Читать книгу Adopting Older Children - Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero - Страница 14
ОглавлениеBefore deciding whether domestic or intercountry adoption is best for you and your family, become familiar with the process, requirements, costs and post-placement services available in your state for both types of adoption. Also, learn about the different needs of children adopted domestically versus internationally. For example, older children adopted from non-English speaking countries face language, cultural and educational barriers. They may also have different health problems such as malnourishment, cleft palates or bone malformation, as well as significant developmental delays and attachment difficulties.
Intercountry adoptions to the United States increased after World War II and reached their peak in the 1990s. After World War II, a number of children, both orphans and children of parents in the military, were adopted from Europe to the United States. The next big wave was Korean adoptions after the Korean War. During and after the Vietnam War, a number of families adopted Vietnamese children. After the fall of communism, thousands of children were adopted from Russia and Eastern and Central Europe. At the same time, due to its one-child policy and the value of male children over female children, China became a major country for intercountry adoption of mostly females. Intercountry adoption started as a humanitarian response from families or individuals in other countries (typically high-income or western industrialized countries) responding to the needs of children left orphaned or abandoned as a result of war.
Intercountry adoption now reflects a different scenario based on changes that started in the 1960s. Since then, there have been a number of sociological changes in high-resource countries including high infertility rates, later age of marriage with women’s increased participation in the labor market, the social acceptance of single parenthood and the availability of legal abortions.1 One result has been that the demand for available infants to adopt is more than the number of infants eligible for adoption within high-resource countries. This has contributed to increased intercountry adoption and the emergence of the role that money plays within the intercountry adoption process, according to Dr. Peter Selman.2 In some instances, intercountry adoption has been viewed not from a child rights perspective but rather from a right-to-a-child perspective.3 That is to say the demand for adoptive children has driven the availability of children, which can lead to unethical practices and illegal activities such as child trafficking, baby buying or the abduction and sale of children, according to David M. Smolin in his report for the Valparaiso Law Review.4 In areas where disasters have recently taken place, both natural and human-made, this is a very specific concern.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989, The Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (The Hague Convention) and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (2009) provide a child rights-based framework for intercountry adoption. These legal instruments act as guides as to how intercountry adoption should be practiced. In particular, The Hague Convention established international standards of practice for intercountry adoptions including transparency, protections against child trafficking and agency accreditation.5 In 2008, the United States began abiding by Hague Convention rules. According to the US Department of State, if only one country in adoption is a Hague Convention country, both countries must follow Hague Convention procedures, practices and rules. In practice, this is not happening. Americans adopting from non-Hague countries are advised to proceed with caution or reconsider their decision to adopt from these countries. The regulations that protect children and families do not exist in non-Hague countries and the process is less certain. As one adoptive parent we interviewed said, “Hague treaty countries are more predictable during the adoption process [i.e. China, Bulgaria] and might be a better fit for first-time adopters. You are officially matched with your child earlier in the process.”
You may be familiar with recent media controversies concerning intercountry adoption. There was the story of the American adoptive mother who sent her son back to Russia alone on a plane. There are stories about abuse of intercountry adoptees as well as “rehoming,” in which adoptive parents advertise for new homes for their adoptees in online discussion forums. While a rare occurrence, the children caught up in this unprofessional practice often are older intercountry adoptees and have significant special needs. Also, there are the concerns of child advocate groups, legislators and others about corruption and unsound adoption practices. Some of these concerns have been substantiated and adoption programs have been shut down.
Some argue that aid to foreign nations for the care of orphans and other impoverished children is not enough and that these children need permanent homes, even if that means they are removed from their native culture and adopted by foreign families. As Elizabeth Bartholet stated:
We assert that children’s most fundamental human rights are to live and to grow up in a nurturing family so they can fulfill their human potential. These rights have been largely ignored in the debate surrounding unparented children and related international adoption policies. We argue that unparented children have a right to be placed in families, either their original families, or if that is not feasible, then in the first available permanent nurturing families. This includes the right to be placed in international adoption if that is where families are available. We argue that children have a related right to be liberated from the conditions characterizing orphanages and most foster care.6
Others argue that US aid for international child welfare should be more focused on helping foreign nations strengthen their own families by reducing poverty and building up child welfare systems so orphans have better lives and more children are adopted by families living in their own countries.
