Adoption isn't a simple process. Once you have made the big decision to adopt a child, you must weigh the rest of your options. Will you adopt a child with special needs? How do you feel about adopting a child of a different race than your own? You will also need to decide whether you are going to adopt domestically or internationally. Both U.S. adoptions and foreign adoptions have their perks, so you will need to examine both to decide which option best suits your family.
Expenses
Adoption expenses can include the cost of legal work, parent counseling and birth expenses. According to the BabyCenter website, the cost of adopting in the U.S. can range between $4,000 and $30,000, depending on what type of agency---if any---is used. Adopting from another country usually costs between $7,000 and $25,000. However, there may be additional fees such as the cost of a visa and mandatory visits to and from the foreign country.
Wait Time Factors
The time you must wait for an adoption to go through depends on a variety of factors. According to Adoption Services, a nonprofit private child adoption agency, factors such as the age, nationality, race and health of the child influence wait time. The wait time for a healthy black or bi-racial baby may be only two to six months whereas the wait time for a healthy Caucasian baby may be six to 30 months. Other wait factors may include the type of agency you work with and your adoption budget. There are typically no agency wait times with international adoptions, but the time between placement and actual adoption can last between six and 24 months. During this time, you will likely need to make at least one visit to the country of the child's residence during the process.
Adoption Statistics
According to the 2000 Census, 1.6 million children under age 18 had been adopted in the United States. The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute says the number of domestic adoptions per year consistently fluctuates. In 1944, there were only about 50,000 adoptions, whereas in 1970 there were 175,000. In 1992, about 127,000 children were adopted in the United States. As far as international adoptions go, between the years of 1971 and 2001, U.S. citizens adopted 265,677 children from other countries. Children of both genders and a wide variety of ages are available domestically and internationally, but the majority of international children available for adoption are female and under the age of 5. However, some countries will only allow native families to adopt older children.
Medical Records
The medical records of children adopted domestically are typically available, but children adopted internationally generally have none. This means that by adopting internationally, adoptive parents will not know much---if anything---about their child's health or family medical history. Some domestic agencies will allow prospective adoptive parents to narrow down their potential matches by health factors.
Legal Issues
The domestic adoption process gives birth mothers a 48- to 72-hour window in which they can change their mind. As soon as this window expires and legal documents are signed, the adoptive parents are legally the child's parents. International adoption procedures vary by country, and prospective adoptive parents must fully understand the required process of the country with which they choose to work.
