Adoption is an alternative way to having a family. A child is given a new family when their birth families cannot support them or are absent from their lives. For most people, adoption is the only way to have a family life. Adoption has been popular in the US in the recent decades. In the United States, there have been 677,000 private domestic adoptions, 661,000 foster care, and 440,000 international adoptions (Vandivere, Malm & Radel, 12). There are different types of adoptions for every type of family and each has its own processes and rules.
The process of adoption within the United States usually involves adoption agencies which can have their own additional processes. After a family decides that they want to pursue adoption, they will have to apply to adoption where they have their backgrounds checked, receive training and complete all necessary requirements needed for adoption. For example, citizenship, age, marital status, family size, income, medical records, criminal history, and religion of applying adoptive parents are among the eligibility requirements of Children of All Nations, as adoption agency. Next, they will have to undergo an adoption home study where the family’s caseworker determines if their home is suitable and ready for a new child. Once all the preparation is complete and the family is deemed eligible to adopt, they will then be matched with a child in order to assess if needs of the child and what the adoptive family can offer them will match. After a potential match has been agreed upon by the caseworkers of both parties, an adoption placement will be given. The final step is to legalize the adoption where in the legal rights of the birth family with the child are severed and the adoptive family takes over full-responsibility and welfare of the adopted child. This process lasts for about six months after the adoption placement (AdoptUSKids.org, “How to Adopt”). There will be monitoring of the progress after the child has been legally adopted.
In the United States, there are different kinds of adoption but they all fall through two types: a domestic adoption, wherein the child comes from the United States; or an international adoption, wherein the child comes from outside the country. In domestic adoptions, there are open adoptions, where the birth mother gains visitation rights and other forms of communication like photos and letters with her birth child, and closed adoptions, where the birth mother relinquishes all her parental rights to the child and revokes all communication and connection between them. For domestic adoptions, there are infant adoptions, foster care, foster-adoptions, independent adoptions, step-child adoptions, relative adoptions, and adult adoptions (National Adoption Center, “Types of Adoptions”).
According to Family Choices, NFPC, infant or newborn adoptions are commonly the first type of adoption adopting families look for (Family Choices, NFPC, “Types of Adoption). This usually involves a child 0 to 12 months old and takes up to two or more years of waiting and applying. Children of All Nations stated that in the United States, there are approximately 60,000-80,000 parents wanting to adopt newborns but there are only 20,000 newborn infants placed for adoption (Children of All Nations, “US Infant Adoption, para. 3) .
In the 2013 data brief of demographic trends in foster care in the United States, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) found that the number of children in foster care has reduced in size (Administration on Children, Youth and Families, 1). Between 2002 and 2012, there has been a 23.7% decrease in children in foster care, from 523,616 to 399,546. The period of time a child is in foster care has also reduced by a quarter from 31.3 months to 22.4 months (4). The number of children adopted through foster care in 2013 was 50,608 (ACYF, “Adoption of Children with Public Child Welfare Agency Involvement by State FY 2004 - FY 2013) and a total of 101, 840 children in foster care still waiting to be adopted (ACYF, “Children in Public Foster Care on September 30th of Each Year Who Are Waiting to be Adopted FY 2004 – FY 2013).
Independent adoption or private adoption is a legal method of adoption without the interference of adoption agencies. State laws still apply with this kind of adoption but the search for the perfect child shortens as compared with using adoption agencies. The adoptive family will have to seek a possible child from his or her birth mother and make arrangements with themselves. According to Families for Private Adoption, there have been more than 25,000 children adopted through independent adoption over the last 25 years (Families for Private Adoption, “Frequently Asked Questions”, para. 5).
Step-child adoption is the most common form of adoption in the United States. It involves a step-child who is legally adopted by their step-parents (National Adoption Information Clearinghouse). Step-child adoption is more common among families who had non-marital births than families caused by divorces (Stewart, 6). The biological father would want to adopt the child in order to have legal parental rights over the child. In another scenario, the non-biological parent would want to adopt their stepchild for insurance reasons, financial support, and personal reasons. This type of adoption the least complicated.
