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Many families are interested in adoption for several reasons. Some feel a call to help children, others struggle with infertility, and some see adoption as a great way to grow a family. Whatever has sparked a families or individuals interest in adoption, potential parents need to take several factors into consideration.
The first decision potential parents need to consider is what age, sex, and race they have a preference for. It’s also important to decide whether a family can handle a siblings group, a child with behavioral issues, or a child who has medical needs.
Cost is another major issue. Adoptions can cost anywhere from absolutely nothing to $30,000 depending on where and how the family decides to adopt a child. Once all these factors have been discussed it’s easier to make a decision between domestic and international adoption.
U.S. citizens can adopt adolescents from over 106 different countries. Most international adoptions are from China and Russia. Ninety percent of international adoptions involve children who are less than 5 years old. Female children predominate international adoptions due to the Chinese cultural value on producing male heirs. Families who are interested in an international adoption will need to contact a licensed agency who can comply with the laws of the foreign country and the U.S. to legally adopt a child on an international basis.
There are 2 basic types of domestic adoption in the U.S: infant and children over five years old. Infant adoption in the U.S. is usually handled by private agencies. It costs more; typically $15,000 to $25,000 or more. The babies tend to be newborns. Birth parents choose the adoptive parents and they meet prospective parents at least half the time. In some cases, birth parents will keep in contact with the child.
If they are 5 years or older, in a siblings group, with behavioral or medical needs are typically quicker and less expensive to adopt. These children tend to be victims of abandonment, neglect, or abuse and can’t return to their parent’s home. Children with special medical needs in many states receive state funding to help adoptive parents pay for their care. Potential parents interested in adopting children 5 years or older or children with special needs should contact the child protective services division in their state to compete public adoption procedures.
In conclusion, potential parents need to consider their individual preferences, what kind of child they can handle, and potential costs. Adoption is a legal process and will typically take at least a year to complete. Patience and persistence will be required to complete the process.
Adopt A Child From China
Although Emily Buchanan had a highly successful career in broadcasting and a loving husband there was something missing from her life: she desperately wanted children. After the trauma of three miscarriages, Emily and her husband Gerald were forced to accept the knowledge that they would not be able to have children of their own and decided to look into adoption. Their desire to have a very young baby led them to consider an adoption from abroad. As a journalist Emily knew only too well the sad plight of many children in the world trafficked to desperate couples and determined that her child had to come from a country where adoption was properly regulated.
In this touching story Emily describes their first meeting with Jade Lin, who had been left on the steps of an orphanage in a small town in Inner Mongolia just after she had been born. Unlike many of the thousands of less fortunate babies abandoned each year in China, Jade Lin had been placed with a foster family before being approved for adoption and allocated to a family. It was love at first sight for Emily and Gerald, but they still had obstacles of language and culture to cross, as well as dealing with the reaction of friends and family back at home. This diary tells in vivid detail the highs and lows of Emily’s journey to motherhood.
“extraordinarily brave and honest, and written with great clarity. I can’t remember reading anything on the subject that was as open,… or done with as much dignity. …neither of us could puit it down, and we were both very moved by it. John Simpson
“A delightful and candid account of a quest for much wanted children.” Kate Adie
“A factual and honest account of a mother’s journey in adopting two daughters from China.” Adeline Yen Mah
Review”…a brave, frank account which will grip you and move you in equal measure…” (Good Book Guide, 1st March 2006)
“…compulsively readable and yet lacking in the cloying sentimentality that flavours the many books on the subject…” (Daily Express, March 2006)
“…a highly readable and fascinating account of the emotionally charged experiences that so many couples now endure…” (The Belfast Sunday Life, April 2006)
“…charming story about her path to motherhood…” (Wales on Sunday, April 2006)
From the Back Cover”…extraordinarily brave and honest, and written with great clarity. I can’t remember reading anything on the subject that was as open,…or done with as much dignity…neither of us could put it down, and we were both very moved by it.”
—John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor
“A delightful and candid account of a quest for much wanted children.”
—Kate Adie, BBC correspondent and author of The Kindness of Strangers
“A factual and honest account of a mother’s journey in adopting two daughters from China”
—Adeline Yen Mah, Author of Falling Leaves and Chinese Cinderella
When Emily Buchanan married her husband, Gerald, after a fairy tale romance, she assumed children would soon follow. The perfect wedding must surely lead to the perfect family. But three miscarriages later she found herself struggling with doubts if she could, or should, ever become a mother. She decided it was time to look at adoption, and her experience as a journalist prompted her to look to China. It was a road that took her through an arduous process which made her again confront the life and tragic death of her own mother, but eventually the mountain of bureaucratic and emotional challenges gave way to the utter joy of bringing up Jade and Rose, her two Chinese daughters.
About the AuthorEmily Buchanan is an award winning journalist and broadcaster. Educated at St. Paul’s Girls’ School, Sussex University and City University, she has worked for the BBC for over twenty years. As a producer and correspondent for BBC News and Current Affairs she specialised first in politics and more recently in the developing world and religion. She has made documentaries for Newsnight, Assignment and Correspondent on BBC 2 and has presented Radio 4’s A World in Your Ear. Currently she is a World Affairs Correspondent, living in London with her husband and two children.
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Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
 From anywhere with love
By Book Addict
My daughter has been living in China for several years and is adopting a child there. The agency recommended this book, and she recommended it to me when I asked her for what she considered to be the best book she has read so far. This seemed like a very realistic reporting of what it really feels like to take a child into your heart through adoption. Anxiously awaiting my granddaughter!
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
 Boring and hard to read!!!
By H. Nichols
This is a great book to be an autobiography but there is little information about anything other than her travels. She uses words that most common people would never use. It is almost like she tried to use every word she is has ever heard before.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
 Great Book
By C. Parker
I loved this book. It was a great look into the adoption system and the process of adoption. It also showed the challenges facing adoptive parents of children of a different race. Great story, very touching!
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