Adoption

The Arizona Republic writes on the subject of foster adoption. Parents are encouraged to consider foster adoption as a speedy and less expensive alternative to private and international adoption.

The average wait time to adopt a foster child is three to six months, while those pursuing private adoptions, using agencies or attorneys in the U.S. or going abroad, often wait 16 months or more. . . The costs vary from foster adoptions, essentially free because the state pays for the attorney, to private domestic arrangements. The latter can range from $8,000 to $12,000 in Arizona, depending on agency and attorney fees, travel and medical costs and living expenses for the child and mother. . .

The article reassures parents about foster adoption:

Most [foster-care children] not ruined teenagers waiting to wreak havoc in your lives. “People think a foster-care child is somehow going to look different than a child who’s from a private adoption. . . But these aren’t 12-year-olds with horns coming out of their heads. They are beautiful kids who were born into unfortunate situations.”

But it realistically portrays that there can always be challenges, which is true of any adoption:

Pidgeon said concerns about a foster child’s physical, mental and emotional condition, where a history of drug use or mental illness in the parents may be indicated or suspected, are “fair fears” for potential parents.

Business & Legal Reports makes the case for employer adoption benefits. They recommend that employers provide adoption benefits to their employees for the following reasons:

1. It’s the smart thing to do.
2. It’s the affordable thing to do.
3. It’s the right thing to do.
4. It’s the easy thing to do.

There are many decisions to be made in implementing an employee adoption benefits package. They recommend the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which provides a resource package for employers seeking to establish an adoption benefits package.

phillyBurbs provides an article describing the role of an adoption attorney. The article describes numerous advantages of retaining an adoption attorney in your adoption search: expertise in the law, the ability to explain things to you and help you plan, and personal contacts that can help your adoption.

The article recommends finding an attorney early in the adoption process. It suggests that you find an attorney by word of mouth — talk to people who have adopted before to find who they would recommend.

Isaiah 1:17:

learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.

We know that God has compassion for orphans and sovereignly works to care for them. Here we see that one of the chief ways he does this is by commanding his people to likewise have compassion for orphans and to care for them.

God’s people not only to care for orphans; they are to “bring justice” to the fatherless.

Psalm 68:5-6a:

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home.

From this we know that, not only does God have compassion for orphans, but He also sovereignly works to care for their needs.

The National Adoption Center describes the term legally free in relation to a child waiting for adoption, explaining that it means that the child’s birth parents have no more rights or privilges; essentially, the child has been legally orphaned.

Evidently adoptive parents are sometimes concerned that the birth parents will assert their legal rights and stop the adoption. The article minimizes this concern, however:

Usually, if a child’s photo is being shown in an effort to find an adoptive family, social workers have already made a thorough search and have not found any birth family member who might be able to parent the child.

The article also cautions adoptive parents to be sensitive to and supportive of a child’s relationships:

Many waiting children do, however, have connections to a relative from the birth family, a sibling, a foster parent, or another important person from the past. Respecting those connections and helping the child to maintain positive relationships is one of the most valuable gifts an adoptive family can give.

Robin Bartko writes about a recent survey of information on adoption age as an indicator of a child’s ease of adjustment:

A review of 29 studies and other information on children adopted from orphanages in Romania, Russia and China showed that the most consistent indicator of ongoing problems is the length of time spent in orphanage care . . . children in care a year or longer were at higher risk for cognitive delays and behavioral problems.

She shares her own experience, but concludes with a reminder that nothing is determinitive, and there will always be children of all ages who are in need of care:

While I would agree that children that are in orphanages for shorter times seem to adjust better, I do not want to discourage anyone who wants to adopt an older child. I have seen many very happy older child adoptions as well. And, only you know what’s right for you. The key is to talk to other adoptive parents about the challenges they have had with their children and how they overcame them. In this way you’ll be prepared to provide your new child with the love and support that they’ll need.

As I observed in yesterday’s post, the average age of US children waiting for adoption is 10.

The US Department of Health and Human Services awarded $11.6 million to the states for increasing adoptions. The award went to states who increased the number of adoptions in 2005, and is to be be used by the states to improve child welfare programs:

States receiving incentive payments completed more adoptions in 2005 than in the baseline year, which is the year with the highest number of adoptions for the period between 2002 through 2004. States get $4,000 for every child adopted beyond their best year’s total, plus a payment of $4,000 for every child aged nine and older and $2,000 for every special needs child adopted above the baseline year.

Twenty-one states increased their adoptions in 2005 and received incentives under this grant.

The press release also mentions AdoptUsKids, which seeks to encourage and promote domestic adoption.

Interestingly, the article also indicates that “the average age of a child waiting to be adopted is 10 years.”

Russell Moore writes on his experience adopting two sons from Russia. He touches on how this has helped him to greater appreciate the Christian’s experience of adoption in Christ, but also how it has helped him to put longing and suffering in perspective, trusting that everything is in God’s hands:

Five years ago I didn’t know that the greatest joys of my life were already here, and yet not quite here. I didn’t know that the Lord was using the suffering of an empty cradle to teach me what it means to love two sons more than I ever would have known possible. Perhaps I need to be reminded of that when I allow the worries of the present age to overshadow the glory that is to come. Perhaps I need to be reminded that while I bemoaned my situation five years ago, my children were waiting all the while. And, right now, as I consider the worries of the present age, there’s an empty tomb in Jerusalem, the first installment of the glorious kingdom of Christ.

To the left you’ll see some Amazon links. I’m experimenting with Amazon Omakase, which attempts to combine offerings matching this website with what Amazon knows about your interests. Don’t worry — Amazon isn’t providing me any of this information, it just influences what they show you.

But so far the links have nothing even remotely to do with adoption, so it looks like it’s leaning more on what Amazon knows about my browsing and purchases than on what Amazon knows about this site. I’ll leave it up for a few days and if it doesn’t improve then I’ll take it down.