Relative adoption or kinship adoption involves children being adopted legally by a relative or someone with a strong and significant relationship with the child. It is the first option considered by caseworkers for children in foster care. Almost 7.8 million children live with their grandparents or other relatives (U.S. 2010 Census). Their parents are either not supporting them financially or are not present at home (AARP et al.).According to NSAP, as of 2007, about 276,000 children were adopted by relatives (Vandivere, Malm & Radel, 6).
The inter-country adoption process is much more complicated than domestic adoption because it involves the adoption laws of the adoptive family’s country and the child’s family. In the U.S. there are different laws for adoption for every state. The Hague Adoption Convention processes also have to be followed if both family and child’s countries are party to the convention. Moreover, they must also secure a certificate of citizenship if the child to be adopted is not from the U.S (Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Adoption Process”, para. 1).
According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, from 1999 to 2013, there have been a total of 249,694 international adoptions in the United States. The top countries, from 2008-2012, from which children are adopted are China, Ethiopia, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, and Guatemala. The top states which adopt internationally, from 2008-2012, are California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, and Michigan. The nineties was a high-time for international adoptions. In 1999, there were a total of 15,719 international adoptions in the United States. From 1999 to 2006, there was an approximated 10,000 increase per year in international adoptions. However, from 2006 to 2013, that number has declined. In 2013, there are have only been 7,092 international adoptions (Bureau of Consular Affairs, “FY 2013 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption).
The reason for this decline is due to the strict guidelines of the Hague Adoption Convention, an international agreement which secures the welfare of children being adopted internationally. The Convention was applied by the United States in 2008 (Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Hauge Convention”, para. 1). Another reason is the unavailability of “adoptable” children from other countries. The ones up for adoption internationally are usually significantly older or have some special needs because the younger, healthier ones are usually adopted within their own countries (Adoption 101, “International Adoption, para. 9).
In Vandivere, Malm & Radel’s study on the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents, 40 percent of adopted children differ from race and ethnicity from their adoptive parents, while 37 percent are non-Hispanic white. Adopted children are also less likely to live in households with below poverty threshold incomes (9). 85 percent of adopted children are in excellent health and 78 percent have adequate health insurance. They also have fair socio-emotional well-being but tend to have lower compared to children of the general population. 69 percent are engaged in school and have a generally positive family experience as compared to children of the general population (10). Around 98 percent of children aged 5 and older reported to have positive experiences with their adoptive parents (35).
Works Cited:
AARP, Brookdale Foundation Group, Casey Family Programs, Child Welfare League of America, Children's Defense Fund, & Generations United. Grandfacts: State Fact Sheets for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children. 2011. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Administration on Children, Youth and Families. Data Brief 2013-1. “Recent Demographic Trends in Foster Care”, September 2013. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Administration on Children, Youth and Families. “Adoption of Children with Public Child Welfare Agency Involvement by State FY 2004 - FY 2013”, September 2013. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Administration on Children, Youth and Families. “Children in Public Foster Care on September 30th of Each Year Who Are Waiting to be Adopted FY 2004 – FY 2013”, September 2013. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Adoption101.com. “International Adoption”, 2013. Web. 23 Nov 2014
AdoptUSKids.com. “How to Adopt”, 2014. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Bureau of Consular Affairs. FY 2013 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption, March 2014. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Bureau of Consular Affairs. The Hauge Convention on Intercountry Adoption: A Guide for Prospective Adoptive Parents, 11373. Washington, DC.
Children of All Nations. “US Infant Adoption”, 2013. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Family Choices, NFPC. “Types of Adoption”, 2007. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Families for Private Adoption. “Frequently Asked Questions”, 24 Jan 2014. Web. 23 Nov 2014
National Adoption Center. Types of Adoptions. Web. 23 Nov 2014
National Adoption Information Clearinghouse. Stepparent adoption factsheet, 2006. Web. 23 Nov 2014
Stewart, Susan. Stepchildren Adopted by their Stepparents; Where do they fit?. Iowa: Iowa State University, 2007. Print
Vandivere, Sharon, Malm, Karin & Radel, Lauren. Adoption USA: A Chartbook Based on the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents. Washington, DC.
