International Adoption: Changes and Challenges

Publication date: 17 December 2004

I remember so vividly waiting at JFK Airport for my 6 year old twin daughters to arrive from Ethiopia via London. I was excited and a bit nervous, and seeing them walk into the waiting area was indescribably wonderful. Now, two years later, I work for a group of licensed, non-profit international adoption agencies. I am struck by how many of the same qualities are needed for parenting and for dealing with international adoption: patience, flexibility, a sense of humor, and the ability to just hang in there.

CHANGE IS CONSTANT

The history of international adoption in the United States is relatively brief, having begun in earnest after the Korean War with the arrival of Korean and Amer-Asian orphans placed with American families. Since then, many thousands of children have been adopted from South America, Central America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe: over 11,000 children came home to the United States last year alone.

The major countries of origin (ranked by number of children adopted in the U.S.) last year were China, Russia, Korea, Romania, Guatemala, and India. Interestingly, just 10 years ago, the major countries of origin were Korea, Philippines, India, Colombia, and Chile. Adoptions from China and Russia began in earnest only within the last few years, but the numbers of children adopted internationally from those two countries have been substantial. Changing economic, social, and political factors often influence a country's decision to place children internationally. Countries may "close" to adoption, with little notice; others may open, and dramatically change the landscape of intercountry adoption.

For prospective adoptive parents, these changes can mean additional challenges for creation of their families. International adoption is always transcultural; it also is often transracial as well, and parents need to think through the long-term implications of these factors for their families. Adoption agency staff are trained and prepared to guide parents through their decision process, and are accustomed to dealing with the changes: it's not always so easy though!

We continue to learn from experience. One interesting and important aspect of international adoption currently is the "coming of age" of international adoptees, particularly those from Korea, many of whom are entering middle age. We now have a more mature perspective on adoption from their experiences as transracial, transcultural adoptees, and more information about how children fare. For the most part, international adoptions have been quite successful, and that's good news for all of us.

At the same time, adoption professionals have been able to learn from the experience of placing children from different countries. We've learned that orphanages vary in quality around the world and even within a country--sometimes within the orphanage itself. Institutions with limited resources and few caregivers may affect some children permanently; if the children have been exposed prenatally to drugs or alcohol, the effects may be even more devastating. The longer children have been institutionalized, the more likely they will have been permanently affected. Love alone is certainly not enough for these children. The families need additional resources, such as sensory integration therapy, infant stimulation programs, developmental evaluations, and so on.

Most agencies work very hard to prepare families for international adoptions, especially when they involve older children. Many agencies prepare prospective parents through extensive workshops, discussion groups, and special workbooks, all in an attempt to help parents make informed, appropriate decisions for themselves and their families. At the same time, despite an agency's best efforts, there may be little or no social history or medical information available about the children.

As agencies have responsibilities, so do prospective adoptive parents. They must ask questions and be willing to hear difficult information, talk to as many people as possible (doctors, adoptive parents, agencies, etc.), and listen with ears, minds, and hearts open to all the possibilities. Adoptive parents should be advocates for their children, and that advocacy can start before the actual adoption.

Anyone involved in international adoption should have a deep respect for countries which make the courageous decision to place children for adoption internationally. In many ways, it is an enormous leap of faith for countries of origin to allow their children to leave their countries; children are, after all, are a country's most important resource. Adoption agencies have long urged parents to continue sending letters, photos, and updates about their children to the children's birth countries. Frequently, it's that sort of vital communication that helps other children find homes as well, because officials overseas are assured that the children are doing well, and that intercountry adoption is successful. In addition, many agencies have substantial humanitarian programs overseas, supported by their adoptive families, and want to continue strengthening those programs, even (perhaps especially) for the children who will never be adopted.

LEGISLATIVE CHANGES

Last year was quite a year for U.S. families who adopted internationally. There were 1,600 more children adopted internationally in 1996 than in 1995. Successful passage of an adoption tax credit law (P.L. 104-188) means a $5,000 tax credit for finalized international adoption expenses incurred or paid after January 1, 1997. Families with incomes up to $75,000 are eligible for the total credit; the credit is phased out and then stops for incomes over $115,000. The Internal Revenue Service is fine-tuning the regulations for the credit, which should help many more families to handle the initial expenses involved in international adoption.

Also of great benefit to adoptive families is the Kennedy-Kassebaum Health Insurance law (P.L. 104-191), which says that pre-existing, even undiagnosed, conditions must be covered as long as the child has been placed on the insurance plan within 30 days of adoption or placement for adoption, and as long as the conditions are covered by the terms of the health plan. The effective date for group plans is for plan years beginning after June 30, 1997; that is, the changes become effective when the group insurance plan renews itself (for some insurance plans, this may not occur until 1998). Parents should contact their insurance carriers for further information.

Other legislative changes will affect international adoption as well, and prospective adoptive parents will be affected by them soon. For example, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is making changes to its fingerprinting policies, trying to move all fingerprinting out of INS offices and into Designated Fingerprint Service (DFS) program sites. Any reputable organization can become a DFS site; the INS anticipates that travel agents, photo services, adoption agencies, and entrepreneurs will become DFS sites. Police stations can still be used if they are DFS sites. The INS currently processes approximately 2 million fingerprints each year; about 10,000 are for adoption.

Further, a new immigration law will require prospective adoptive parents to provide copies of federal tax returns for the previous three years as part of a new Affidavit of Support form, expected to be in place in March or April 1997. This new form, which will apply to all immigrants, will be a contractually binding affidavit of support, designed to prevent the child from becoming a public charge and meaning that the parents agree to reimburse any government agency or private entity that provides the child with any means-tested public benefit (welfare, food stamps, etc.). This Affidavit will likely take effect in early April. To get a child's visa, the parents will have to complete the new form with the copies of the tax returns attached. The form will be available from the local INS office.

