Why does it take so long to adopt?

Question

If there are so many foster children in orphanages and children up for adoption in 3rd world countries why the h**l does it take 2 plus years ?

Surely it does not take that amount of years to background check someone ?

The reason I ask is this " is it all about the money" ie the longer it takes the more money agencie, lawyers and so on make ?

I understand the need to protect the child and do proper background and prospective parenting checks but why 2 to 3 years ?

I mean from what I have heard they do the checks and balances and there are STILL horror stories out there...

So it would suggest to me that its just about the money and stringing everyone along.

Adoption = Money

Answer 1

Well it might be because of the environment or the personality. It has to take time to adopt. You can't just expect it to do it immediately can you? I mean, think about it first.

Answer 2

The homestudy really only takes 3-6 months.  Then in foster care, children are not available until all paretnal rights have been terminated.  Then most people are only interested in children aged 5 and under, and more children are available in hte older age.  Why do they want five and under, well a multitude of reasons they/we should not be faulted for.

If foster care, then right family has to be met with right child.

If overseas you are dealing wtih approvals in your own country for visas, then a referral from anther countries orphange, and then of course the red tape of the child's country.  So why does it take so long, well bureacracy is why, I really don't think the agencies are prolonging it, but maybe in some cases.

Answer 3

I'm not sure if you're asking more about domestic adoption through foster care, infant adoption, or international, but I'll stick with what I know best:  adopting from foster care in the US.

We started the adoption process in March of 2006 and were approved and ready to go by October.  The application process itself only took 8 months (wait, am I adding that up right?  ...anyway).  Fortunately, there are so many PAP's adopting through foster care right now in Oregon that the wait actually IS this long.

Personally, I'm perfectly content waiting my turn if that means that there are enough families for the kids who need them.  It means more time to snuggle with my husband in a quiet house.  Can't complain about that!

ETA:  In our case, it has nothing to do with money.  But that is a VERY good question, and let me tell you why.  We went through an agency, not knowing about the horrible things agencies do.  Our worker only works with foster care adoptions, and we had no need to look into any other kind of adoptions through our agency because we weren't interested in anything other than foster care.  Plus, we didn't know there was even a need to check into these things, because we had no idea about the corruption that goes on in adoption.

After learning so much here on Y!A, I started wondering the same thing...are they scamming us out of money, making us wait until our homestudy needs to be renewed so that we have to pay another $1200 for ANOTHER homestudy?  So, we started asking questions, and our worker (who probably isn't a shady person, but she acts like it sometimes) wouldn't give us any straight answers.  We weren't sure if she was giving us the best info she had, or if she was stringing us along, or what!  Finally, we got a call out of the blue saying that any updates our homestudy needs are free, and we got our homestudy updated a couple weeks ago.

Sometimes I don't know what to think of these people or this process, but it always ends up that, in our case anyway, it has nothing to do with money.  The only thing we will end up paying for is our homestudy, and we will only have to pay for that once, no matter how many times it has to be updated or renewed.  Hope this helps!

Answer 4

On the subject of China, Girl babies are mostly adopted .. they they are usless to the Chinese .. Chinese boys are like gold..long ago in China Baby girls were killed right after birth now they are placed in orphanages andsome lucky ones are adopted by wealthy Americans . Adoptions take long mostly because of the back ground checks, Immigration and court.

Answer 5

Jane: I appreciate that you have a healthy skepticism for any kind of adoption process, but it isn't always just about the money.

Countries with international programs are generally considered "third world" countries.  Government systems in a third world country simply do not operate the same way they do in a country like the US, Great Britain or Australia.  

There is often no redundancy built into governmental bureaucracy.  If a minister of some governmental department needs to sign a letter and that person gets hit by a bus, goes on vacation (or in the case that happened in Ethiopia a couple years ago) defects to another country, that letter will sit and the adoption process will stall in its tracks for MONTHS (again, Ethiopian adoptions were held up for something like six-eight months while they verified that this minister was not coming back and figured out a replacement for him).  Liberian adoptions were held up for about four to six months because the Liberian government ran out of the paper to make passports.  These kinds of delays are unheard of in a first world nation, but happen regularly in other countries.  They happen without warning and there is nothing that the adoptive family, the agency or the US government can do about it.  

Sometimes it DOES take a long time to do background checks, considering that the first family may not actually have a home, or an address, or a phone, or any kind of registry that says who lives where.  Searches to verify that the first family is willingly relinquishing a child for foreign adoption are often done by WORD OF MOUTH!  Not exactly a smooth process, to go around to the last known whereabouts and simply ask around if anyone knows where a person is at, or even if that person is still alive.  

