My wife and I are going to adopt internationally. If you have, can you tell me where, what agency (if you used one) and how it went. We are still researching countries and have not made up our mind yet. We would consider domestic adoption, it just seems the birthmother has the option to change her mind up to a year later and we can't handle that. I know this is a little off the norm of topics, but I had to ask my Buick board members for their thoughts. Thanks, Scott
Bless you for your desire to adopt! You will make a wonderful difference in a child's life. I know some guys here at work that adopted from overseas, so I can ask them your questions and report back. My wife and I adopted a set of twins from here in the Detroit area. If you still have some interest in adopting locally you might try your local Foster care agency and check on a child whose parental rights have already been terminated. That would eliminate your concern about losing the child after you get attached. Good luck, K
We adopted our daughter from Kazakstan in March 2000. She was 1 at the time of her adoption. We started the process in March 1999. Our stay, in Kazakstan, was almost 6 weeks. Not all countries take that long (we also hit some "holidays" while we were there which slowed down the process). We used "Orphans Overseas" out of Portland, Oregon. Their website is www.orphansoverseas.com. Let us know if you have any specific questions or want any other information. Good luck. ~Jenel (Scott's wife)
While adoption laws vary from state to state, I can't imagine any would allow a birthmother to arbitrarily change her mind within a year. If that were the case, very few children would be adopted due to the risk. The highly sensationalized stories you see in the news from time to time generally stem from "private" adoptions rather than those from agencies. A competent agency will be very diligent about crossing all the t's and dotting all the i's so that the birthparents will have no recourse once they have signed the relinquishments. Lots of counseling takes place with the prospective birthmoms while the adoptive parents are being counseled separately, usually in a group setting. In order to make a claim later on, the birthparent would have to demonstrate that they were paid money (can't sell kids), were not fully counseled, or were not of sound mind. A good agency will have documentation to refute all that, in the rare chance that it arises. Whichever way you go, find the best agency you can afford. They all host open houses where you can see how they operate. Ask lots of questions. Interview several of them. Check for referrals locally. We used http://www.aimadoptions.org/ for both of our adoptions. There's quite a network of adoption pros out there. you might consider having an attorney who specializes in adoption review any contracts. you will also need to decide whether you will consider open or closed adoption. you are about to enter a strange new world. it is a grueling, emotional process, but you will learn a lot about yourself and the rewards are great. Bring your checkbook.
Congratulations on your decision. p p My wife and I have adopted two boys from South Korea. My boy Adam is here with us his gotta day was June 8, 2004. My other son Kyle is coming home late july or early August of this year. South Korea is the best program out there bar none. We looked at China, Russia, Guatemala, numerous other European countries, domestic and fostering- South Korea has them all beat. We turned in our home study information in January and Adam was home in June. His situation was a little different. No one that was already home certified with our agency wanted a boy. Can you believe that? We don't know why everyone is so picky. I mean you don't have a choice whether you have a boy or girl if your wife were to get pregnant right, so why should you have a choice now. Anyway we were put on the fast track so to speak. There are many reasons to pick Korea. 1.) No travel required- Most countries require you to travel to their country. Sometimes multiple times. In order to complete the process. We wanted to spend as much time with our son(s) as possible. We'll travel to Korea when they are old enough to appreciate it. 2.) No additional paper work- Korea accepts the same paperwork that the U.S. government accepts, so only one set of paperwork needs to be filed. Decreases your wait time dramatically. 3.) No orphanages- All the babies in Korea are placed with a Foster family. The babies have a one on one relationship right from the get go. This was the most important thing to us. Makes for an easier transition. 4.) Age of the baby when they come home- South Korean babies are younger than most other countires. Adam's birthday is 12-10-04. We live in Arizona and the agency we went through was Dillon Southwest. Dillon International is also a very good agency. http://www.dillonadopt.com/ Also check out http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/ they are a great resource. We subscribe to their magazine, but you can pickup a copy at Barnes & Nobles. Lastly, if you want to talk to someone about this shoot me a PM and I'll send you my phone number. Whatever you decide good luck and just like the philosophy of this site look for help if you need it. Chris
A big Thanks to all who contributed! Thanks to everyone. I will definitely contact a few of you with some Q's. In Pennsylvania (where we live), state law is a minimum 6 months "change you mind time" for the birth mother. We know of personally some as late as 10 months a court has allowed the birthmother to regain parental rights. Anyway, keep the info coming in. Leaning towards Moscow City. Thanks, Scott
Oh yeah... My wife's cousin just brought home a 16 month girl from China this January. They couldn't be any happier, and we had all the relatives over for a party for them a few weeks back. :TU: :beer