New vaccination requirements are also under consideration by the Center for Disease Control as a result of the immigration law. The requirements may involve several immunizations for internationally adopted children, and will probably apply especially to older children. These changes affect all immigrants to the U.S., and adoptive parents and adoption agencies need to stay on top of the changes affecting the children.

THE HAGUE CONVENTION ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

Over the long run, the most significant change (that we can predict!) in international adoption will be the implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, a multilateral treaty now being considered for ratification by countries around the world, including the United States. The treaty seeks to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of all adoption triad members (adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents) are respected in intercountry adoption.

The Hague Convention is designed to standardize adoption requirements, allay fears that internationally adopted children are being treated as servants or otherwise mis-used, and improve the process by which a child can gain a permanent family. The Convention will impose new responsibilities on the U.S. government, such as creation of a Central Authority with general oversight and trouble-shooting responsibilities for international adoptions covered by the Convention. Many members of the international adoption community have been actively involved in establishing accreditation criteria for adoption agencies and working with federal officials to ensure smooth implementation of the Convention.

The United States signed the Hague Convention in 1994, a symbolic act showing that the U.S. intended to eventually ratify the Convention. The U.S. Senate needs to give its "advice and consent" to U.S. ratification, and the Congress needs to enact legislation to ensure uniform implementation of the Convention through the United States. Ratification of the Hague Convention is expected to occur within the next 2-3 years.

The Hague Convention mandates creation of a "Central Authority", an entity for adoption oversight and cooperation with the Central Authorities of other countries which have ratified the Hague. The goals of the Central Authority are laudable and practical: removal of barriers that delay or inhibit intercountry adoption, advocacy for and protection of children without permanent families, prevention of improper financial gain and fraudulent practices, dissemination of statistical data about intercountry adoption, and other important objectives.

What will all this mean in a practical sense for the adoption process? Once the United States has ratified the treaty, agencies will have to be approved by a formal accreditation body in order to work with "Hague countries" (foreign countries which have also become parties to the Hague Convention). They will still have to be licensed by their state, but will also need Hague Convention accreditation, which involves meeting rigorous, substantive requirements regarding staff credentials, accounting practices, and other ethical and practical standards. Smaller, homestudy agencies may not need to be fully accredited, but will need to be approved to work under the Hague Convention and will probably work with accredited agencies. Non-licensed, non-accredited agencies will not be allowed to offer adoption services covered by the Convention.

For adoptive parents, the Hague Convention should mean additional peace of mind regarding their agency, since the parents will know the agency is formally accredited as meeting the standards for all Convention-accredited agencies. Parents will also know that the foreign government with which their agency is working is also committed to safeguards ensuring that an intercountry adoption not only is in the best interest of the child but also respects the child's fundamental rights as recognized under international law. One practical change is that re-adoption in the United States will not be necessary, because a Convention adoption, finalized overseas, must be recognized by all countries that have ratified the Convention. It is possible that the Hague Convention will also promote expedited naturalization and citizenship.

Birth parents and adoptees should benefit as well by the formalized safeguards and standards. The rumors that sometimes arise in countries of origin regarding use of children as servants or worse should be put to rest, encouraging birth parents to consider an adoption plan. Adoptees' interests, under the Hague Convention, should be protected by preservation of information about their origin and medical history, in keeping with the laws of both the country of origin and the adoptive country.

ONGOING MEDIA CHALLENGES

I am hopeful that the Hague Convention will strengthen the integrity of international adoption for all involved. In the meantime, media presentation of adoption remains one of the trickiest areas for adoption professionals--and adoptive parents and adoptees. I always want to hold my breath when I hear about an upcoming television or newspaper report about international adoption, because so often the view is distorted and narrow.

Let me stress that international adoption is not all warm and fuzzy stories. Attachment disorder, sensory-integration problems, and developmental disabilities affect some children. Still, they are hardly the full picture of international adoption. International adoptees are survivors. Most do extremely well. I look at my own 8 year old daughters, and I see bubbly, healthy, on grade level, magical little girls. I feel they are special beyond words, but they are not all that unusual for internationally adopted children.

Media reports can never give the full picture. And they have a devastating effect on the children here, who may be whispered about by adults who've seen inaccurate programs, and on the children overseas, who may not ever be adopted because of mis-placed fears of prospective parents. They also can cause countries to close their doors to placing their children in intercountry adoption, due to embarrassment or anger about media reports. Ultimately, many of these reports, with their "hit and run" approach to adoption, can do more harm than good.

What can be done to improve the atmosphere for adoption? When given the opportunity, speak positively, not only to media, but also to friends, family, co-workers, teachers. Respect the privacy of many adoption issues, but be an enthusiastic supporter of adoption as a means of creating a permanent family. Acknowledge the realities not only of adoptive parenting, but of parenting in general.

As an adoptive parent as well as an adoption professional, I am increasingly convinced of the viability of international adoption as an option for homeless children. I firmly believe institutional and foster care should be viewed only as temporary solutions to a child's need for permanency; I also believe that, when a child cannot remain with his or her birth family, in-country adoption is a first priority. When that is not possible, international adoption offers a positive solution for children who need homes and forever families.

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Maureen Evans, M.A., is Director of the Joint Council on International Children's Services, the largest, oldest affiliation of licensed, non-profit international adoption agencies in the world. She is also the adoptive parent of two sons, born in the United States, and 2 daughters, born in Ethiopia.

Countries: United States of America, Ethiopia