Where would I start to find out how? Keep in mind, I’m not an American celebrity, and my retirement plan doesn’t rival those in the tabloids. This may be seen as hubris, but I’d like a child from a very poor country. I’m thinking along these lines of giving someone that has no hope in the native land, a chance in America. And I’m not against taking in a whole family. I realise it’s nothing to be taken lightly, therefore I’m looking to get info before persuing. I’ve given a LOT of money to charities, but just can’t see any better way than raising someone in the US.
Please leave out personal opinions of America. I just want to offer all that the US has to offer to someone that won’t take it for granted.
A friend of ours did just that a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, we’ve since lost contact with her and my memory about her efforts is pretty fuzzy, but I dimly recall the pfrocess taking quite awhile and involving at least one extended visit to her adopted daughter’s country during the process.
The end result, though, was a very happy adopted mom/daughter.
A friend of mine adopted a Russian baby about 5-6 years ago. I can get info on the agency he used (which he was very pleased with) if you’re interested. IIRC there was a lot of paperwork, fees, and things like home visits and interviews to verify their suitability as adoptive parents. They also had to travel to Russia themselves to pick up the baby and sign the final papers.
Interestingly enough, part of the reason they were able to adopt this particular baby was because a Russian doctor had certified that his health was poor; it turns out he is mildly autistic (I forget the exact medical term, but he has attention-span problems and is on medication).
A friend of my (well, more of a friend of a friend) just adopted twin girls from China - they are SO CUTE! I believe that girls are easier to come by there, for obvious reasons.
Anyhow - she and my friend had to go to China for about a month to sort things out and pick up the girls - I believe it was rather expensive, although I’m not sure what that means. Expensive compared to giving birth, or just expensive in general.
A friend of the family adopted a Romanian baby about 10 years ago. In Romania there was a lot of bribes necessary to get the child out of the country, but due to the rather poor economy there at the time I believe the amounts were relatively small in North American terms. The bribes are something that you just have to accept depending on which country you’re adopting from.
FWIW, neither of these people are celebrities or kajillionaries either.
I have satellite TV so you might not get this channel, but I watch “Adoption Story” every day at 1pm and it follows a family from beginning to end, from desire to adopt, to contacting an adoption agency, to traveling to the country, to actually bringing the child home. It would be very informative for you so you would know what to expect. Of course, I’m sure they don’t show the stories where there were big problems, but they do show the ones where there are many delays, paperwork holdups, problems with the courts, having to stay in the country much longer than expected. In the end, the families always say when someone says how lucky the child is to get out of their bad circumstances, that they feel like the lucky ones to have such a wonderful child. The Chinese and North Korean babies seem to have the best care as infants; they are given to families who care for them as their own so they are not traumatized from being ignored and left in a crib day after day.
We have adopted 2 little girls from China–their web sites are here and here. We went through Chinese Children Adoption International, web site here; in my opinion they are the BEST. The up-front cost is about $17K, including a 2-week trip to China. The US government pays you back $10K (out of your tax bill), so your net cost is $7,000 or so.
While your motives are admirable, to take on a kid requires more than a desire to give someone a better situation–you’ve gotta like kids! Maybe a puppy and a large donation to an orphanage (you can do that at the CCAI site, or at Half the Sky) would suit you better? Most international kids available for adoption, I’m tempted to say “all kids,” are from poor countries. Most countries are pretty darned poor compared with the US. The kids coming out of China tend to be healthier than those from South America or the former Soviet states, so you’d be taking less of a risk (but not no risk) on big medical bills following the adoption. Also, the process in China is much more cut-and-dried than some of the other countries. It takes a while but you WILL come home with a daughter (or son, if you’re willing to take a kid with special needs).
As far as the “won’t take it for granted” bit, don’t get your hopes up. I fully expect my Chinese daughters to turn into the same whiny, its-all-about-me, ungrateful, pain-in-the-ass teenagers that my domestic-born daughters (and sons, for that matter) turned into. I do have my hopes that they’ll grow out of it sometime in their 20’s. Har, har. <-dry, sarcastic laugh
suezeekay, only some of the Chinese kids get foster homes. Many live in orphanages all their lives. And some who are in foster homes, e.g. my youngest, are neglected there as well. <sigh> “A world full of wanted children…” is still a long way away.
Sorry to rant, folks. You hit my hot button. If anyone wants more info about Chinese adoptions/conditions/orphans, I’ve got it.