Despite recent controversies surrounding intercountry adoption and the ongoing debate about how the United States should focus its foreign aid and other efforts when it comes to international child welfare, one fact remains: millions of children around the world do not have one of their most fundamental human rights met—the right to grow up in a loving, supportive and permanent family. UNICEF reports that there are millions of orphans throughout the world who have no permanent family or kin caregivers.7 Reflecting on this very large number, one cannot help but conclude that intercountry adoption is a vital component of child welfare; however, it should not be the only intervention.
Scandinavian countries lead the world in the rate of intercountry adoptions. The United States also is a leader in intercountry adoption but over the past ten years the number of intercountry adoptions by Americans began to decline. There are a number of reasons for this decrease, including new restrictions placed on which children may be adopted by foreigners. For example, some countries are restricting the number of infants that can be adopted internationally and allowing only special needs or older child adoptions by foreigners. Some nations are building up their own domestic adoption programs in response to high domestic demand for infants or to reduce the number of infants and children being removed from their native cultures. Intercountry adoptions have also slowed down due to Americans’ concerns about child trafficking in foreign countries and their mistrust of foreign adoption agencies and programs. The decrease is also because some countries’ adoption programs simply have been shut down due to corruption or non-adherence to Hague treaty standards.
The Russian international adoption program was discontinued in 2013, ostensibly in response to stories about abuse and abandonment by American adoptive parents, but other political considerations may have been in play as well. Adoptions from Guatemala, another popular program in the United States, have ended due to the lack of safeguards for children, according to Kelley Bunkers McCreery et al.8
At the same time, intercountry adoptions from some established programs are increasing and new programs are opening. Each country sets its own processes and procedures for intercountry adoptions, so prospective parents should research international programs carefully before deciding which is best for them. Your agency can help you become familiar with different programs. You also should search online for the latest information on country programs.
WAITING CHILDREN
As noted, there is unfortunately an abundance of orphans throughout the world whose parents have died and have no other family members to care for them, who have been abandoned because their families cannot care for them or who have been abused and neglected and are being sheltered. Many of these children have a reduced quality of life. In countries where child welfare systems are better developed, children may have some of their basic needs met in orphanages, but life in an orphanage is far from ideal. Staff often do not provide babies and children with love, caring, responsiveness or a relationship through which they can grow and develop.
One adoptive parent we interviewed traveled to an Eastern European country to adopt her toddler from an orphanage. She described a sad, desolate place where the few toys available were out of reach of tiny hands, where staff chatted with each other but rarely talked to or played with the children, where youngsters were blocked off in a small area when not in cribs and clamored for any modicum of stimulation or attention and where special needs children not adopted by a certain age were sent to harsher institutions.
For many children living in foreign orphanages, intercountry adoption is their only hope for a better life. Infants and toddlers who have spent even a few months in an orphanage without proper care and attention often suffer developmental delays. Older children who have resided for years in orphanages may suffer even worse developmental delays, behavioral problems and health difficulties (read more about the health of adopted children in Part III). Prospective parents of older children available for intercountry adoption should learn all they can about children eligible to be adopted from different countries and how these children are cared for while waiting to be adopted.
CHOOSING AN AGENCY AND COUNTRY PROGRAM
Before choosing an agency, get a free subscription to Guidestar, which provides tax returns for all nonprofit agencies. Not only will you be able to review the top salaries at the agency but, if you are good with math, you can decipher the percentage of their budget that goes to help a country where they are working.
The best source of information about country programs and adoption agencies is other adoptive parents. Join blogs, networking sites and use search engines to locate information about programs you are considering. However, be aware that some agencies hire companies to expunge negative comments about their programs. If you are considering an agency, ask them to connect you with a parent who used their service and lives near you. It is worth the effort to meet adoptive parents face-to-face so you can learn about their experience.
Choose your adoption agency carefully. Public agencies typically do not offer intercountry adoption services, so you will probably have to work with a private agency. Some families prefer to work with an independent adoption facilitator, but we recommend you work with an agency. Facilitators may be unqualified, corrupt or charge exorbitant fees. Be wary of any too-good-to-be-true promises made by private consultants or facilitators that they will find you an infant, for example, in a country that has closed their infant program.
