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The adoption tax credit cannot be taken for a failed international adoption.

Remember that countries rarely close or change their rules precipitously. There is usually a phase-in time, and people who already have referrals, or who are well into the process, will often be allowed to complete their adoptions.

Also, if you are worried about a country closing, or the U.S. telling Americans that they cannot adopt from a country, you can pick a country that has a history of stability and not choose one where there is a good deal of speculation that change is in the wind.

As an example, it was pretty obvious that things were changing in Guatemala, yet some families continued to begin Guatemalan adoptions even after many reputable agencies had stopped taking new applications and were counseling families to consider other countries. These families, in essence, gambled in a situation where the odds were not in their favor. And when you gamble, and take long odds, you often lose big-time.

China has always been a stable country, and one that has given prospective parents ample warning of an impending change in policies. Still, I would be very cautious about starting a China adoption at present, given the uncertain time frames. A two to three year time horizon from LID to referral makes me very uncomfortable, and I am a China parent with a great deal of respect and admiration for the way the CCAA has managed to keep politics out of adoption and to create an organized, ethical system. Too much can happen in two to three years for me to consider adoption from China a "sure thing" right now.

My personal belief is that China does not really like the current long waits from LID to referral, any more than adoptive parents do. I also believe that China is accurate when it states that the number of NSN infants and toddlers available for international adoption is decreasing. It makes a lot of sense, given the increasing prosperity of the country.

I have a gut feeling (and it is ONLY a gut feeling -- I have absolutely no inside knowledge) that, at some point -- and it could be soon or it could be a year or two from now -- the CCAA may well say something like, "In 90 days, we will stop taking new dossiers for a period of at least a year, so that we can focus on eliminating the backlog of waiting families as quickly as possible, and getting a good sense of how many NSN children will be available in the future. The only new dossiers we will accept will be for children age six or older, or children with certain moderate to severe special needs." While people already logged in would still get referrals, people fairly early in the paper chase stage, who do not want an older child or a child with a rather significant special need would be unable to proceed.

Do be aware that, if you use an agency that works in multiple countries, and the country of your choice -- whether China or some other county -- closes, the agency will usually try to help you switch to another country if you cannot complete your adoption. Yes, there will be some fees that you may have to pay twice, but a good agency will try to keep the financial exposure down. And you will almost always be better off financially if you stick with one agency, rather than switching agencies.

As a result, if you are very worried about country closures or rule changes, I would suggest that you define in your mind not just a first choice of country, but also a second and possibly a third choice, and then select an agency working in all of those countries. That would probably be the best way to minimize financial risk. This is probably NOT a good time for you to be looking at a China-only agency, although some of the largest China-only agencies may have insights into what is likely to happen, that are worth listening to.

It probably is also not a good time for you to work with some small "Mom and Pop" agency. These are perilous times for such agencies. They may not have the level of reserves necessary to weather a closure of a major country program, and could wind up reducing services to families or even going out of business. They certainly won't have deep enough pockets to help families who are affected by a country closure and want to change countries, without having to start all over financially.

It's important to distinguish among various types of fees. First off, there are fees you pay to your agency FOR ITS OWN WORK on your behalf. Those fees are often negotiable if a country closes or changes its rules midstream, making you unable to adopt there. As an example, you shouldn't have to make a second application fee, if you want to transfer to another program, since the agency has already accepted you.

Also, many agencies don't make you pay a substantial part of their basic fee until you accept a referral. If you never get a referral from the first country, or if the country closes and you cannot complete your adoption, the agency may well apply the final part of its fee to the adoption from the second country.

On the other hand, there are fees over which your agency has no control. As an example, the USCIS charges a fee for switching countries. Normally, you would have to pay that fee twice. In the past, there have been a couple of situations in which the USCIS has offered to allow a free transfer. In the future, if the U.S. decides to forbid Americans to adopt from a certain country, it might well do so again, to "soften the blow." But with most fees that the agency can't control, you will simply be stuck with paying them twice.

