be adopted by infertile couples.

A similar problem exists in foster care. While there are 400,000 children in the foster care system, only 100,000 of those children have a case plan for adoption which is developed with the family and provides a road map for safety, stability, and well-being for a child and family (Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association, 2008).

There are even some adoption agencies that state, “Birth parents have 30 days change their mind and elect to parent the child” which could cause hurt and heartbreak for the expectant family (Adoption Makes Family Inc., n.d.).

Wait Time for International Adoption

Typically, the waiting time (and sometimes the total costs) for international adoption are more predictable than for a domestic adoption. Going back to the top 5 countries that children are adopted from (Department of State, 2018), here are some of the average timelines of waiting for a child:

- China: 5 + years for healthy children

- South Korea: About 1 year for special needs children; 3-4 years for healthy children

- Haiti: 18-36 months

- India: 6 months – 2 years

- Ukraine: Generally 3-12 months

(Adoptive Families, 2019)

I did not know that all of this was happening! I thought that it was a simple choice, but as I looked further, it is a lot more involved than I thought. In my opinion, I say that people should adopt both domestically and internationally, let’s not make it a debate on which child is better or worse off. I was adopted domestically by wonderful parents and they love me dearly and there are people who adopt internationally and love their children dearly as well. Having children is a blessing from God no matter where the child comes from, whether it be through an adoption agency, attorney, internationally, through a family member, foster care or wherever it does not matter. What does matter is that these children get a loving home with a family that loves them even more.

References

Adoption Makes Family Inc. (n.d.). Adoption in maryland | adopt a baby | adoption agency baltimore. Retrieved from http://www.adoptionmakesfamily.org/adoptive-parents/step-by-step-process/

Adoptive Families. (2019, March 11). International adoption - Country stats & agency listings. Retrieved from https://www.adoptivefamilies.com/how-to-adopt/international-adoption-overview-fast-facts-agency-listings/

Department of State. (2018, March 23). Annual report on intercountry adoptions. Retrieved from https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/NEWadoptionassets/pdfs/Annual%20Report%20on%20Intercountry%20Adoptions%20FY2017%20(release%20date%20March%2023%2020.._.pdf

Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association. (2008, May). Case planning in child welfare practice bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.ifapa.org/pdf_docs/pbcaseplanning.pdf

Jones, J., & Placek, P. (2017, February 15). Adoption: By the numbers. Retrieved from https://indd.adobe.com/view/4ae7a823-4140-4f27-961a-cd9f16a5f362