International Adoption

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International adoption was once considered a solution for children of all ages who were abandoned, mistreated, or simply needed a safe home. In recent years, international adoption made the transition from a worthy solution to a last possible option. Arguers against international adoption claim that there is a better solution; which consists of withholding the within the orphanages and institutions until there is a home available in the country of origin. They believe that placing a child in a permanent home in a shorter amount of time isn’t worth depriving them from experiencing their native country and heritage. Not only has this argument become more evident throughout the media, but also through statistics. For instance, in 2004, there were 22,991 adoptions by US families; in 2012 there were only 8,668 (US Department of State; Luscombe, International Adoptions pg.3). As the international adoption rates decrease, so does the number of children without a permanent home; this can result in potentially traumatic effects on the child.
While international adoption may seem like a dream, easy to accomplish for some, it is a dream that has extensive obstacles for others. It regularly involves requirements that need to be met, fees that have to be paid, and tedious processes that often end in an unsuccessful adoption. Often times, these aspects of international adoption are too much and discourage willing adoptive parents. This results in a decrease in international adoption rates, increasing the number of children who are living in orphanages and government institutions. If the process, fees, and requirements were made more streamlined, more people would be willing to adopt internationally. This would provide more children with a pe...

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... three steps: decreasing the requirements in certain countries, decreasing the costs, and decreasing the wait time. Each of these three aspects prevents parents all around the world from considering international adoption as a solution to increasing the size of their family. This takes away the privilege of having a child from the family and the right of having a permanent home away from a child. The rate of children that are being sent into facilities is growing rapidly and the rate of adoption is decreasing. Children are spending more of their childhood in these facilities, creating a negative impact on their cognitive, emotional, and social skills. If international adoption were more streamlined, more people would be motivated to consider international adoption, opening the door to a brighter future and better life to children spread throughout the world.

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