Adoption is a time-consuming process, but it is rewarding in the end, especially if you are a couple that is having difficulties with conceiving and fertility treatments were unsuccessful. Adoption offers you the opportunity to bring a child into your home and extend your family. According to the Foster Care Adoption website, as of 2005, there were 514,000 children in foster care and the number grows each year.
Adoption is the legal relationship that establishes the parent-child relationship. The adoption will afford you, as the adoptive parents, the rights and responsibilities equal to those of biological parents. A survey in 1995 called the National Survey of Family Growth reported that approximately 500,000 women between the ages of 18 to 44 years considered adoption, but only 100,000 had actually applied to adopt a child.
In the United States, an estimated 1.5 million children were adopted, more than 2 percent the country's child population, as reported by the 2001 U.S. Census Bureau statistics. In addition, a 1992 report by the National Center for State Courts estimated that approximately 127,000 children were adopted through international, foster are, private agency, independent and step-parent adoptions.
Foster Care Adoption
Adoption through the foster care system is one option you have available when contemplating adoption. According to 2002 data from Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, the average age of children in foster care is 10.2 years. The advantage of adopting through foster care is that the state generally covers the legal fees and you will not be responsible for health care coverage because it is funded through the state until she reaches 18 years of age.
The downfall to adopting a foster care child is that approximately 50 percent of foster children are reunified with their biological parents, the children are not infants, and some have health and emotional problems. According to the Foster Care Adoption website, 18,000 children entered the foster care system within a five-year period during 2000 to 2005. In that same five-year period, 15,000 children exited foster care and 1,000 went to new homes with adoptive parents.
Domestic Private Adoption
Domestic private adoptions primarily focus on infants that are born in the United States. The agencies that you may come across include nonprofit, for-profit and independent agencies. According to a 2008 survey in Adoptive Families, the majority of respondents who were waiting to adopt an infant were matched with a birth mother in less than 12 months, while 19 percent received “the call” to travel after the baby was born without a pre-match.
International Adoption
International adoption was on a rise until April 1, 2008, when the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption agreement was enacted to oversee international adoptions for approximately 75 countries. The agreement prevents abduction and exploitation of children, while ensuring the consideration of the best interest of the child throughout the adoption process. As reported in 2009, almost 13,000 international adoptions were reported by the U.S. Department of State Office of Children’s Issues.
Financial Considerations
The financial cost varies with the different types of adoptions available to adoptive parents. An adoption that occurs through a state organization may cost up to $2,500, but the adoptive parents may incur no cost from state grants and subsidies offered. An adoption through a private agency ranges $4,000 to $30,000 respectively, while an international adoption costs $7,000 to $25,000, as of 2010. The calculated cost of a private or international adoption might be higher depending on the various fees, such as birth parents counseling, home study evaluation, birth expenses, post-placement services and agency fees.
References
- Foster Care Adoption: Foster Care Statistics
- Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute: Adoption Institute: Fact Overview
- The Adoption Guide: Domestic Newborn Adoption
- U.S. Department of State Office of Children’s Issues: 2009 Adoption Stats
- Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute: Adoption Institute: Cost of Adoption
