Can you compare ............

Question

adopting from foster care and adopting from an other country

time?

expense?

availability of infants, school aged and teens?

include as much info as possible i read everything!

ill pick best answer

thanks in advance

Answer 1

Can I answer from the point of view of the kid?

The amount of time it takes in foster care depends on the age and cuteness of the kid.  A baby will sit in foster care long enough for parental rights to be terminated and for the caseworker to pick parents out of the hundreds of folks wanting to take that sweet little baby home.  Unless that baby is black, or has major medical issues.  Then it will take longer.  (I'm not being mean, just telling it like it is.)  Expense: free.  Availability: there are plenty of kids of all ages (over 100,000 kids are waiting in foster care for adoptive families), but for each cute baby, there are hundreds of PAP's waiting in line; for school-aged kids, maybe one or two appropriate families will be interested; for teens...they're lucky if they don't age out of the system or get adopted by abusive psycho's.  There's no shortage of adoptable "older" kids, but no one wants them.

Adopting from another country: that one's a c**p shoot.  It depends on the country, the agency, the ethics of the people involved, what's going on in the international adoption world at that time, and how ethical you want to be, along with how prepared you are, how much you've learned, how interested you are in different age groups, etc.  There's no shortage of adoptable kids in other countries, but you have to be really careful that you're adopting a child who wasn't kidnapped from his/her family, sold on the black market, or still has living family who could take care of them if they just had the money.

There are kids all over the world who need new families.  Just be careful, because there are a lot of kids who DON'T need new families, but they're on the market because people will buy them...they'd still be with their own families if there weren't people buying kids from overseas.  Again, I'm just telling it like it is.

Answer 2

Hi Cassie,

Id be glad to give you what advice I can.

Overseas adoptions are seeming to take longer these days 3 to 4 years in some cases as far as China goes.

Dpending on whats going on around the world it can delay the process once you start.

Specific numbers on other countries I really don't know.

There are many adoption agencies out there and you should research your heart out so your comfortable doing what is an emotional and beautiful thing.

Children's House International has allot of information.*

We did a lot of training online with this agency.

It was very helpful.

This is an adoption agency in Washington state.

You can even go to your phone book and call a couple near by to you.

Foster care I can comment that you should get the knowledge and support systems in place you might need for that beautiful child that is your own for ever. What ever state your from I would assume that they would be willing to give you what ever knowledge you will need since you are willing to make this child your own forever.

Since you are considering foster care there is a licensing process and allot of training.

Availability depends, my wife and I waited 3 years and got no foster children then got offered a sibling group of 5.

There was no way my small home could accommodate 5 children.

I was crushed to see this picture of children and feel so overwhelmed.

There are usually more children 5 and up.

Again Im sure you realize there is an entire internet of information and this was hepful to my family.

Expense depends on your state requirements.

You will have to verify every aspect of your life.

Foster care is usually cheaper with just legal fees and such.

Overseas again Korea does not need you to travel but China does.

Add in your travel.

The best rule of thumb I can give you on overall expense is it will cost you as much to have a baby without insurance as to adopt overseas, then add in travel if needed.

I have done this twice and hope you find all the blessings I have found in adoption.

God Bless.

Answer 3

why would yu adopt?

just have a child yu can call yur own

Answer 4

basically i would choose on the one that related best to your interest in a relationship

Answer 5

Let me tell you a little something my husband told me. He was adopted first of all as an infant from the hospital. He was born here in the U.S.

He says he would never adopt a child from foster care or after they've grown up very much. The reason why is a lot of kids are abused physically or sexually before they are removed from a home. If you have other children in your home they may repeat what has happened to them to your other children! This happened to my husband. His brother was only 5 years old, my spouse was just born, but as they grew up things got worse and it wasn't discovered until years later...

The only reason I say this is, you will probably adopt a wonderful baby or child. I want to adopt too, just be very careful and vigalent of what is going on.

