One of the decisions that a family can make when they decide to adopt a child is the decision to adopt a child from another country. International adoption appeals to many families for many different reasons, and some adoptive parents feel a strong desire to adopt a child from a particular country from the very beginning of their adoption journey while others simply know that they wish to adopt internationally and are unsure of which country to explore.
There are children in need of loving homes in every country, but sometimes the process of adopting children is much more difficult for American families than you may realize. If you are wondering what types of challenges you might face while pursuing international adoption, this article is for you.
According to the National Council for Adoption, internationally adoptions were at their peak in 2004. Since then, they have steadily declined. Since international adoption is a complex topic, involving many different children, families, and nations, trends associated with adoption data are indicative of shifting cultural views on adoptions and worldwide social and political changes. In a constantly changing world, it is only natural to expect that the picture of international adoption is always in flux.
The types of challenges that American families face when pursuing international adoptions are varied. Some countries do not permit Americans to adopt their children. For example, Russia has banned adoptions by American parents. The ban was purported to be a safety measure that was designed to prevent abuse of the children once they were in the United States and to prevent adopted children from being returned to Russia by adoptive parents who found themselves unable to care for them. Unfortunately, this rationale does not reflect reality – although there were isolated reports of child abuse in America following some adoptions, most adopted children would be safer with an American family that had been screened by the U.S. State Department than they would be living in a Russian orphanage. The orphanages are notorious for their poor living conditions.
There are currently children in the Democratic Republic of Congo who were already adopted by American families and who are unable to leave the country because they have not been able to get exit permits. There is no indication of when the suspension on exit permits will end, so the State Department has issued a strong recommendation against pursuing adoptions from that nation.
Some countries temporarily suspend international adoptions when they are in the midst of reviewing and changing their adoption policies. Recently, an alert about St Vincent and the Grenadines appeared on the U.S. Department of State’s website when the country had put a temporary hold on adoptions for that purpose. Families who are thinking of international adoption may want to check out the Department of State’s website because it has a lot of pertinent information about international adoptions in a general sense as well as up to date information about specific nations.
The aforementioned challenges are just a sampling of the issues that can come up during international adoptions. One way that you can help your international adoption go as smoothly as possible is to contact a Kansas Adoption Attorney. If you have questions about adoption, Kansas Adoption Attorney Thomas McDowell is here to help you. Please call our office today, at (316) 633-4322 to make an appointment for your initial consultation.