Why do so many people go to places like China to adopt when there are so many US kids that need adopting?

Question

Why do so many people go to places like China to adopt when there are so many US kids that need adopting?

Answer 1

Probably because we have a "better" system set up for kids that don't have parents.  Than third world countries do.

Answer 2

I chose to adopt from Guatemala.  I have some family members from Guatemala, I love the culture, and there was more of a chance that I could adopt there being a single person and there was a good chance I'd be able to adopt a baby and not an older child that would possible require care that I couldn't provide... after dealing with the foster care system here (yes, I did consider foster care first- not that that matters).

Answer 3

people think if they adopt an older child probably from anywhere they will be getting too much baggage. i think many countries make the process easier to get newborens& there are more newborns avaliable than here in the U.S.

Answer 4

In MY opinion, people seem to forget about childless parents in America.  They feel by going over seas they not only get a baby/child of their own, but are also doing a good deed in a needy country.  Some people may also think that since we do have a lot of loving foster homes here, that adoption is not as much of an issue.

But that's just my opinion on the subject...

Answer 5

Perhaps they feel they are saving a Chinese girl from being euthanized.

Answer 6

Because children like I once was, need & deserve to be loved and raised in a family just like any other child does...no matter where they originate out of.

Do I wish there were less children in our foster care system in the US, of course.  However, with adoption comes many choices that APs have to make & location is one of them. Where I wish that no child ever has to grow up in foster care there are programs for when they get older & they have a world more of opportunity within the US (minus a family unfortunately) than children of other countries who do not have "The American Dream" (financially).

Instead of worrying about why people adopt from other countries you should worry about what you can do to enable American families to stay together.

ETA - that is so sad jm but glad she was adopted.  Both of my brothers had a cleft palat as well.  One very extreme & the other not so much but both in need & probaby would not have ever been able to afford the many surgeries they had.  One couldn't even eat regularily because there was a hole from the roof of the mouth into his nose.

Answer 7

It's EASIER and CHEAPER to go overseas. The laws are very restrictive in the US.

Answer 8

Because they want infants, or younger children and there is a long wait for domestically adopted infants.

It used to bother me as I am an adoption social worker for foster care children, but someone put it to me as a child in need is a child in need no matter where they live.

My friend adopted a little girl from Korea. She had a cleft lip that was easily repaired, however she was left to die by the side of the road over there.  She and her husband saw that little girl through reconstructive surgery and gave her a new life.  She is very very happy.  They weren't infertile.  They have 2 biological children and have adopted 2 children.

Answer 9

Perhaps the Lord puts it in their heart to adopt a child in China. That doesn't mean that they do not have any TLC for the other children in the other countries. I had friends from my church adopt to twin African American boys when they were either 4 or 5 years old and were born here in the U.S.

Answer 10

I think it's because we take better care of kids that need families and in places like China they aren't taken care of as much. We have more money to supply them with things they need and third world countries just don't have that.

Answer 11

I always got the impression that it was because there was less red tape... People in America can be on waiting lists for YEARS before finally finding a child....not because the children aren't there, but because of the messed up "system" Just another example of the problem in the "system" it victimizes the PAP's as well as the adoptees and birthmothers.. Meanwhile, the children are waiting for families.. And couples want a family before they are 40 or something! ..

that's why I always assumed people went international. But I could be wrong..

Answer 12

We adopted in China - twice.

The adoption program in China is run through one big governmental agency in Beijing. Their rules and requirements are easy to understand. The process was explained clearly to me in a way I could understand. I knew how it would work and, while the time line sometimes lengthens a lot and sometimes shortens, it IS a timeline. I could get my head around that.

In the U.S. there are many ways to adopt, many different ways to go about it, many different things that can go wrong. I didn't like the insecurity of it, and found it to be hard to understand in full.

Answer 13

In China they are only allowed to have one child, so many of the children after the firstborn are discarded and unwanted. People in the United States feel sorry for those babies and want to go and try to help them as much as possible.

Also, going to third world countries decreases the chances of their real parents coming to find them and bringing a whole legal case into the adoption later on in life.

Answer 14

I think that as long as a child is loved then it doesn't matter what nation it comes from.....

Answer 15

Unfortunately I think that there are a lot of misconceptions about the domestic adoption process.  Adopting families believe that it is very difficult to adopt infant in the US and that it takes a very long time.  People are also fearful that if a birth parent changes their mind they can take the child back (partially true).

In reality as you say there are a number of children in need of loving homes here in the US.  We adopted an infant domestically and the process took five and a half months.   It is possible to adopt an infant in the US.  Private adoption is typically quicker that going through an agency.  It is important to make sure that the birth parents have thought through their decision and all of the due diligence has been done and the paperwork is filed in accordance with state requirements to ensure a successful placement.

Answer 16

Because every child deserves a chance for a loving, safe and stable home.  That's every child, whether born in the US or not.  

Every family considering adoption needs to make the choice that is best for their family.  There are benefits and drawbacks to every adoption route.

Edit: Thank you, Ashley W.

Answer 17

Some adoptive parents choose to adopt internationally because to them it seems "safer" to them.  They do not need to worry about a bio parent showing up on their door step unannounced or changing their mind a few months down the road.  Also, since adoption is so expensive, many adoptive parents feel that they are almost "guaranteed" to bring a child home when international adoption is involved because the children are already in orphanages and waiting for adoptive parents.  

After going thru some of the hurdles here in the US with the foster care system, I have to admit that if we were considering adoption again, we might look at at international adoption as an option.  

We just have to remember that ALL children deserve a loving and safe home - regardless of nationality or place of birth.

Answer 18

Because those people working with the Children in the US are overworked and not permitted to advocate for our children...

Because the Children themselves don't have a voice and depend on others to Speak For them...

Because we protect children so much that it is not possible to make their needs public in a personal way so they are lost and forgotten...

Because big companies use the Foster Care children as Write-Offs for the Charitable Giving and make a dumb television show once a year that looks like flowers and candy and expect it to be enough...

Because Little girls from China are cute and we exploit the fact that poor, hungry children in other countries are not protected the same way our own children in Foster Care are...

Because it is more romantic to parent a child from another country then the Brats down the street at the foster home....

Answer 19

They don't want to deal with "birth mama drama."  What adoptive parents don't realize is that even international adoptees are searching and finding.  What adoptive parents don't realize is that the natural parents are beginning to realize their own voices.

What adoptive parents are realizing as time moves forward that there is a great deal of corruption and coercion in international adoption.  When their children begin communicating some are telling their parents that they were stolen.

Answer 20

I don't see what it matters. If you are able to provide a loving home to a child it shouldn't matter where they are from. Every child needs a home.

Answer 21

Because there are restrictions in the US to adopt.  You age out of adoption waiting lists at age 32 or 33.  The parents who adopted my child were told the woman was to old to adopt.  We did a private adoption.  (I found them through a mutual friend.)  That's why adoption needs reform in America.