I myself have no problem with people adopting overseas, as long as they try to adopt in the United States first. People are always griping about “buying American made” well how about something, someone, who is American made, does that clause not apply to our living and breathing future of this country?

Our children in this country should come first to us. IMO, too many people want babies and are scared off by the foster home “tainted” children, that have already had a dose of how cruel life can truly be.
I am not saying that adopting babies is wrong, but not wanting a child of any age is.

So I read here that 500,000 out of 280 mil are in the foster care system in the US… that is a big problem not a minute one.

Good advice, as is Kari’s. As an adoptive dad, I am always happy when other people are so well-informed and don’t have the common misnomers that others do.

Also, people that adopt babies in this country wait. And wait. And wait. You are essentially waiting for the perfect (usually white) baby to fall in your lap because some teenager became pregnant. Is that wrong? No. But what has always bothered me is the incredible number of children already in this world who need a home. Babies that sleep 5 to a crib. Babies whose moms died and they have no one. NO ONE. Older kids who grow up their whole lives with no parents and who are turned out of the orphanage at 16 simply to repeat the tragic cycle of their ill-fated parents. I just think it’s a shame that so many people don’t look beyond the elusive perfect white baby and see the true children in need.

Tom (dad to 4: 2 from our bodies and 2 from our hearts)

I always think it’s ridiculous that with the staggering number of orphans abroad (true orphans, living in appalling conditions), that people would even bring up the relatively small number of children available for adoption in this country. So many of them are broken by years of parental neglect and problems that the best thing for them is a structured group home and counseling, not a young, inexperienced family wanting to take them in. Orphans from other parts of the world tend to be well-loved and cared for by their nurses in the orphanage and although they don’t have much at all and life is harsh for them, they still grow up with a better disposition that makes them more readily adoptable than kids here, since they usually stay with relatives as long as possible and have that familial bond.

It’s hard to explain for those that want to close their minds, but I am a social worker and have seen first hand the differences. I think it’s lovely whenever a child gets a home. People who take in troubled or special needs children and who can manage them are saints in my book. Unfortunately, many times the enormity of their problems aren’t fully understood by people and we all know the state doesn’t offer adequate training and preparation, so it is a hard and tough cycle.

Marsha- I am so sorry about your sister and her family. Many African countries have very relaxed age requirements (unlike China, Russia, etc) because they have such a vast amount of orphans. You may want to tell you sister (if their hearts are still in it at all) to check into new programs such as Ghana, Liberia (which is temporarily on hold for some slight restructuring but will be back soon), Rwanda and even older programs such as Ethiopia. They are much more cost efficient (oftentimes half the price, but each agency determines their own fees so shop around) as opposed to Guatemala, China, Russia, etc. and only one trip is required, not two. There are many children there needing forever families. Check out rainbowkids.com for a small sampling of waiting children, adoption agency info, country requirements, etc. The website was founded by an adoptive mom for the sole purpose of helping others- I am in no way affliated with it but I think it’s a great resource. Also, there are many adoption grants and specialized loans available to help as well. Adoption is not as unreachable as people think! Hope this helped and good luck to your sister!