recent
changes in law, etc. For every country listed, there is a list of all U.S.
agencies that have an active program with that country.
The report goes on to list every
adoption agency in the country that has active foreign adoption programs in
place. For each agency, it lists its purposes, philosophy, method of handling
adoption, fees, eligibility requirements, etc. Under each agency, there is a
list of all countries where the agency has a program.
The first step is to figure out
which country or countries you are interested in exploring. How do you choose?
To begin, read the eligibility requirements for each country. Make a list of
countries where you fit the requirements.
By the way, if there is an age limit
for adopting an infant, be sure you will remain under the limit during the
entire adoption time (which could be up to two years) because many foreign
countries do not follow the concept of “grandfathering”, i.e., if you are
eligible in the beginning, you will remain eligible throughout, as we do in the
United States. (Sue and her husband almost aged out of the China
adoption program because they ran into delays on the Chinese side.)
After you have developed a list of
countries that will accept you as an adoptive parent, think about the child you
will receive from that country.
- Are the children young enough to suit you? (Some
countries do not release children before they are two to three years old.)
- Is there a high likelihood that the child will have
significant problems? (For a time in the 1990s, Romanian adoptees were
quite ill, often with AIDS.)
- Do you have any concerns about your child looking
different from you?
- Can you afford to adopt from this country?
(Unfortunately for the children, countries such as Haiti
have a difficult time placing children because of their very dark skin and
as a result, adoptions from that country are very inexpensive. The
opposite can also be true.)
- Do you have a connection to or special interest in
any country?
Hopefully, your list will be reduced to three to four countries or maybe even one or two. It is
advisable to consider at least two countries because political or other events
can cause a country’s policies or adoption process to change or even close down
for periods of time. You will need to be ready to make a change in course if
that should happen.
