Lucas Klink

Jack Visnaw

February 20th, 2019

Writing 121

Adoption

The first adoption law took place in Massachusetts in 1851, finally realizing the social

and legal operation based on child welfare rather than adult legalizations. This was an important

turning point, because it directed judges to ensure that the adoption decree are “fit and proper”

(UOregon). In easier terms, what this act has led us to doing is, this is sort of being able to pass a

background check on the parents to determine whether or not they are capable of being

responsible or not in taking care of the child.

The recent Department of State report indicates only 83 children found families through

outgoing intercountry adoptions, a slight decline from the previous year, though a recent U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services report shows that almost 118,000 children in our

country are waiting to be adopted. Outgoing adoptions can give waiting children in the U.S.

foster care system an opportunity to find a permanent, loving family. (National Council for

Adoption)

There are many different types of adoption: domestic infant adoption (where a newborn

child is placed under adoption right after they are born), foster care adoption, and international

adoption. With the most common type of adoption being the Domestic infant adoption, many of

the children do not understand who they are as a person and where they come from. They don’t

understand why they look like what they look like. The majority of carriers that’re being giving

birth that give their babies up for adoption are mostly of teenagers who didn’t mean to get
themselves pregnant. Their are a lot of negative and positive things that come into being an

adopted child and were going to be discussing them along with the legal dilemmas and bad

reputations that the adopted children get with their community.

Their are a lot of positive things that come with being an adopted child. Many of the

things that they do not notice of right away until they are older. Being adopted is not necessarily

a bad thing with the fact that you never really got to meet your birth family, you can have a lot of

benefits. You may in fact be adopted into a way more healthier and fitting family, with a more

stable job source along with a better community. A child is entitled to a loving family for the

entirety of life. When you choose to adopt, you are also choosing to emotionally bond yourself

with love to this child. An adoptive parent provides a child with emotional support through all of

life’s ups and downs. Children who are adopted typically do not have the right amount of

resources in the current situation that they need. As an adoptive parent, you are providing the

child with provisions (Minella Law Group). Being able to be loved by a parent is probably the

best way to boost the self esteem of a child 10 fold. A life in the Foster care system can be

difficult for children to grow socially, especially if the child moves from home to home

frequently. When you adopt, a stable school setting will drastically help the child to make new

friends and relationships. (Minella Law Group)

Now we will talk about things that the original birth mother will be a very good thing

indeed. They will be able to have higher educational aspirations, so they will be able to go into

education and not have to worry about having to deal with a child that they can not be able to

take care of. They are more likely to finish school, many teenage drop outs have been because

they were pregnant in high school and they were pressured by bullies and even teachers that they

were not good enough at life since they had to be pregnant when they were in high school. They
are less likely to be living in poverty and they will be less likely to receive public assistance.

They will not have to worry about paying for all the medical bills made by a parent along with

things such as clothing, food, diapers (which is one of the most expensive parts about behind a

parent.) They’re more likely to get married and they are less likely to get divorced, the reason for

this is because there is a lot of things that can be affected by the having kids already, they could

be upset that the kid isn't theirs. They are more likely to be able to be in a job after giving the

child up for adoption, there is a lot of things that can keep an adult from getting a job while they

have things to worry about such as babysitting, or not having anyone at home to watch the child.

There are also some negative effects that children get while being in the adoption course,

Adopted children become vulnerable, emotionally. They know they were not involved in the

decision of adoption and thus realize that they had no control over the loss of their birth family

and the choice of their adoptive family. They feel like they were not wanted and that they have

no meaning on this earth. The adoptees may start feeling lonely. They may long for their birth

parents and feel an intense need to search for who they were and why they put them up for

adoption. This can lead to altercations between the birth parents and the adopted parents to where

they could have to give the child up again. It also may become to the point where it is difficult

for the adopted child to accept the new family as someone of their own (APTPARENTING).

