You are here: Home / Archives for Adoption Process

Adopt a Child out of Foster Care

Right now, there are approximately a half million children in the United States living in foster care. These boys and girls have been removed from their homes because of neglect or other circumstances out of their control and they deserve a fresh start somewhere else. Agencies across the country are working to permanently place these needy children in new homes but there are not nearly enough of those good homes available.

The ages of the children in foster care range from newborn to 17. The children come from a diverse background and a variety of races. About 20% of the children in foster care have been permanently removed from their homes and are eligible to be adopted but the average wait time of those children is three years. Putting a greater strain on the children trying to adjust to a new life is the fact that in the time that they are waiting to be adopted, they will be moved from foster home to foster home several times.

It takes a special set of parents to adopt a child out of foster care because the children often have special needs. The child may have learning disabilities or might have been a victim of some form of abuse. States do all that they can to assist the new parents by offering free counseling, legal services and other post adoption services.

Statistics from the National Adoption Attitudes Survey show that 40% of all adults asked have thought about adopting a child but only a small percentage of those actually follow through and do it. The Department of Health and Human Services says if less than 1% of the people who have considered adopting would actually follow through and take a child out of foster care, there would be no children left to adopt. Until that happens, more than 100,000 children will remain in limbo.

Filed Under: Adoption Process, Parenting Tagged With: , ,

Foreign Adoption

International adoption is an excellent way to start a family or add on to one. There are thousands of children living in orphanages around the world who have been left parent less because of war or disease. They long for an opportunity to get a fresh start in a new country with parents who love them.

There are a number of agencies who work with parents interested in international adoption. Because of the numerous legal issues, it is very wise to work with an established agency and an attorney skilled in international law. The United States works with a number of other countries on issues surrounding the adoption of a child but it is the country that the child is coming from which must finalize the process.

Before you start the process, it is important to discuss what you are looking for in a child to bring home. Age, sex, religion and race are all considerations. You also must determine if you are willing to accept a child with mental or physical disabilities. Prospective parents must also subject themselves to a detailed background check which will vary from country to country.

One of the reasons that many Americans look to foreign countries to adopt is because there is no restriction on the age of prospective parents in other countries. Older couples who want children are welcomed more freely there. Many foreign countries are also more willing to consider adoption to single parents.

The total number of international adoptions averages about 15,000 per year but there has been a great deal of fluctuation in that number. In 2009, for example, 12,753 children were brought into the U.S. according to the State Department. The 12,753 adoptions were the lowest number in the past ten years in the United States, the highest total was 22,884 in 2004.

Filed Under: Adoption Process, Over Seas Adoptions, Parenting Tagged With: , ,

Adopting a Child With Special Needs

It takes a special person to adopt a child who is physically or mentally disabled. People who open their homes to these children with special needs are very special them self. They are usually the first to tell you that they are the lucky ones because of the love that is brought into their home by the child but it really goes both ways.

There are hundreds of children across the country with special needs who are the wards of the state because no one else wants them. Caring for them can be a true burden but those who adopt the special needs child do not see it that way. They believe it is their moral duty and believe in Jesus’s words that those who care for the least of my brethren do so for me.

If you are interested in adopting a special needs child, it is highly recommended that you go through a licensed adoption agency. The agency can be public or private but must be licensed by the state so that the child and the new parents are eligible for government assistance to deal with the disability.

Like all people looking to adopt a child, the prospective parents are subject to a background check which will include a study of the home in which the child will reside. This home study will examine if the home is properly equipped for a child with special needs. The prospective parents in a special needs adoption will face more scrutiny that those in other types of adoption because of the Adoption Assistance Payment that is provided by the government. It is absolutely essential that the motives of the adoptive couple are sincere and caseworkers will work to verify that the parents are not doing it just for the money. The assistance payments are aimed at helping families defray the costs of adopting a child with special needs not to profit from it.

Filed Under: Adoption Process, Parenting Tagged With: , , ,

Beware of Some Adoption Agencies

If you are planning to adopt a child, it is absolutely essential that you do a great deal of research on the adoption agency or attorney you choose to work with. There are some that are only interested in making money off the process and they do not always have the best interests of you or the child in mind.

There are certain telltale signs that you may not be working with an ethical adoption agency. The first is if the agency does not ask a number of questions about you and your fitness to be parents. Any legitimate agency will conduct a thorough background check on the people seeking to become parents before proceeding any farther. If the agency that you are consulting with does not question your background, or only questions your fiscal health that is a red flag.

When the adoption is moving forward, you should be provided with proof that the child is legally free to be adopted. This means that both parents, the natural mother and the father have given up any claim to the child and have signed off on the adoption.

You should also be suspicious of the agency you are working with if you are being asked to pay a large sum of money up front before the adoption. Some agencies will negotiate payments to the birth parents for a wide range of expenses that they may claim are typical but actually are not. Once again, it is important that you do your homework and not just take the word of the agency you are working with.

The local Department of Jobs and Family Services is a good place to start to check up on the adoption agencies that are operating in your area. They can tell you if they work with the agency or if it is properly licensed by the state.

Filed Under: Adoption Process, Parenting Tagged With: , , ,

Interracial Adoptions

One of the most controversial aspects of adoption today is interracial adoption. This is where a child of one race is adopted by a couple of a different race. For years, it was not allowed or was very difficult to do but now with more children than ever before in need of good homes it is happening more and more.

Several court rulings in recent years have also helped open the door to interracial adoption. The rulings say that race can not be used as the sole reason to deny someone from adopting a child. This has forced state agenicies that handle adoptions to change their rules and how they operate.

It is a fact in the United States that there are more minority children up for adoption than there are caucasian children and that is one reason that more white couples are looking to adopt black babies. They must understand though that while it may be easier to find a minority child to adopt, raising the child could be more difficult because of the social problems that may come with it.

There will be people who will refuse to accept the young black child as part of the family or the community. At the very least, parents involved in interracial adoptions can expect to hear inappropriate comments and face rude questions. They must be prepared for the discrimination that they and their child will face.

Fortunately, most people realize the only thing that truly matters in an adoption is that the child is placed with parents who will love them and care for them unconditionally. People who will accept the child as their own regardless of their color. It is also important that the parents honor the heritage of their child and teach them as they grow up the history of their people.

Filed Under: Adoption Process, Parenting Tagged With: , ,
Newer Posts »