It's bad news again
for would-be adoptive parents looking to bring home a baby from
overseas: the waits are getting longer with little relief in sight. Not
surprisingly in the convoluted world of international adoption, this
conflicts with the justification heard not long ago
when China tightened restrictions on potential adoptive parents,
claiming at the time that the new regulations would reduce the wait
time. So far, it hasn't happened: in fact it's more than doubled.
In
addition, several countries have shut down their foreign adoptions
altogether: countries having done so or that are experiencing
prohibitive delays include China, Guatemala, Ukraine, Nepal, Russia,
and South Korea. International adoptions only represent about 25% of
total American adoptions. The recent added wait times for international
adoptions are making domestic adoption through the foster care system
more appealing than it once was (there's still an enormous amount of
bureaucracy to wade through no matter how you slice it). Unless your
name is Angelina Jolie, in which case the Adoption Gods just seem to
smile endlessly.
On the
flip side, several countries are opening up adoptions a little more
which may help ease things, and huge increases are being seen in
African countries like Ethiopia and Liberia. And Malawi.
I just hope that all the countries concerned are really attempting to
ensure that the best possible families are found for their children who
need homes, and that they just aren't preying on susceptible, desperate
and hopeful parents.