If you're referring to the length of the process in China, it's important to remember that China is a communist country with layers upon layers of bureaucracy.  I also doubt that adoption is a huge priority with the Chinese government right now, especially with the Olympics just around the corner.  China has always seriously regulated how the adoption process works; as I understand it orphans are released to adoption by foreigers in a province by province system.

However, to be fair, the governments of many countries may speed things along when "properly motivated".  Madonna's adoption is a prime example (and irritates the heck out of me!).  She was able to get the courts to circumvent the established legal process (an in-country waiting period) for the adoption of her son.  I have no doubt that the rest of us mere mortals would not have been granted that same option.

So, while there are exceptions, the majority of the reasons why international adoptions take as long as they do and are as fraught with delays as they are, don't have anything to do with trying to string familes along for more money.

Answer 6

Speaking for China, there are a plethora of reasons: increase in domestic adoption; loosening of the one-child policy; and I honestly believe the Olympics are playing a huge role in the slowdown. China will be on the world stage and they do not want the focus to be on foreigners adopting the children of a country seemingly on the cusp of becoming a super power.

Many adoptive parents and PAPs through China have queried why agencies and the CCAA did not stop accepting dossiers and the answer could very well be money. For agencies that are "China only", they need new clients for sustainability and I believe that is behind the outright lies regarding the inflating timelines.

For China, I would also think that the backlog with all of the expiring documents would be a logistical nightmare and therefore lends credence to a possible speed-up after the Olympics are over.

The CCAA remains tight-lipped over their intentions, so it really is all guesswork I'm afraid.

Calicoch: I'm not sure if things are different in the states, but in Canada it does cost the adoptive parents. After home study and agency fees, we paid $8,000 and the other approx. $17,000 will be paid once we receive our referral and travel to China. $8,000 may not sound like a lot, but agencies, particularly China-only agencies need that money to keep them afloat.

Answer 7

The timeline has nothing to do with the money. The home study takes about 3 months (ours was done in 6 weeks) They could drag it out for 10 months if they want but it doesn't cost the adoptive parent anything extra. I find a lot of the problem in international adoption is the governments are so poor that processing adoption paperwork is very low priority. 50% of children die before age 5 in Haiti. The orphanages are overflowing yet it takes about 18 months to do an adoption. The paperwork on the US side can be done and mailed in 2-3 months. The wait is all on the Haitian side. This is true for most countries. Its so sad that they are suffering because someone doesn't want to do paperwork.

US state adoption is along the same lines. It is free so there is no cost to adoptive parents but SOOOOO many people don't care to do their jobs. Most kids in foster care are 14+ so that isn't really a "child". Even the kids shown online that are 5-10 are so hard to adopt. I have had all my paperwork sent in for so many children. It is not uncommon to submit your study for hundrends of children before being chosen. There was a 4 year old with CP in Ohio that we tried to get 6 months ago and no one ever would return our call. She was up there for a long time. Its just sad all the way around.

Answer 8

I don't necessarily agree with that.  I think it depends on the organization that you get involved with.  If you are with an organization that is taking too long and you feel it is truly taking too long you need to look into other organizations.  There truly are other organizations out there that are TRULY trying to PLACE children in LOVING homes.  There are organizations that work for money, but there are also those who work for the needs of children.  I suggest you look into other organizations.

Answer 9

I think one of the reasons it takes so long is because in foreign countries there are sometimes only a handful of people approving adoptions for thousands of applicants.

China for example has only five officials handling adoptions for the entire country...including incountry.

Foreign countries may temporaily close a program due to a change in policy or law in their country. The UN is asking that countries adopt the Haug Convention policy on adoption.....(which ironically the United States has not.)  All these things take time and burearacy and red tape is something that most governments have in common. It is ashame for the kids who need homes the most....in the end the kids are the ones who always suffer. This goes for US orphans too.....not just international ones.

Answer 10

I truly think it depends on who you are working with and your specifications for whom you will bring into your home. We were open to any number, race, and gender....but wanted children who could communicate with us. We went through foster care and were truly expecting to wait for 2 years and to receive a 7+ year old child or siblings. We were called within 3 months of the homestudy completion and received a completely healthy 1 year old. Some PAPS think that foreign children don't have the stigma of foster children. As we have done work in several orphanages, I can't imagine how this is still believed. Our child fared much better through foster care and CPS than he would have ever fared in an orphanage. Some also believe an Asian or Guatemalan child is somehow 'better' or more acceptable than an AA child.We were told that many PAPS choose to have white children--regardless of age/health. Perhaps that is why we didn't have to wait as long. I'll never know, but our beautiful bi-racial baby is about the most georgeous thing I have ever seen. I think people are fearful of how their child will be received by others/family. We were, but everyone who expressed concerns--and even those who were set against our child--all crumble like little girls when they meet him and he charms them one by one. <<sorry, I'm a new mommy and sooo excited!!

Answer 11

cuz der not handin over a bag a sweets