For the negative effects on the birth parents, Putting up their baby for adoption is not easy

for the biological parents. It's the circumstances that lead them to do so. It's emotionally taxing

for them to give their child for adoption and have someone else take care of him. In the hope of a

better living for their children, parents put up their child for adoption. (APTPARENTING). This

can lead to depression along with many other emotional and mental side effects to the whole

adoption thing. They end up worrying about the fact that they might never get to meet who the
adopted family is, they have no clue if they have a better fitting and suitable life for the chuld

even though 99% of the time the adopted family is way better for the child. With them having all

of the background checks that they receive based upon living situations and financial income,

their is a lot that is coming into reprehension of the new family. Birth parents might end up not

having faith in themselves to eventually be able to raise a child since in the beginning they had to

give up their child in the first place. It is observed that birth mothers who know they would be

putting up their baby for adoption, have long conversations with the fetus during pregnancy. In

some cases, mothers are pressurized to put their babies for adoption and they do so against their

will. They might never know who the adoptive parents of their child are. Or even if they know

the parents, they may not know how their child is being raised. This may lead them to worry

about their child's future (APTPARENTING).

There are many different mental and psychological effects that comes with being in

adoption, for the birth parents and the child and the adopted parents. The adopted child may

struggle with the knowledge that they may have a whole other family "out there" including half-

siblings or extended family members that they may never meet. Adopted children may feel as

though they are betraying their adoptive family and/or that they will hurt their adoptive family by

expressing their desire to learn about their birth family (MENTAL HELP).

Birth parents may experience guilt and shame for having placed their child for adoption,

since societal values reflect a lack of understanding of the circumstances that might prompt birth

parents to make an adoption plan for their child. At first, there may be shame associated with the

unplanned pregnancy itself and with admitting the situation to parents, friends, coworkers, and

others. Shame about the pregnancy may lead to feelings of unworthiness or incompetence about

becoming a parent. Their is a lot of things that need to be done about adoption to be able to help
that both parents feel comfortable. No parent wants to just give up on a child they theyve had

inside of them for weeks. Their are also a lot of legal issues and legislatives that go along with

adoption.

To enter the United States under current immigration laws, the child adopted

internationally must be orphaned or abandoned or have only one living parent, who is incapable

of providing care (Adoption Families) . Their are important things to look into before looking

into foreign adoptions. You gotta figure out why you’re going to be looking into adoption to

begin with in the first place. Its the willing-ability to adhere to the childs culture as well as

bringing the whole. If you want to add a child to your family–and are willing to dedicate a

lifetime of blood, sweat, tears, money, sleep, and worry to the well-being of your child–

international adoption is a great choice for you (adoption.org). You also can’t just adopt in any

country.

Their are several countries that, like Uganda, require you to raise your child inside the

country that they have been in for a specific amount of time before you can take them to your

own country. While the most amount of completed adoptions rest in china which is from a total

of 2,541 (adoption.org). Their are different types of requirements that’re made for doing things

in Uganda. Atleast one adoptive parent must be a child from the U.S. Applicants must be within

the age of 25 and 21 years older than the child that they wish to adopt when they’re going to plan

on adopting the child. Married couples can adopt any child that they want. While someone of the

single stature will be required to adopt a child of the same gender. There are no strict

requirements on the maximum number of previous children in the home, however strong

preference is given to families with less than five children. For families with five or more
children, they cannot all be adopted. If adopting from specific orphanages, some may give

preference to prospective adoptive parents who are practicing Christians.

Their are many important decisions that you’re going to have to make within the

country. A lot of these african countries have dealt with family seperations to whole siblings

groups were seperated from their families. You gotta decide wether or not you wanna get rid of

the connection and take away their siblings, or if you wanna keep them together and spend even

more money and time in adoption. Their are stacks of paperwork that come into every type of

adoption, you’ll have to learn to become a paperwork person (well at least temporarily) their

could be many different things that you would do.

Their are a lot of interesting facts with adopting a child. Adopting a white baby costs

more than adopting a black or biracial one. The cost for Caucasian babies can be as high as

$40,000. For biracial babies, the cost is about $18,000. For African American newborns, the cost

ranges from $10,000-$12,000 (Adamec). There are many questions that you need to ask yourself.

Famine and disease, including AIDS, are leading causes of death in the Democratic Republic of

Congo, leaving thousands of children without parents. It is estimated that 15% of children under

the age of 18 are orphans in this country of 68 million people. Many children cannot afford to

attend school due to poverty, thus are left to the streets or orphanages if they have no living

relatives. Food is coveted, and luxuries are non-existent for Congolese children, as poverty is

rampant in the country.

