ADOPTED: Abraham Dixon and his mother Samantha Gilbert. (Courtesy of the Dave Thomas Foundation)
It is in dispute whether international adoption encourages the abduction of children from their loving families, or gives a neglected child a chance for a bright future.The Hague Convention ?protects children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature, or ill-prepared adoptions abroad.? International adoptions have decreased dramatically over the years, as adoption policies have become more restrictive.
Ethiopia is one of the countries tightening its international adoption policy, and the U.S. Embassy anticipates a 90 percent decline in adoption case processing.
Ethiopia?s Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) will only allow a maximum of five inter-country adoptions per day; prior to March, this number was 50 per day.
This may mean prospective adoptive parents in the United States will focus more on domestic foster children.
According to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, foster children have to wait an average of three years or more for a permanent home, moving around each year in different foster families.
?We fervently believe that any child deserves a family,? said Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation, in a telephone interview. She said she wants any child from any country who needs a family to find one, but her organization exists to support and promote domestic foster care adoption.
People who want to adopt internationally are focused on infants, but Soronen said the average age of an adoptable child in foster care is 8.
According to the Dave Thomas Foundation, ?Nearly 81.5 million Americans have considered adopting a child. If just one in 500 of these adults adopted, every waiting child in foster care would have a permanent family.?
Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy?s restaurants, was adopted. He started the foundation to help others find permanent, loving families.
There are currently 423,773 children in foster care in the United States, and 114,556 of these children are available for adoption. In 2009, parents of 69,947 children had their parental rights stripped by the courts; however, only 57,466 of those were actually adopted.
Policies mandating that parents should lose parental rights after repeatedly failing to meet goals set by juvenile court were meant to help children be adopted. In practice, they can deprive children of legal relationships with other family members such as aunts, uncles, and cousins, without necessarily moving the children toward adoption.
People may avoid domestic adoption out of fear that a biological parent may reclaim a child, said Soronen, but this is not possible. A parent cannot legally regain custody once his or her rights are terminated.
Children enter state custody and foster care for many reasons. Some are orphans, and most are abandoned, abused, or neglected.
Soronen said an annual survey her organization commissioned found that people mistakenly believe that children enter foster care because they are juvenile delinquents. She wants to dispel that myth.
According to adoption agencies, international adoption can be costly. This can make fewer parents seek international children. For an international adoption, if the agency or the family decides to cancel, dossier fees are not refunded. Dossier fees are $3,000 for all international adoptions, except Korea.
Foster care adoption is free, as children in foster care are the financial responsibility of the state or county, according to Soronen, with local governments covering the costs. Foster care adoption expenses range from nothing to about $2,500, she said.
There is public and private financial and social support for children who were ever in foster care, some of it lasting into adulthood. For example, the state of Georgia pays for college for a child who was in state custody.The Dave Thomas Foundation can also provide parents with practical and moral support.
To learn more about foster care adoption, please visit davethomasfoundation.org, or call 1-800-275-3832.
Mary Silver contributed to this article.
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