I'm glad you do! That means you have some experts, or at least experienced help, if you decide to help out where you are so desperately needed! Please know, there are MILLIONS of children waiting, needing families. I can look many places and see conflicting facts and information. So, I will speak of what I know. There are hundreds of orphanages all over China. That's just one country. Each of these orphanages may have a handful of children, a mere 50, hundreds, or in the case of some of my children thousands of children housed within the cement block walls. Hundreds of thousands of children wait in our own foster care system. Each year approximately 20,000 children age out of the foster care system in the US without a permanent family. No matter what statistics you use or research, the need is great and the number of families choosing to adopt is decreasing rapidly.
They may not get adopted, but children are cared for. I mean there aren't kids living on the street.
Children that age out of the US system without a permanent family are at an increased risk of poor educational outcomes, experiencing homelessness, and being unemployed. Children in other countries may be sent to adult institutions to live out their lives. There abuse and neglect are common. If they are lucky enough to escape the institution, they have no support. They are more susceptible to trafficking and suicide.
It costs a lot of money.
Okay, you got me. Well, kind of. Adopting out of the US foster system is pretty close to free. International adoption tends to range from $20,000-$50,000. That seems extremely expensive. Here's the part that absolutely does me in. If I told you a car cost that much money, you would think that was reasonable. I mean if I pay the bigger price tag, I might be able to get 10 years out of it. You would expect to finance it over the course of 4-6 years. Agencies have to pay their workers, here and abroad. Medicals take money. Shipping documents to make sure everything is legal takes money. THIS IS A HUMAN BEING. We should be shrugging our shoulders and realizing that is a drop in the bucket to pay for human life. (Ask me, we've gotten some amazing loans and tax credits!)
Increased regulations cut down on disruptions and dissolved adoptions of big families and "serial adopters".
While anyone can find cases to support their claims, I need you to really think about the numbers. I live the numbers. I watch the large, experienced families who are more than ready to leap back into the unknown, because it isn't so unknown to them anymore. I stand in unison with the families who have experienced a need that wasn't as bad as they thought it would be, who realized they can handle more than they thought, who met a child that they know would be a perfect fit. In all of our concern for the few, in trying to save precious lives, we are trading thousands of others. Children are dying and aging out everyday. They wait, because so many hands are tied. We have traded out caring for the majority for protecting the few.
Adoptions are decreasing, because domestic adoption is increasing.
Nothing makes me happier than to know that many countries are experiencing a rise in domestic adoption. I am so thankful to know that China (a country near and dear to my heart) has a had a huge increase. However, using their published statistics, domestic adoptions are not coming close to meeting the need. Every year approximately 100,000 children are abandoned. However, only 20,000 domestic adoptions take place. That's only meeting 20% of the need.
I am not ready to bring a baby home with all of the care they require.
MOST of the waiting children are older. The greatest need is for children over age 5. The largest group waiting are boys. Boys of all ages wait to be chosen. However, ALL children need families to be a part of.
International adoption should decrease, children need to be left in their culture.
They aren't IN their culture! They are being raised in institutions. Their experience is not having enough food to eat, being tied to chairs and cribs, freezing in the winter when heat can't be afforded. This is not a culture any child deserves to be a part of. When they finally are released into their culture, most aren't prepared and have no support.
It's going to take ALL of us YOU and ME! We need to do better! We need to help the crisis. We need to be God's hands and feet. He has chosen US to care for His children!