 The african orphanages generally try really hard to make their environments the best that

they can to provide adequate care for the children that they are being taken care of. They often

lack the resources such as bedding, clothing, food, and medication and toys due to how many

children that they need to take care of. Basic immunizations are given based on what children are

going to be needing them, as well as giving them a check up for the medication that they need if

they are ill when they become an orphan. When a child is starting to become orphaned, the child

has to wait 4 months for the parents to come forward. IF they do not come forward, their

becomes a investigation to find the one persons parents by placing picture of the children in the

local newspapers in hope they will figure out whom they are. (Children of All Nations)

Only children under the age of eight years old are usually given up for adoption knowing

the fact that they are put in a more permanent facility when they become older. Orphanages and

baby homes, though they are living their for a considerable amount of time, they are considered

contemporary homes. As families cannot attend for them to reach home and get care directly

from the parents themselves, they will send them to the orphanage so that they can get the care

that they need. A lot of children are given up and abandoned by their birth parents in africa due

to illnesses and genetic conditions. After they are transferred into an institution that is made for

older children, they are no longer up to be adopted. In this occasion, the child will attend school

and live at it like a home, which may attend to look like a boarding school. (Children of All

Nation)

Sadly, the adoption rates recently have been decreasing. International adoption rates took the

biggest hits. Some countries, such as China, have drastically reduced the number of children

available for international adoption. China has in recent years decided that only children with

physical disabilities are available for international adoption. All children not identified as special
needs are only available for domestic adoption. While families in the United States are still the

highest rated country in adoptions, private adoptions are becoming harder to see. According to

AdoptUsKids.org, there are over 250,000 children in foster care waiting for adoption. This

number is staggering. About 40% of U.S. adoptions are from foster care. Out of the 50,000

annual adoptions are from foster care. Other countries, such as Russia, have decided to suspend

all international adoptions. There is much speculation for the reasons to discontinue but they

aren’t the only country to do so in recent years. (adoption.org)

Adopting a child can be a very difficult, time-consuming, and exhausting thing to do

while they are going to be doing things such paperwork, traveling to meet the child, deciding

which child is the perfect one. There's a lot of things that can go with being a parent, everyone

knows that being a parent is hard and difficult. But adoption is a beautiful thing, there isn't any

reason that no child should have to go through life without having a family or friends to go too.

That could lead to many substantially difficult and disturbing thoughts that goes through the

child. Have you ever wanted to get a child and make a difference in one's life. It never hurts to

research the possibility of adoption. It leads to a marvelous life for you and the child knowing

that they have someone for them and that you have made a difference in someone's life. It may

be costly, but in the future, i might even be looking into adopting a child. Just the idea of giving

a child a great life and to give them into a new culture seems beautiful.

Works Cited

“10 Positive Effects of Child Adoption.” Minella Law Group, 9 Mar. 2018,

minellalawgroup.com/10-positive-effects-of-child-adoption-2/.

“African Adoption | Children of All Nations - International Adoption.” Children of All

Nations International Adoption, childrenofallnations.com/adoption-programs/africa/.

American Adoptions, Inc. “‘What Does Adoption Mean to a Child?".” American Adoptions -

Adoption Information – All About Adoption,

www.americanadoptions.com/adoption/about-adoption.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Adoption.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/adoption-

kinship#ref793718.

“Effects of Adoption on Birth Mother.” Adoption Network, Adoption Network Law Center –

Safer Than Adoption Agencies, adoptionnetwork.com/emotional-and-psychological-

effects-of-adoption-on-birth-mother.

“Ellen Herren.” Adoption History::Timeline of Adoption History,

pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/timeline.html.

“International Adoption Facts: What You Need to Know.” Adoptive Families, 24 Oct. 2016,

www.adoptivefamilies.com/how-to-adopt/international-adoption-facts-need-know/.

“Long-Term Issues For The Adopted Child.” Mental Help LongTerm Issues for the Adopted

Child Comments, www.mentalhelp.net/articles/long-term-issues-for-the-adopted-child/.

Oak, Manali. “The Good and Not-so-Good Effects of Adoption on Kids and Adults.”

AptParenting, AptParenting, 23 Feb. 2018, aptparenting.com/the-effects-of-adoption.

“Uganda Adoption | Children of All Nations - International Adoption.” Children of All

Nations International Adoption, childrenofallnations.com/adoption-

programs/africa/uganda-adoption/.
“Why Is the Adoption Rate Dropping?” Adoption.org, adoption.org/adoption-rate-dropping.

“Your Guide to the 2017 Intercountry Adoption Stats.” National Council for Adoption, 24

Mar. 2018, www.adoptioncouncil.org/blog/2018/03/your-guide-to-the-2017-intercountry-

adoption-stats.