Making this decision is important at the start of your adoption journey. It will determine with whom you will work and insure that you are pursuing the right adoption path in building your family. Three issues are critical at this point in the process:
AGE OF CHILD DESIRED
If you are looking to adopt a newborn or young infant, you are looking at a domestic adoption. It’s that simple. International adoptions are of non-infants. Let me clarify. Children adopted from overseas must be cleared for adoption. They must meet local guidelines and be offered to a local family before being eligible for an international placement. As a result, there is always a period of several months prior to the referral for adoption. In addition, all adoptions take time to process. By the time the child would come to the United States 6-12 months would have elapsed. Except for a few programs where children under the age of 8 months are referred for placement, the majority of children are at least 1 year of age at the time of referral and almost 2 years old when they immigrate to the United States. If you are looking to adopt a young toddler or an older child you can choose to adopt internationally or through the U.S. foster care system.
If considering U.S. foster care, you will be able to adopt locally or from another state. Most children are older and have been placed into foster care due to child abuse or neglect. They may have been in several foster care placements prior to being “freed” for adoption. If you agree to take an infant into your home, check to see if the child has been freed for adoption or if it is a foster care placement with a family reunification or adoption goal. If the child is not freed for adoption, it is a risky placement—meaning the child can be removed from your home and placed with a family member or even another foster care or adoptive family. Children freed for adoption in the foster care system are typically 4 years and older.
BACKGROUND OF CHILD REQUIRED
If it is important for you to have medical, familial and social background on a child—you are looking at a domestic adoption. The birth parent will be asked to complete a long questionnaire. There are questions on medical, extended family (3 generational), education achieved and talents and hobbies. You will have the opportunity for a physician to review pre-natal records and ask questions directly of the OBGYN or hospital personnel.
In an international adoption, the child’s history typically begins when they are “abandoned” at the maternity hospital or orphanage. The record will contain any medical appointments or treatment as of that time. If it is an older child, it will include social and educational information. The extent and quality of information varies from country to country and institution to institution. While a physician in the U.S. can review the information provided, in very few instances is there an ability to reach out to a birth parent for more information.
TRAVEL NECESSARY TO COMPLETE ADOPTION PROCESS
Domestic adoptions require an adoptive parent to travel to the place of the child’s birth to obtain custody of the child. Many adoptive parents travel to meet birth parents prior to birth. Some adoptions require the adoptive parent to travel back to the state where the child was born to finalize the adoption. If a parent cannot fly, they can choose to adopt from a nearby state, thereby being able to drive rather than fly.
International adoptions require that the adoptive parent travels to the foreign country. Trips may be for a few days or several weeks’ duration. It is important if considering an international adoption that you ask about travel and in-country stay requirements. If an adoptive parent cannot fly or stay away for an extended period, this option may not be for you.
CONCLUSION
There are issues that can affect your adoption process from the very beginning. Domestic adoptions are of newborn infants or older children in foster care. International adoptions are of toddlers and older children.
By making your decision at the beginning of your adoption journey you will be able to choose an adoption agency or attorney with whom to pursue the adoption.
In Part 2, we will look at additional factors that may impact your adoption process.
Click for more from Adoption.NET Executive Writer Kathy Brodsky