The Good News in International Adoption

International adoption is really taking a beating in the press. Allegations of corruption point to the role that foreign fees and foreign orphanage donations play in bringing children into the adoption process. Incentives paid to “baby finders” to meet the high demand from potential adopters amount to little more than child-trafficking.

There are over 140,000,000 children worldwide in need of care, and 50 prospective adoptive parents for every 1 adoptable international infant. What many eager prospective adoptive parents do not know is that the vast majority of these children are not adoptable. Most are brought to local orphanages simply because their impoverished parents cannot afford to feed them.

Sadly, what was once a humanitarian response to a human need---willing adults reaching out to help a child in dire need---has become a business response to the fundamental law of supply and demand. And the demand is for the youngest and healthiest. Whenever these two basic factors are out of whack, corruption finds fertile ground. Despite some cases of clear corruption, U.S. adoption agencies active in Vietnam, Guatemala and other countries under close scrutiny by the Department of State say that most intercountry adoptions are ethical.

While some adoption agencies in this country have come under a dark cloud of suspicion and attack, many have commendable records for outstanding humanitarian work around the world to help children and keep families together. Dawn Degenhardt, founder of MAPS in Houlton, Maine, retired three years ago after working for over 35 years in domestic and international adoption and established The Degenhardt Foundation. And Filis Casey, founder of The Alliance for Children in Wellesley, Massachusetts, started The Alliance for Children Foundation, an international relief organization dedicated to improving the physical and emotional well-being of abandoned children living in orphanages in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Both women are long-time advocates for children. “The children who are adopted are the lucky ones,” says Casey. “My concern is for the ones left behind.” So, working closely with local officials in Hubei and Anhui Provinces, the Foundation built apartments for Chinese foster parents to live with groups of 6 orphans as stable families. It is modeled after the very successful Sunbeam Village project in Hefei that has been supported by the AFC Foundation for 5 years. The Foundation funds additional projects in Colombia, Ecuador and Russia. Click here to read more.

Degenhardt builds orphanages and hospitals, but she also funds special projects such as the Boat Builder Project in Cam Kim, Viet Nam. Here, economically disadvantaged youth are receiving training in traditional boat building skills from master boat builders. Students are learning a valuable skill and the boats produced from their work will be given to poor families. Click here to read more.

Until recently, a combination of adoption fees paid by families, donations, fundraising efforts and grants funded most humanitarian projects. However, international adoption fees can no longer be counted on to support humanitarian projects of such magnitude. “The need is still there,” says Degenhardt. “Do we simply turn our back on the children?”

For Casey, Degenhardt and others, the only answer is “no.”

It's National Foster Care Month, so... Cross Over the Bridge!

While visiting my grandbabies in California last week, I met with a young couple who wanted to talk with me about adding to their family by adopting. They are young and energetic, successful, involved in their community---and already have two young children. They'd thought about adoption for years, he told me. With all the parentless children in the world, it seemed like a move whose time had come.

They both had grown up knowing kids who had been adopted. Some of their friends and neighbors had chosen adoption to build their families as well. Where should the start, they asked, and what were my recommendations?

They were already aware of the current crisis in international adoption in terms of lengthy delays and countries closing, but were unaware of the degree to which corruption and c ompetition is driving these problems to their eventual end. They also had heard about institutional delays experienced by children raised in orphanages. They were not surprised by the fact that many children adopted in this country through foster care are not all that different from children coming from abroad. \And they seemed to understand that adoption, no matter where or how or who, came with no guarantees.

We talked for a long time. They asked thoughtful questions and listened carefully. They took notes and referred back to them for more clarification. How did kids come into foster care here and how did they move eventually to parental termination and adoption? Was it a similar process internationally?

In the end, they left my daughter's home overwhelmed but excited. Foster care with the possibility of ending in an adoption? Maybe, but how would they ever be able to return a child they had grown to love if adoption were not the outcome? Nevertheless, they plan to contact their local foster care office for more information. International adoption? Also risky business. But again, they left with the names of two agencies to contact specializing in international placements. This young couple is excited about stepping out onto another path to family building. It's all about choice...and the consequences of those choices. And, it's not always about making the right choice, but how you live it!

By the way, there is a wonderful resource out there for families already involved in domestic child welfare and foster care or those interested in learning more. Check out www.fosteringfamiliestoday.com and tell them Cindy sent you.

And while you're deciding (or even if you're just curious) don't overlook the incredible work of the national team at AdoptUsKids. Visit their site to read about waiting children in all 50 states and the personal stories of families who have opened their hearts and arms to some of these children. Go to http://www.adoptuskids.org AdoptUsKids also has a blog where prospective waiting parents can get support and information from AdoptUsKids and each other. Go to adoptuskids.blogspot.com. It's worth the time!

From where I sit,
Cindy