This one is about: The How's and Why's of Intercountry Adoption

(c) 1996 Wide Smiles
This Document is from WideSmiles Website - www.widesmiles.org
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The complaint often heard from couples who have chosen to adopt is that there aren't any children available. That is only partially true. There is a tremendous "shortage" of healthy white newborns awaiting adoptive homes in the US.

But for the child looking for a family the prospects can seem dismal. Children who are available in large numbers do not often fit the description of the sought-after-child. Most children who wait are called "special needs" children. They are children who possess some qualifying characteristic which sets them apart from the "healthy white infant."

Many of the children who wait are not waiting in the US for their families. Many countries have allowed intercountry adoption as an answer to the needs of their waiting children. Intercountry adoption is an effort to find HOMES for CHILDREN, and not children for homes. These children are waiting for their most basic need - that of a family. Their situation is often desperate.

To adopt a foreign child the process is just a little complicated. First, contact a local agency who can do your homestudy and is willing to network with an intercountry agency for child placement. You must satisfy the requirements of both agencies, as well as the requirements of your state and those of the country from which you wish to adopt. You must complete a homestudy with your local agency.

After the homestudy is completed you will wait for the assignment of a child. Families who are the most flexible tend to wait the shortest amount of time. Those who are asking for children with special needs move quickly.

With the assignment made, you must file all the necessary documents for Immigration and Naturalization Services. Then you wait again until the child is cleared to travel. Some countries require that the family travel to that country for the adoption. Others allow the child to be escorted to the US.

A post-placement study is done according to the requirements of your state. After this time the adoption maybe finalized in court (made legally final.) After the adoption is finalized your child may become an American citizen.

The placement process can take from a few months (in miraculous cases) to two years. It depends on the agency and the country. Costs can vary greatly, again depending on the circumstances. Families do not receive "discounts" if the child has a medical need. The costs are for services rendered, and not for "merchandise". There are some programs that may help facilitate special needs adoption, but one would have to ask the agency about those programs.

Intercountry adoption is an exciting adventure that clearly gives as much to the adopting family as it does to the child. It is a beautiful way to make a family. Many thousands of happy families would agree.