International adoption

Intercountry Adoption Numbers Continue to Drop Drastically

Submitted by LisaS on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 06:45

Adoptions to the United States from other countries dropped drastically again last year. As a matter of fact the number of intercountry adoptions was the lowest it has been in the last ten years. Only 12,753 children were adopted to the US through intercountry adoption in the government fiscal year which runs from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009.

ANNUAL TOTAL OF ADOPTIONS FROM 2003-2009

2009: 12,753

2004: 22,884

2008: 17,438

2003: 21,616

2007: 19,613

2002: 21,378

2006: 20,679

2001: 19,647

2005: 22,739

1999: 15,719

The top five countries were China, Ethiopia, Russia, South Korea, and Guatemala. There are still children in Guatemala whose adoptions were initiated before intercountry adoptions were halted in Dec. 2007. The numbers from Guatemala will only continue to decline. The same holds true for China  where new adoption restrictions are making it much harder for US citizens to adopt. I project that the numbers from Ethiopia will continue to increase for another couple years until UNICEF gets involved, and then the adoption doors will be slammed shut.

Temple Grandin, Cows and Autism

Submitted by AngelaW on Sun, 02/07/2010 - 22:37

temple grandinSaturday night I saw down with my family to watch a biopic for Temple Grandin. I have been reading about Dr Template Grandin for years and years. I expected to love it ... and I did. It is a must-see movie.

Temple is a highly successful 62-year old woman with autism. She invented a career for herself in the cattle industry. She has transformed how autism is seen and how cows (and many other prey animals) are handled.

The movie quickly moved from "4-year old Temple being diagnosed with autism" to "33-year old Temple with a masters degree  in animal science."  

Sensory integration disorder was clearly explained. This is such a hard issue for people to understand. I still remember issues that happened in first grade. So I explained SID to Natasha's  first grade teacher. Seriously... the teacher thought that I was making it up... to excuse Natasha's bad behavior. (ARGH!)

Searching for a Birthmother – Part III: Writing a Letter and Choosing Photos for the Birthmother

Submitted by LisaS on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 16:25

 Hopefully you have read my previous two blogs on preparing for a birthmother* search and are now ready for the next step in this process: writing a letter and choosing photos to send with the searcher to the birthmother. In my opinion this is a very enjoyable part of the birthmother search process, but also one that requires carefully consideration and tact.

I want you to consider this: this may very well be the only communication there will ever be between you and the birthmother; some birthmothers will not want continued contact. You cannot take your words back so here are some points to consider when you are writing this letter:

1. Write from the heart, not the head.

2. Keep the language simple if it is going to be translated into another language otherwise much of what you say will be lost in translation.

3. Be culturally sensitive – no need to mention, for example,  that you live in a fancy house, have a private yacht, several vehicles, etc., but simultaneously reassure the birthmother that your child has all that they need to thrive.

International Adoption Scam Survivor Will Adopt Again

Submitted by GuestBlogger on Mon, 01/04/2010 - 15:28

Kas is an international adoption consultant and counselor, mother to son from Russia, adopted at 18 months-now 5. She specifically asked for Caucasian, blue-green eyed, fair, blonde boy as young as possible with only minor & correctable health issues. She met her son at 13 months, and the rest is history. Kas says this is a wonderful way to adopt children! She advocates for Russian adoption daily, indicating that current cost are around $35-$40K, which is similar to some domestic adoptions and use of surrogate mothers. This is her story of being scammed by an International agency, which got her started helping others.

 

I was scammed post-adoption by a very popular intternational agency by being too honest in my post-placement reports. The agency had been sued and a doctor was a key witness against them who happened to be the doctor who treated my son. He was an expert in his field and I didn't know about the lawsuits until after the evaluation with him. I put his name on my final post-placement report as my son's doctor and that was it. The application I had in for adoption #2 was "deleted" with no refund. The agency refused to speak to me except once by their social worker who said that if my son was so bad off that he needed THAT doctor-I must not be able to handle another one and they would not facilitate it. They refuse to speak to me to this day. I'd love to say their name but I haven't yet. I was told they had been sued 10 times and lost every case for the same offense, not ensuring that the overseas paperwork was translated correctly, mainly the medicals of the adopted children. This was the case for me, too, but I didn't sue them.

