According to the Office of Children's Issues, intercountry adoption, also known as international adoption, involves legally adopting a child from his country of origin into the country of the adoptive parent. All parental rights are transferred to the adoptive parent, and the child immigrates to the adoptive parent's country. International adoption establishes a permanent legal relationship.
Available Children
Many children throughout the world reside in orphanages or foster homes and are available for adoption. The ages of these children range from infants to teens. Some children can be adopted alone, while others are in sibling groups. Children may be healthy or they may have special needs. Even those children who are considered healthy may have difficulties in the areas of stress, attention span, memory, behavior and language according to the International Adoption Project at the University of Minnesota.
Participating Countries
Thousands of children are adopted internationally by Americans each year. Guatemala was the most popular country to adopt from in 2008, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A total of 4,082 children were adopted from Guatemala. Other popular countries were China (3,852), Russia (1,859), Ethiopia (1,666), Korea (1,038) and Vietnam (737). These statistics are always changing; international adoption is unpredictable, and countries often fall out of compliance with international guidelines established at the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention. This can result in a program being closed for an undetermined period of time, leaving expectant parents to wait or search for alternatives.
International Adoption Process
Potential adoptive parents are required to adhere to the adoption laws of the country in which the child was born. In addition, adoptive parents must comply with United States federal laws and the laws of the individual state or territory in which they reside. Adoption service providers and agencies specialize in international adoption and can help navigate these regulations.
Adoption Rights
Adoption, as defined by the Office of Children's Issues, is "the judicial or administrative act that establishes a permanent legal parent-child relationship between a minor and an adult who is not already the minor's legal parent and terminates the legal parent-child relationship between the adoptive child and any former parent(s)." Once the adoption process is complete, the adopted child will have the same rights, duties, privileges and share of inheritance as a birth child.
Adoption Dissolution
Child Welfare Information Gateway estimates that 1 to 10 percent of adoptions in the United States end in dissolution. Dissolution involves the legal termination of an adoption after it's been finalized and the removal of the child from the adoptive home. There are many reasons for dissolution. Some adoptive parents were inadequately prepared for the challenges of adoption. Others are overwhelmed by special needs that were not previously disclosed to them. Experienced legal and support services are available to assist with the dissolution process and help minimize the traumatic effects for both parents and children.
