International Adoption |
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International Adoption
Fast Facts
- China:
Adoptions in '08: 3,909
Children under 1 year old: 32%
Children 1-4 years old: 62%
Time from dossier to referral: 36 mos.
Est. total cost: $20,000 to $30,000
- Russia:
Adoptions in '08: 1,861
Children under 1 year old: 7%
Children 1-4 years old: 71%
Time from dossier to referral: 6-18 mos.
Est. total cost: $40,000+
- Guatemala:
Adoptions in '08: 4,123
Children under 1 year old: 70%
Children 1-4 years old: 25%
Time from dossier to referral: Currently closed.
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $30,000
- Korea:
Adoptions in '08: 1,065
Children under 1 year old: 90%
Children 1-4 years old: 9%
Time from dossier to referral: 6-18 mos.
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $30,000
- Ukraine:
Adoptions in '08: 457
Children under 1 year old: 0%
Children 1-4 years old: 44%
Time from dossier to referral: 5-12 mos. <
Est. total cost: $30,000+
- Vietnam:
Adoptions in '08: 751
Children under 1 year old: 71%
Children 1-4 years old: 24%
Time from dossier to referral: Currently closed.
Est. total cost: $20,000 to $30,000
- Kazakhstan:
Adoptions in '08: 380
Children under 1 year old: 43%
Children 1-4 years old: 42%
Time from dossier to referral: 4-9 mos.
Est. total cost: $35,000+
- India:
Adoptions in '08: 307
Children under 1 year old: 9%
Children 1-4 years old: 63%
Time from dossier to referral: 18 to 24 mos.
Est. total cost: $20,000 to $25,000
- Ethiopia:
Adoptions in '08: 1,725
Children under 1 year old: 33%
Children 1-4 years old: 36%
Time from dossier to referral: 6-12 mos.
Est. total cost: $20,000 to $25,000
- Philippines:
Adoptions in '08: 291
Children under 1 year old: 2%
Children 1-4 years old: 46%
Time from dossier to referral: 24 mos.
Est. total cost: $17,000 to $25,000
- Nepal:
Adoptions in '08: 54
Children under 1 year old: 23%
Children 1-4 years old: 67%
Time from dossier to referral: Unknown.
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $35,000
- Taiwan:
Adoptions in '08: 266
Children under 1 year old: 68%
Children 1-4 years old: 20%
Time from dossier to referral: 10 to 14 mos.
Est. total cost: $15,000 to $20,000
- Haiti:
Adoptions in '08: 302
Children under 1 year old: n/a
Children 1-4 years old: n/a
Time from dossier to referral: 5-14 mos.
Est. total cost: $12,000 to $25,000
- Bulgaria:
Adoptions in '07: 20
Children under 1 year old: n/a
Children 1-4 years old: 58%
Time from dossier to referral: 12-18 mos.
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $35,000
Adoption counts from U.S. Department of State. Children's age numbers from the 2006 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics.
International Adoption Support Group Directory
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The modern era of international adoption began after the Korean War, when Korean and Amerasian orphans were placed with families living in the United States. Since then, Americans have completed hundreds of thousands of international adoptions. In 2008 alone, U.S. families adopted 17,438 children from other countries.
The majority of internationally-adopted children are young; in 2007, 40 percent were under 1 year of age and an additional 43 percent were between the ages of 1 and 4. Children who need adoption are most often from Asia, Eastern Europe, or Latin America.
Typically, the waiting time (and sometimes the total costs) for an intercountry adoption are more predictable than for a domestic adoption. Intercountry adoptions are ususally handled by private, nonprofit adoption agencies. Some agencies that handle domestic adoptions also work in intercountry adoption, although there are many agencies that specialize only in intercountry adoption.
There are special considerations that families adopting abroad should be prepared for. The background and health information they will receive about their child will likely be incomplete and may be unreliable. Frequently, changing political situations increase the uncertainties of intercountry adoption, and countries may open or close adoption traffic without notice. After adoption, for the child to develop self-esteem and pride, family members must incorporate into their lifestyle elements of the child's original culture, including friendships with people of the child's ethnicity. Arming your child against racism is another duty of transracial families. Many families report, however, that embracing another culture is one of the unanticipated joys of intercountry adoption.
Read the full article: International Adoption
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