Being Treated Differently for Adopting a Child of a Different Race

Submitted by JuliaFuller on Sun, 01/03/2010 - 22:45

 

For many years, I would not consider transracial adoption. Before you jump to any conclusions, allow me to elaborate. My entire extended family has been accepting of every child who has ever come through our licensed foster home. We have fostered over 100 children from newborn to 18, of Hispanic, African American, Caucasian, and mixed heritage with a variety of issues and special needs. Therefore, the acceptance of my family did not affect my decision. I have been able to love and care for each of these children. Their race, origins, beliefs, and special needs have not prevented me from loving each of them. However, I noticed repeatedly while shopping with my children that many people treated me differently when one of those children was of a different race.

Guest Blog: Helping Your School Support the Intercountry Adopted Child

Submitted by GuestBlogger on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 00:51

Patricia DischlerPatricia Dischler is the author of "Because I Loved You: A Birthmother's View of Open Adoption", a speaker, child care professional and birthmother. Read more from Patricia here.

…continued from here.

Building on this basic understanding, we illustrate for teachers/providers how important it is to value a child's background and culture. A high percentage of adopted children are inter-country, and sharing all you can about this background of an adopted child, can lead teachers/providers to a fuller understanding of who they are. Encourage teachers/providers to see this as a wonderful opportunity to expand the minds of all the children in their care. By exploring the background culture of a child they will be making a connection between that culture and someone the other children know - these direct links are what will bring importance to the discussion and make them successful. Teachers/providers recognize how important these personal connections are to their teaching successes. This is not to say teachers/providers should isolate the child as something "different" that they talk about, rather it is an opportunity to bring new information to their group and make a connection to it that will make the information important to the children. This is something that can be done with all of the children in their care - every family has a special culture they can share.

For example, talking about Guatemala is very abstract for a group of preschoolers.

Dear Adoption Maharishi: Do Adopted Children Have Different Needs Based Upon Country of Birth?

Submitted by Adoption_Maharishi on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 10:21

Dear Adoption Maharishi,

My husband and I just attended an adoption orientation with another couple who is thinking about adopting a child. We were separated into two groups: domestic and intercountry. Our group (domestic) was told how important it is to maintain a connection with the birth mother. We were told that we could not have a closed adoption because staying connected with the birth mother is too important to the adopted child. However, our friends’ group (intercountry) was told that the adopted child would be just fine without any connection with the birth mother. All intercountry adoptions through this adoption agency are closed.

So, does an adopted child need to stay connected with the birth mother or not? I find it hard to believe that maintaining this connection is crucial in domestic adoption while, at the same time, completely unimportant in an intercountry adoption. You can’t have it both ways.

~ Skeptic

Notify Your Adoption Agency of New Addresses

Submitted by JuliaFuller on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 01:46

Your family is going to move to a new home. It happens all the time. People accept job transfers. Your family has outgrown the current house. The neighborhood is no longer child friendly. It does not really matter the reason for the move. But have you notified your adoption agency of your new address?

Who Cannot Bond With an Infant?

Submitted by FosterMommy on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 18:45

Have you read profiles of available children who were adopted internationally as infants being placed for second or re-adoption? The thought of not bonding with an infant seems far-fetched to many. Babies are small, fragile, and totally dependent on the parent or caregiver for life so how can they not bond. After several years of parenting the child and not making a connection, the adoptive parent releases the child for re-adoption. You usually see children between eight and 13 seeking new families on websites such as CHASK or Little Bit of Heaven Referral Service. Most of these were from failed international adoptions. What is the connection? Why can’t some people bond with an infant or why can’t an infant bond with a new family?

Educational Testing and Assessments: Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-4)

Submitted by FosterMommy on Fri, 09/25/2009 - 19:31

Does your child comprehend the reading material used at school or college? Is your child’s comprehension of assigned reading material equivalent to the comprehension of others in the same grade level or age range? It is common to notice some learning deficits in children adopted from foster care or orphanages. Learning challenges are also common in children exposed to substance abuse prior to birth.

When parenting older adopted children psychological testing, educational testing and assessments can become common items in your child’s yearly agenda. The school psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists tend to rattle off test and assessment names or acronyms. Then they place the commonly used abbreviated names, usually initials, on documents such as IEPs to support their educational or therapeutic recommendations for your child. Apparently, they think we all know exactly what those tests are, how they are given, and what they prove or disprove about the abilities of our children. The names of these tests become familiar over the years, however I still have no idea what they really are. Therefore, we at Adoption Under One Roof are researching specific tests to help give our readers insight during IEPs and meetings with therapists. Today’s topic is Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-4).