To find a reputable private agency that facilitates intercountry adoptions:
• Visit your state’s adoption or child welfare information websites, which often include lists of licensed private agencies.
• Check the website of your state’s attorney general or your state or county’s Better Business Bureau to find out if any complaints have been made against an agency.
• Visit the Council on Accreditation website and look for agencies with a COA accreditation that is also a Hague accreditation (http://coanet.org/accreditation/who-is-accredited/who-is-accredited-search/).
• Get agency recommendations from other adoptive parents by joining an online adoptive parent discussion forum (see the list at the end of chapter 6).
Once you have narrowed your choices to several agencies, call or visit each agency and ask the following questions:
• With which country adoption programs do you work?
• How much interaction will I need to have with the foreign agency?
• What are your adoptive parent requirements or the requirements of each country’s program?
• What ages are the children available for adoption from each country’s program?
• What pre-adoptive training do you offer or require?
• What support do you offer pre-adoptive parents as they go through the process?
• What post-placement services do you offer, including visits to the home, support groups and education or training?
• What are your fees?
• How many visits do I have to make to the country for each program and what will I have to do while I’m there?
• How do you match waiting children with prospective parents?
• Typically, how long is the process from application to homecoming?
Don’t hesitate to ask the agency as many questions as you need to, because intercountry adoption can involve a lot more steps than domestic adoption and you will need to learn about each country’s program before deciding which is best for you. The agency you choose should be willing to answer all your questions, address your concerns and make you feel comfortable about the path you have chosen to adopt a child.
In choosing a country from which to adopt, think about travel requirements. You should ask your agency about required travel prior to selecting a country if you think travel will be an issue for you. It is in the best interest of your child for you to plan on going to the child’s birth country and not have your child escorted. The number of required trips, and the required length of stay for each, varies by country. Pre-adoptive parents may have to make one trip to meet and choose a waiting child, then make a second to bring the child home. A parent may need to stay in the country for several weeks or even months to collect all the papers the child needs to exit the country.
Also research which countries you are eligible to adopt from (for example, gay and lesbian couples are prohibited from adopting by many countries), the characteristics of waiting children, the reputation of the program and the costs. Most importantly, think about which culture you are most drawn to or which you are unwilling to adopt from. All intercountry adoptions are transcultural and some are transracial. Think about how you might support a child from a different culture develop a strong sense of self and identity. For example, do you live in a diverse community where a child from a different race or culture would be welcome? Are you willing to travel to your child’s country of origin to help him reconnect with his birth culture, should he be interested in doing so in the future? Do you have friends from specific ethnic or cultural backgrounds from whom your child might enjoy learning?
Popular foreign programs for American adopters over the past three decades have included China, Russia, Poland, Colombia, Guatemala, South Korea, Romania and Vietnam. Programs that have grown in recent years include Ethiopia, the Philippines and Ukraine (prior to the Russia-Ukraine conflict). Almost all adoption programs have special programs for older youth, sibling groups and children with special health needs.
A mother who adopted a nearly four-year-old child with blindness and other special needs from Ukraine has this advice for prospective parents in the process of choosing an intercountry adoption program:
I recommend that parents look at all open countries. Assess needed travel (as length of time in countries varies in the number of trips needed and length of stay, etc.), time waiting before travel after submitting dossier, the country’s qualifications and the type of children available for adoption. There is no best country for all. For us, traveling to Ukraine and living there for sixty-one days was not an issue, but for families with other children it may be more challenging, although we did have the option to make multiple trips versus a longer stay. We did not qualify for some countries due to medical history. Country laws and restrictions are constantly changing.
With Ukraine, since you cannot pre-select a child, we did not get any information on a child before traveling, but other countries will give full profiles and match a family before traveling. For us, since we were adopting an older child, Ukraine worked well, as we could meet the child and see her personality before saying yes or no to adopting the child (it worked for us—before we met our girl, we met a girl who neither of us connected with so we declined the referral and got a referral to our child). Ukraine allows three referrals (allowing a family to meet up to three children) before sending a family home. Also, Ukraine was good for us as we were open to a child with special needs so we were able to adopt a younger child (under five). For families who are not open to special needs and want a younger child, Ukraine would not be best.
Note that this parent was interviewed prior to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that erupted in 2014. Such incidents adversely impact adoption programs, adding to the unpredictability of intercountry adoption.
