help with international adoption(Serious Answers only)?
Here is the problem my friend is 24 years old with one kid. But she desperately want another one.. However she’s single.. But i read about an international adoption agency you need to be at least 25.. And i read numerous of international adoption success stories.. i told her to adopt in Ethiopia the children are beautiful over there.. But the adoption cost is a lot.. Are these people selling these poor children or what? IS THERE ANYWAY SHE COULD DO THE ADOPTION WITHOUT THIS AGENCY STUFF.. CANT SHE JUST HIRED A LAWYER AND DO THAT. OR GO OVER THERE VISIT THE ORPHANS AND ADOPT A CHILD JUST LIKE ANGELINA JOLIE AND MADONNA… THEY DIDNT GO THROUGH THAT AGENCY STUFF.. PLZZ SERIOUS ANSWERS YOUR OPINION DOES MATTER.
First of all, yes, most agencies/ countries require adoptive parents be at least 25 years old, and in some cases even older. Many will allow you to start the process if your only a few monthes from turning 25. Only a few countries allow single women to adopt. Ethiopia does, but only through certain agencies, and the wait may be longer.
There are a lot of expenses involved with international adoption, but when you’re going through a reputable agency, then NO, they are not “selling babies”. The costs include; employing social workers in both the US and foreign country, costs of maintaining the agency, medical care for ALL children in orphanage/ foster care (including those with expensive medical needs), employing caregivers, nurses, doctors, ect. in orphanage or children’s home, upkeep of orphanage and supplies, travel expenses, costs for visas, passports, and other legal documents, fees for processing dossier, and homestudy, and much more.
These countries don’t have government funded social welfare programs like we do in the US. With out adoption fees, many of this decent orphanages would not be able to stay open.
Most countries will require you to work with a lisenced adoption agency or facilitator. While a few may allow you to “do it on your own”, this is not recommended, as it can be much more risky, and opens up doors to all sorts of unethical practices by unregulated foreign lawyers and facilitaters. It is also often just as expensive if not more the adopting through an agency. International adoption is a serious and complicated endevor, and not something you should try to do “the cheap way”
Also, with the exeption of Madonna, who adopted from a country that usually doesn’t allow international adoption, Angelina Jolie, and other celebrity adoptive parents DID go through adoption agencies, had to meet country requirements, and and had to pass homestudies just like other adoptive families.
If your friend truely wants to adopt internationally, she should go through a reputable agency. There are many ways to afford adoption, here are some sights that can help
http://affording.adoption.com/
http://www.affordingadoption.com/grants.php
I hope this helped.
Q 412. What do I do if my adoption agency requires additional fees at the end of the adoption?
