Why don't people adopt in the US anymore?

Question

I was wondering why parents don't adopt children from this country. There are so many latino and african american children in need of homes. Several colleagues at work have gone to China and I was just wondering how much it costs in the US versus other countries and is that the major factor why people go abroad for children?

Answer 1

it is very expensive to adopt in the US and unlike some people have said. you cannot, in the US, ask for your baby back. You the birth mom have to sign a paper stating that you are placing your baby for adoption and that once you sign this paper you cannot try to get your baby back. So other than it just being to expensive in the US to adopt that is the main reason.

Answer 2

because, and this is reality, the majority of adopting parents are caucasian and tehy want WHITE babies.  Barring taht, they want asian babies, because that seems to be the preference right now.  If it's a mixed white/asian couple, this is a no-brainer.

The white babies in the US get snatched up right away, there is NO surplus.  The former eastern block countries have likewaise run out of easy pickings, except for the disabled and retarded.  SO getting a caucasian kid there (or in the US) is prohibitively expensive, time consuming (long waiting lists), and essentially impossible.

In asia, particularly China, there are well-established procedures for bribing the proper people at the proper times, that have a high success rate.

Unless one or both adoptive parents are Latino or Black, these kids don't have a high street value, and hence there is a surplus.

It's sad, and it seems wrong, but that is reality.

Answer 3

The cost depends on the mode of adoption.  International adoption is expensive almost always.  Domestic adoption CAN be expensive.  A friend's domestic adoption cost nearly as much as our international one.

If you want a healthy white infant, the wait is long and the adoption is likely to be expensive.  If people are open to older kids, special needs kids, sibling groups or different races, the wait is shorter and often there are subsidies for the "hard to place" children.

Dh & I operate an orphans ministry to encourage folks to adopt from foster care.  We've come to the conclusion that there is a pecking order in the races when it comes to adoption (possibly broader than adoption, but I haven't thought much about it).  A white child is preferred by most white couples (stupid to me...but it seems to be the case) thus all the domestic and European adoptions, then comes an asian child (thus comes China, Vietnamese, etc.), then probably comes Indian, then comes Latino (thus Latin American adoptions here and in Central/South America) and then comes African American children.  It's wrong...we didn't go into our adoption looking for particular colors of children.  We just wanted girls to add to our family with two sons.  We adopted from Colombia...not because of their color (one daughter looks like she has some African ancestry & the other looks more native), but because that's where we felt led to adopt.

I think our next adoption (gut feeling, nothing to back this up) will be an African American girl who is about 7 years old.

Our boys are as caucasian as they come (they're our biological kids).

That is one aspect of it.  Another aspect of it is that there is a fear that an adoption here will result in the birth mother knocking on the door and taking the child back someday.  This doesn't happen as often as the press would lead us to believe...and happened to a friend of mine who adopted from Thailand...so it can happen in international ones, too.

So..there are a couple of factors to consider.  Our next adoption will likely be from foster care.  Those kiddos need good, solid homes, too!  You can go to http://www.adoptuskids.org to see some of their faces if you like.

SG

Answer 4

A private adoption in the US is very similar in cost to that of a foreign country, but even those vary greatly, like Haiti is around $11,000 and China and others are closer to $30,000.  In the US you have to worry about someone just scamming you or changing her mind.

I think the reason most people adopt out of the country is because they think that these kids are going to be magically immune to the problems that our foster kids have.  But in reality they have many of the same issues and others that our kids don't have.  

Issues kids from foreign countries have that ours don't is that they are being taken from the only country they have ever known and having to learn a whole new language.  Everything they've ever know is all of the sudden gone.  They get no transition period.  People should really think before adopting from another country,

I'm not saying it is all bad but there are a lot of things that people don't take into consideration.  You would be amazed at how many people go to other countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars to adopt their "perfect" child only to give them up to the State a few years later because they can't handle the child.  It's really sad.  Abandoned at birth, stripped of everything they've ever known, brought to a foreign country just to be abandoned again.

Answer 5

I think it's crazy as well. However, we are all God's children so it doesnt matter where somebody adopts as long as every child has a home. But i think that celebrities may have something to do with it...Angelina Jolie? Madonna? I guess there are more children in other countries that need homes so people choose that route. Oh well!

Answer 6

My sister wanted to adopt from Korea or China, she said there are less heart ache involve, since the laws there doesn't apply in U.S, babies can't be asked back once adopted. Plus, we're asian

Answer 7

The truth is that can get pretty expensive to adopt in the U.S. and the mothers have rights here.  So, a couple could open up their home to a beautiful baby and get attached to it, just to have the mother change her mind and want it back.  I know there are families that just aren't willing to risk the heartache.  As for minority babies, I honestly don't get the whole going out of the country for a child.  I believe in taking care of our own kids in the U.S.

Answer 8

If you look at the statistics you will find that over the majority of adoptions by Americans were of American children both private adoptions and foster care adoptions.

The costs in terms of dollars can actually be less in the US however, the over all emotional and other costs are much lower if you go international.

If you happen to be doing a private adoption, you can dish out all the money to take care of the expenses for the birth mother and in the end she can decide "You know I think I am going to keep this baby." which leaves the adoptive parents stuck with that bill and nothing but heart ache to show for it. The birth mother is not obligated to pay the adoptive parents back one red cent. To ME (and this is my personal opinion) it is the perfect set up for a scam waiting to happen. IF I were a birth mother and I changed my mind about the adoption I would want to pay that adoptive couple back every penny I accepted in medical and living expenses. If I did not keep up my end of the agreement I should be willing to spend the rest of my life paying that money back. But that is not the way it works.

In most established international adoptions the adopting country must show proof that the child is legally an orphan and effort was made to locate the child's birthparents.

Many countries make it easy to relinquish parental rights and others make it illegal so the adoption plans of those countries consist of leaving the baby in an obvious place where he or she will be found quickly and turned into the authorities.

Also a China adoption does not cost $30,000. My daughters adoption cost me around half that only three years ago. I am single and I did not take a travel partner with me so my expenses were less than a married couple . It would cost about $30,000 if a married couple and two other children traveled to bring the child home.

Answer 9

Because Americans seem to forget that we too have children in need.

Answer 10

As another poster pointed out, most people looking to adopt are Caucasian and want Caucasian BABIES.  There are roughly 100 parents for every healthy, white baby born today.  Only a few of those couples are willing to adopt a child that is less than healthy.   If you adopt an older child, you may have behavioral issues to deal with as many did not come from happy homes.  I am not saying anything negative about these folks. I think it takes a special mentality to deal with some of the mental health issues that accompany drug injured babies, for instance.  

Sorry, don't know about the costs but it seems that the costs aren't really any different other than air fare.

Answer 11

Anyone who asks this question has never attemped to adopt from the U.S. When the U.S. places the needs of the child over the needs of the birthmom, domestic adoption will increase. I invite you to try to adopt a healthy baby from the U.S....you will need to be rich and lucky to get a baby via private adoption. Via the foster system.......have a heart of steel....it's FULL of heartbreak.

Answer 12

Often times when adopting aboard there is no revocation period.  A time frame that the birthparents can change their mind that’s probably the scariest thing for adoptive parents and the time frame varies depending where you are it can be as short as a few days to as long as a few months. Sometimes you might be able to get a child sooner going aboard it just really depends. I hope to adopt someday and will try to adopt here first

Answer 13

PEOPLE DO ADOPT FROM THE UNITED STATES!!! There were over 20,000 domestic placements last year! Unfortunately, with the "hype" of international adoption, domestic has fallen by the way side.....Within 13 months, my husband and I were blessed with a newborn baby girl.  do your research!!!!