What's the process to adopt a child internationally? We've set up this web page to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about international adoption.

Thousands of Families Adopt Internationally Each Year
Each year between 20,000 and 25,000 families in the United States adopt children from another country. Nearly all internationally adopted children are orphans as a result of poverty, social or cultural circumstances or because of a birth defect or physical handicap. The largest numbers of children adopted last year came from China (6,493) and Guatemala (4,135). In 2006, over 587 children were adopted from Kazakhstan, where David and Heather Platt's adoption will take place (see statistics).

How Do Families Adopt Internationally?
International adoption is a costly and time-consuming process, no matter what nation you adopt from. Each country has its specific laws and procedures, and each child is a unique circumstance. Nearly 15 months elapsed since David and Heather began papework to adopt from Kazakhstan and their referral in January 2007. This process can take as little as 9 months or as long as several years.

Potential adoptive couples must petition the U.S. government for a visa to bring an orphan child into the country. A complex series of background checks, home studies and financial requirements are gone through at local, state and national levels. Each family must prove they can provide adequately for a child, have a stable home environment and can see to any special needs an orphan child may have. Because of the complexity of this process, nearly all adoptive parents seek the aid of a reputable adoption agency to help them navigate the paperwork.

There is also an educational process, including lots of reading on child development and consultaion with medical and behavioral experts. Most orphan children will have some degree of developmental delay and/or attachment disorder as a result of their experience in an orphanage during their formative months and years. Correcting these issues and understanding the background of an orphan child and their physical and emotional needs takes especially adept parenting.

> U.S. State Department Info on International Adoption.

What Is a Referral?
Once papework is complete, an application (sometimes called a dossier) is sent to the government agency in the foreign country. Parents then await a referral or match--notification that an available child has been chosen for them. Sometimes a referral comes by mail from the country in advance--this is the case in David and Heather's adoption. Other times, parents receive approval to travel to the country, and a referral is made once the couple is present.

Once both parties agree to the adoption, legal paperwork is completed. This process differs for every country. In Kazakhstan, parents must stay in-country 3-4 weeks to complete the process. In Ukraine, this can take 6 weeks or more in-country. In China, however, much of this is done before the parents travel, and the in-country stay can be as little as 10 days.

A small percentage of referrals fall through for various reasons. Family circumstances, issues at the orphanage, legal issues in the foreign country, changes in laws, changes in governments, sometimes even corrupt foreign officials, can lead to delays or a referral that does not follow-through. In Kazakhstan, less than 1 in 10 referrals falls through. Because of the unpredictable nature of international adoption, couples must hold the process with "an open hand" as change and delays are inevitable.

What Are Conditions Like for Orphans in Foreign Countries?
They vary dramatically. In orphanages, the most common issues are lack of adult workers. Many orphan children have little time in the arms of loving adults, and consequently develop emotional issues early on (see attachment disorder). Some children are also malnourished. On the other hand, some children benefit from the personal attention of a foster parent. Many children who are adopted are not babies, and must also deal with a new language and culture-shock as well as behavioral and emotional issues when becoming a part of a new family in the U.S.

Brook Hills and International Adoption
Interestingly, there is a singificantly high number of adoptive families at Brook Hills, with at least 64 families that we know of who have adopted internationally in the last several years. We have children from Guatemala, Ukraine, Russia and China (if you know of or have adopted from another country please let us know).

Interesting Facts About Adoption
Because of the commitment to international adoption in time and resources, this process for building a family is undertaken by less than 0.25% of all U.S. families. Yet, this is an extraordinary group. They are highly educated and extremely stable, possessing a divorce rate of just under 8%--one-seventh the national average. Despite the cost, about 45% of parents who adopt one child internationally will adopt another within 5 years.To help facilitate the adoption of orphans, the Bush administration proposed and Congress passed in 2002 legislation granting tremendous tax credits to adoptive parents to help offset the expense of adoption.