BEING MATCHED WITH A CHILD
Prospective parents interested in intercountry older child adoption may be able to begin the process of searching for a child before they even choose an agency. There are numerous photo-listing sites featuring older foreign children and children with special needs waiting to be adopted. Some of these sites are affiliated with agencies while others are simply photo-listing services. Be careful when using sites run by consultants or independent adoption facilitators. Find out how they get access to the photo listings and whether you can work with an agency to adopt a child found on their site (more about intercountry adoption facilitators in the next sections). Like domestic photo listings, you should be able to search for children by location, age and other characteristics, including whether they are part of a sibling group.
Be aware that, according to Hague Convention rules, adoptive parents cannot choose the child they will adopt; they can indicate an interest in a specific child but the match usually will be made by professionals in the child’s country of origin.
More commonly, families receive referrals to children eligible to be adopted. Your agency may direct you to their public or private photo listings or engage in their own matching process that involves looking at your profile and home study.
Prospective parents should learn as much as possible from the foreign agency about the child’s life, including her family history, care and special needs. Many parents adopting internationally complain they did not receive adequate information about their child’s background. Problems with getting accurate information include inadequate record-keeping, corruption, fraud or a straightforward lack of knowledge about how the child became an orphan on the part of the foreign government and/or agency. Some parents have even discovered that they did not receive an accurate birth certificate or correct information about their child’s date and location of birth.
THE PRE-ADOPTIVE PROCESS
The pre-adoptive process for domestic and intercountry adoption involves many of the same elements including the application, home study, pre-adoptive training, a background check and physicals (see the domestic adoption chapter for more information about the application) but there are additional documents you will need for intercountry adoption:
• A passport for travel
• I-800A form: Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Hague Country
• I-600 form: Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative (required for adoption from non-Hague countries)
LEGAL ISSUES
Once you have been matched to the child you want to adopt, you must find out what type of visa she will need to enter the United States and obtain a passport for her. Most children adopted by Hague Convention countries automatically become legal citizens of the United States but there are some exceptions. For example, if you are a citizen of the country from which the child is being adopted, procedures may differ. Also, when adopting from a non-Hague country, you may need to obtain orphan status for the child, and the process for entering the United States and gaining citizenship status for the child may be different.
Accredited agencies will help you complete the paperwork necessary for legalization and obtain a visa. If you are not using an agency you will have to hire an attorney experienced in intercountry adoption to assist you with the adoption process and to achieve finalization. Paperwork that renders the adoption legal is processed in Hague Convention countries prior to the child’s departure. Once the child is brought into the United States, he may not need to be re-adopted through the courts but sometimes parents do this. Please reference the Child Welfare Information Gateway factsheet on adoption from Hague versus non-Hague countries to gain a better understanding of the legal process governing intercountry adoption.9 Laws can sometimes change, so please also reference the Department of State’s website (http://adoption.state.gov/) for the most current information about the required paperwork and procedures for adopting a child from a foreign nation. You will also need to discuss with your attorney what the laws are in your state concerning re-adoption and citizenship for your child.
COSTS
Intercountry adoption is considerably more expensive than adopting a child through the US foster care system. Currently, you will pay between twenty and forty thousand dollars to adopt a child internationally. Costs vary according to the country’s program and the agency. For example, certain countries may require more visits and longer lengths of stay than others. Furthermore, certain countries require post-adoption visits and reporting by the agency. You also will incur higher legal fees if the adoption process is more complicated. Be sure to ask agencies you are considering working with what their fees are and what the costs are for a different country’s programs.
To help you pay for intercountry adoption you might apply for a loan or grant from a private organization that supports adoptive parents. You might also do your own fundraising through an organization or on your own through programs like Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/). One of the parents we interviewed said she raised money through Reece’s Rainbow, a private organization that specializes in special needs intercountry adoption, to help defray the costs of adopting their child from Ukraine.
In some states, parents who have adopted a child from another country, especially those who have adopted special needs children, will qualify for a one-time payment from the state. Call your state’s child welfare agency to find out if you qualify. Once the adoption is finalized, you may also apply for the federal adoption tax credit. The tax credit is more beneficial for families that fall in a higher tax bracket; be sure to ask your tax preparer how you may benefit.
