What Youre Looking For is Right Under Your Nose

Did you know that in 2013, California and Texas were the two U.S.

states with the most children in public foster care waiting for adoption (9

Powerful Stats About The Orphan Crisis)? However, 7, 094 international

adoptions took place in the same year leaving hundreds of American

children abandoned (Rodden). Americans should consider adopting

domestically before adopting internationally because there are a lot of

children in need domestically, the process of adoption is easier in

America, while it is more complicated overseas, and Americans are more

likely to rehome international children rather than American children.

In America there are a lot of children in need domestically. According

to Nance and Jordan regularly, more than 250,000 children enter foster

care in the U.S. every year. Although more than 50% of these kids will

return back to their families, the rest will be forced to stay behind. Out of

the children presently in the system, only about 100,000 of the 400,000

are waiting to be adopted, either by their foster parents or by adoptive

families. However, the other 300,000 are not legally adoptable because

they may still be waiting to be reunited with their parents whose rights

have not been abolished yet (Nance and Jordan).

Sadly, in 2015 more than 20,000 children aged out of foster care

(around the age of 18) without being adopted (Aging Out). The future for

foster youth who age out of the system is dreadful. Studies show that 25%

will be imprisoned within two years of leaving the system and over 20%

will become homeless at some time after 18 (Aging Out). In addition, only
58% will obtain their high school diploma by age 19, compared to the

national U.S. average of 87% for non-fostered kids (Nance and Jordan).

The process of adoption is easier in America, and it is more

complicated overseas because of the following: language barrier, cost,

and time. International adoption is expensive costing up to $40,000 in

many instances and takes a long time, typically 1-3 years. Also, a thing

parents should consider is the international cost, which usually ranges

from $24,000 to $35,000 (The Cons of International Adoption). In the U.S.

approximately 75% of the families working with American Adoptions adopt

within time of 1 to 12 months. However, as stated by The Adoption Guide,

adopting a child from China may take more than four years (Adoptions,

Inc. American).

Americans are also more likely to rehome international children

rather than American children. Rehoming is the term used for adoptive

parents who permanently place their adopted child in another home

without involvement of child welfare agencies, often through the use of

internet forums. (Adoption Disruptions and Rehoming Children) For

example theres the infamous story of Tennessee nurse Tory Ann Hansen

who sent her 7-year-old adopted son on a plane alone, back to his native

Russia. Another instance where a parent abandoned her children was the

case of writer Joyce Maynard who made headlines last year when she

admitted to giving her two adopted Ethiopian daughters to a new family.

Even though these instances seem rare, they arent as rare as one may

think, with statistics from the Federal Childrens Bureau reporting as many
as 10 percent of international adoptions dissolving meaning the parent-

child relationship is severed after the adoption is finalized (Matchar).

There is a slight advantage for parents who would still rather adopt

internationally. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway,

children in other countries are not free for adoption unless their parents

have abandoned them or died. They must be considered orphans for them

to be eligible for international adoption. Because of these rules, there is no

chance that the birth parents can ask for their child back. This creates a

lot less trouble for parents who dont have to worry about negotiating

deals with the parents (Kulas). However, there is still a disadvantage that

if in the future the child wants to find their roots, they will not be able to. If

the child has a rare blood type for instance, the parents wouldnt be able

to reconnect with the biological parents to act as donors (Interlandi).

Conversely, this problem can be easily solved if parents adopt children

from their home country - the U.S.

So, before going to google which country other than the U.S. has the

most orphans, please google the closest adoption agency to you and

adopt a child in the U.S. Consider that there are a lot of children in need

domestically, that the process of adoption is easier in America while its

more complicated overseas because of - language barrier, cost, and time,

and that it is easier morally to adopt an American child rather than a

foreigner.
 Works Cited

"9 Powerful Stats About The Orphan Crisis." Show Hope. N.p., 07 Nov.

2016. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Adoptions, Inc. American. "American Adoptions -- America's Adoption

Agency." Domestic vs. International Adoption. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar.

2017.

Adoptions, Inc. American. "American Adoptions -- America's Adoption

Agency." Orphanages in America - Do They Still Exist? N.p., n.d. Web.

22 Mar. 2017.

"Aging Out." Children's Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Interlandi, Jeneen. "The Benefits of International Adoption." Newsweek.

N.p., 02 July 2010. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Kulas, Michelle. "The Advantages of International Adoption."

LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 04 Sept. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Matchar, Emily. "Broken Adoptions: When Parents Re-Home Adopted

Children." Time. Time, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Nance, Penny Young and Jordan, Glorya Taylor. "The Orphan Crisis In

America." The Christian Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Rodden, Janice . "International Adoption Statistics 2014." Adoptive

Families. N.p., 19 Sept. 2016. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

"The Cons of International Adoption." International Adoption Facts and

Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Website Design, Development and SEO by thunder::tech :: a marketing

agency. "Adoption Disruptions and Rehoming Children." Adoption

Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.