Friday 28 December 2012

Would-be adoptive parents look beyond Russia


Would-be adoptive parents look beyond Russia

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Russia's new ban on U.S. adoptions is the latest setback for hopeful American parents as countries increasingly impose restrictions.
Other countries, including China and Guatemala, have erected hurdles for adoptive families as they create their own domestic adoption programs. The signing of the Hague Convention on adoption in 2008 drastically improved regulation of the process, which had been rife with corruption. But it has also led to a slowdown in adoptions or shutdowns in some countries. Internal politics and abuse concerns are additional reasons why countries have tightened controls.
In 2004, U.S. citizens adopted 22,991 children who had been born abroad, an all-time high, according to Adoptive Families magazine. By 2011, that number had fallen to 9,319. For a graphic view of howinternational adoptions have fallen in various countries, see http://link.reuters.com/tut84t
There are still other options for Americans wanting to adopt an international child. Bulgaria, Colombia and many African nations are some of the new, go-to countries for U.S. adoptions.
But even that's not a sure thing. For would-be adoptive parents the best bet is to widen their search to include special needs kids, sibling groups and older children.

0 comments:

Post a Comment