There are a lot of babies that need homes here in the U.S. I don't know the time difference, but the sooner you apply the better. They might be more strict here, but that is good because you will be the best family for him or her. Fostering a baby is possible too, and adopting him or her at the end of the foster time. Then they usually let you adopt quicker that way. They are already in your home.

That's all I know. I hope it helps a little.

Answer 6

I've actually done both.  My 15 year old was adopted internationally and my 5.5 month old was adopted through foster care.

As far as time is concerned, our first daughter came to us 6 weeks after we started the process and was formally adopted 3 years later when we moved back to Canada.  Our daughter through foster care came to us 5 months after we started the process and was formally adopted a little over a month ago.

As far as cost, because we were living in India at the time we adopted it was about $800 US and that included the Indian passport as well.  We did have to pay the $450 (at the time) immigration fee on top of that.  Once we got back to Canada it was $500 to get the adoption done and that just covered the cost of the court paperwork, which I did myself, and the home study.  If we had done the whole process from home though it would have cost us over $30 k.  For our daughter through foster care, there was no cost at all for either the foster care application process or the adoption itself.  It was all covered by CAS.

Both children were infants when they came to us, the first at 8 months old and the most recent at 4 days old.  We didn't ask for infants although we did state we would prefer that if available however they were well aware that we would have considered an older child as well, both times.  It was just fate for us that they were infants.  

Answer 7

if yu must, adopt from foster care. they would be more familiar to the usa and would fit in better. also concider that the child may have been abused in foster care. it would cost way more money to adopt than to adopt a foster child. and it can take years to adopt. a teen ager would feel out of place and you would be the infants mother for life an older girl would only be yur child fur a couple yers then would leave home.

Answer 8

Adopting a child from foster home, you might not get the chance to have a infant or newborn, but a oldr child - cause of the wait of a infant. Alot of people want to adpot a child the youngest age and from a foster home it can rage to  5 - teenager...

With a child that you adopt from another country it will cost you alot of money, time, travel, and getting phone calls rather you can adopt or not - waiting for a child to adopt can take awhile 1 - 2 years. But you have a better chance getting a younger infant doing it this way.

In my opinion if any child can be given a good home with a good family

I hope they can be adopted - no matter what age they are... All children deserves good home, good family and a chance in life.

Answer 9

In short, Foster care will place a child in your home faster if you will take an older child. The full process for a younger child is similar to International Adoption though you may have the child in your home sooner. Interestingly a good friend did a Korean adoption and a foster adoption simultaneously; her US born daughter arrived at her home first but her Korean daughter's adoption was finalized first.

Foster adoption will be much less expensive. It will be easier to get an infant Internationally. If you specifically want an older child it would probably be easier to match with one through the Foster system, though older children are available through some International programs.

Here is a link to a very useful summary that covers some of your questions.

http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles...

Here is another link that will take you to a guide that will help you evaluate which programs both match your expectations, financial concerns, and qualifications.

http://www.theadoptionguide.com/tools/pl...

The time frame and predictability varies from country to country in International Adoption and each program has different requirements. In general the process takes from 18 months to 2 years. Our international adoption happened more quickly but that was a fluke. International programs often focus on infants but some also have older children available. In some cases the wait is shorter and the cost is lower for older children. The same is true of waiting children with disabilities.

Foster care will tend to be your fastest route particularly if you match with an old child. You are not at all likely to get an infant through a foster adoption. The majority of waiting children are boys of color age 8 and higher. If you qualify and match well, that is a good choice if you are looking for a faster process. There is also a particular need for parents to sibling groups. If you want a younger child, you are more likely to be involved in a foster to adoption process. The child is not available for adoption at the time she is placed and in addition to facilitating visit with birth parents it is possible that the child may eventually be returned to her first family. The process is less predictable but it is a way to get a younger child. All Foster system adoptions are much less expensive than other programs. Some are free.