International adoption is not cheap. In fact, it is quite
costly. Fees are paid to secure paperwork; fees are paid to you home study
organization; it requires international travel; and quite a bit of money also
goes to the international adoption agency. As you get involved with the
process, you can’t help but ask, “Why does it cost so much?”
The shortest answer is that international adoption is
complicated. We have already experienced this first hand through the myriad of
paperwork (which is now completed. Yea!). Anything that involves multiple
nations, organizations –and lawyers – is expensive. Given the total cost it is
easy to bemoan the financial burden. However, there is also good reason to pay
for this process.
On March 2, CNN ran another article about the level of
corruption sometimes found in international adoption. According to the article,
nations with a combination of high birthrates and high poverty rates lead to
many children abandoned and orphaned, in need of adoption. As international adoptions increase in a country, a number of malevolent entities
often surface as well. While virtually all adoptive families are just like ours – longing to
raise this child in a loving home – there is a small group of people who see a
large profit. Human trafficking is a real danger in the international adoption
world. Stories are told of teenage girls offered a couple hundred dollars to
give birth to a child so these traffickers can adopt them out. In addition, not
all “orphans” are without parents. It is not uncommon for some children to be
left at orphanages because parents cannot afford to care for another child.
They want to see their child survive, but not necessarily depart for a foreign
land.
Reputable agencies take considerable care to make sure the
children placed for adoption are truly orphans. Governments, especially those
from Hague compliant nations, have added layers of care to ensure the same.
This adds cost and time to the process – and heartache for waiting parents. Without
a doubt, corruption enters the process in some places. This has led to an
adoption moratorium in places like Guatemala. One reason the process in
Ethiopia has slowed so much is a commitment to better diligence to ensure that
things are done well and legally. The adoptive family pays for this increased
expense. However, given what is at stake, this is a worthwhile cost.
International adoption agencies care for orphans long before
they are adopted. Listening to a few stories by adoptive parents, the degree of
care varies considerably across agencies and across countries. Last year, as we
were praying about beginning this journey, I had the opportunity to visit the
transition home of the agency with which we are now working. I was quite
impressed with the level of care, the status of the home, and the health of the
kids. My experience that day differed considerably from the stories of a few
others I heard, even later that day, of facilities that were run down, dirty,
and children who were not receiving adequate medical care. Caring for the kids
in the agency’s adoptive system are a worthwhile cost.
The truth is, the cost and the time are significant
headaches and hurdles in the adoption process. These children long for a family
and many loving families long to adopt. Most days the process feels tedious and
in the way. We so wish it were simpler – and cheaper. Yet this is not a road
chosen for expedience. It is a costly road. And we continue to move down it.
Thanks for reading and joining us in this journey (and for reading as I also convince myself why the wait and cost have value).
Interested to help? As we move through the adoption process, several have asked how anyone can afford adoption. Savings, selling, borrowing are all part of the journey. Our adoption agency, America World, does make it possible to give toward our family’s adoption. If you would like to help us you can use the link below. In the “notes” field include our name and the Eternal Family Program.
