Interracial Adoption

Having a child is one of the most important events in a person's life. Infertility and failed pregnancies force hopeful parents to find alternative methods for having a child. In recent years fertility treatments and in-vitro fertilization have shown themselves to be alternatives to traditional means of conception. Many times when these methods fail hopeful parents turn to adoption as a sure way to have a child. Making the decision to adopt a child, in itself, is a major, life-changing event. With that, the potential parents undergo the rigors of the adoption system, whether national or international, to achieve their dreams of having children.

One decision that has to be made prior to adoption is whether to have a domestic adoption, or an international adoption. Many times domestic adoptions are viewed as a "roller-coaster (Inside, 2005)," because of the uncertainty of the adoption laws that exist here. The U.S. has a policy which states that birth parents have a window of opportunity to change their minds as to whether or not they are sure about giving up legal rights to the child/ children. With international adoption, many of the domestic laws do not exist, therefore making international adoption a desirable choice.

In the article, "A Child Is Priceless; But an Adoption Takes Hard Cash," the one major problem of international adoption is analyzed--the cost. Depending on the country you choose to adopt from, an adoption of one child can cost upwards of $32, 000! Many families choose to borrow against equity in their homes to finance an adoption. Adopting a child from Russia, for example, takes less than a year and the cost is roughly $32,000; adopting a child from Kazakstan or China is less costly--$27,000 and $25,000 respectively. The process is so costly because several factors are taken into account. To get started, the family that wishes to adopt must pay an agency (if they choose to go through an agency) an application fee and an agency fee up front. Next, a home study, which has a cost associated with it, is conducted. This process examines the potential adoptive family's suitability for a new child. After the home study a referral is placed. The referral takes about six months to be completed. If chosen, the adoptive parents will be sent photos, medical records, and a history of the child. To complete the process the parents, for a Russian adoption, have to travel to the country twice to pass inspections. Each time the family must pay for their own flight, lodging, agency fees and any other international fees that are imposed. In China the process is just as long and costly. On top of paying agency fees the family has to make an 18 hour trip to China, which can cost $800 per person round trip. In China only one child can be adopted at a time and usually the child is a female, since many female children are often abandoned.

Another article, "Adoption: Challenging the Myths," some of the uncertainty about adoption is cleared up. The article focuses on the Bethany Christian Service, a pro-life organization that began because they wanted to offer an alternative to abortion. The Columbus, Georgia based organization specializes in servicing the necessity of special needs children. These special needs children include African Americans, those who are older, and those that have physical or mental disabilities. A somewhat shocking statistic is that almost 80% of the children that need homes in Georgia are African American. "This is why African American families are so badly needed to show these children love and a good home," said the director of the service. Although special needs adoptions are usually state-funded and the adoptive parents pay no agency fee, there is still an overabundance of African American children that do not have permanent homes. Some facts about adopting a child with special needs includes:

* You can be married, single, or divorced

* You can own a home or live in an apartment

* You can be young or old

* You do not have to be rich

* You do not need a college education

The article ends saying that the family adopting a special needs child should be strong, yet flexible, and able to provide stability, security, and nurturance.

Several ideas came to mind when comparing these two articles, but the