If you choose a country where two trips are the norm, for example, and the country closes after you have made one trip, you will have paid airfare, hotel, and other charges that you cannot recoup. There is simply no way around that. Travel is expensive. But if you go with a one-trip country, and the program closes, you will not lose money on these items, though you may be heartbroken. In most cases, you don't pay for travel until right before you leave for the foreign country; some costs aren't paid until you are actually in the country.

There are also fees that the agency pays on your behalf. Agencies vary in their policies with regard to handling these fees. Many agencies won't do anything for clients if they have already transferred funds received from those clients to foreign facilitators or lawyers, to the foreign government, etc. before a program closes.

However, some agencies try to be accommodating when clients are subjected to heartbreaking losses. I know of a situation in which families, some with referrals, from a country (not Guatemala) were devastated when provincial officials closed down an orphanage in the dead of night, removing the children. While the provincial officials claimed that the orphanage was paying birthmothers, there was some evidence that what really happened was that the orphanage was refusing to pay bribes to corrupt officials. Both the orphanage and the agency were known for high standards of ethics.

The agency made every effort to ease the families' suffering. Where families wished to drop out, heartbroken, the agency refunded virtually all of their money, taking a significant loss, since some of the funds had already been used to pay various country fees. The agency also applied funds to other programs, for families wishing to switch countries, and even retained an attorney in the foreign country, to advocate for the return of children who had already been referred to families -- some of whom actually went to the country for extended periods to find the children and plead for the right to adopt them.

This situation, of course, was unusual, and the agency's response was, perhaps, unusual in the extreme measures taken to help the families. But the agency had been around for 20 years or so, and knew the value of good client service. There are other agencies in the U.S. that also know the value of good client service, and even if they don't quite go to this extreme, many will do quite a bit to help clients fulfill their dream of being parents, after a truly unexpected, negative turn of events.

Obviously, an agency isn't going to do these things if you choose not to complete an adoption, especially if you were counseled about -- for example -- the risk that you might be referred a child outside the age range you requested. It isn't going to do these things if you take a chance on applying, even though you are counseled that you might be rejected because of something in your health history. And if an agency takes your application when most agencies are not accepting new applications for that country, you can be sure that it won't help you much if the country closes or changes its requirements.

But the good news is that, if you are careful in selecting an agency and a country, you can reduce -- though not eliminate entirely -- the risk of significant financial losses.

Talk to agencies before you apply. Ask them what happens if a country closes or changes its eligibility requirements, while you are in process with them. Ask what fees will be waived if you switch to another country, with the same agency, after such an event. Ask what fees will be refunded if you are too heartbroken to proceed.

Look at the track record of agencies that have faced such situations. Try to find families who were caught up in those situations, and ask what those agencies did for them. I think you will find that for every agency horror story, yoiu will hear some wonderful stories about certain agencies that "went the extra mile" for their clients.

Consider choosing a Hague-accredited agency, even if the countries from which you are considering adopting are not party to the Hague -- yet. While the track record of Hague accreditation is limited, to date, Hague accreditation is SUPPOSED to help ensure that agencies have policies and procedures in place to help protect clients from major financial losses. As an example, they need to have explicit refund policies and grievance procedures.

And really do your homework about countries. Listen to the unbiased experts, not the folks who are trying to get you to sign up with their agency, even if it doesn't make any sense to get started with a certain country. Pay attention to what the U.S. State Department is saying. Pay attention to what the Congressional Coalition on Adoption is saying. Pay attention to what the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS) is saying. Contact the U.S. Embassy in the foreign country, if you wish.

Talk to lots of agencies, especially ones that have worked in a country for a long time. Get on as many parent listservs and bulletin boards as you can, to hear what agencies are telling families, but take what you hear with a big grain of salt. You can learn a lot from bulletin boards like this one -- but some boards are also rife with rumors that are so ill-founded that I roll my eyes in incredulity.

Checking out countries and agencies is not rocket science. You can do it, if you commit some time and effort to the process, and if you recognize that some sources of information are better than others.

All in all, I still believe that the vast majority of prospective parents WILL complete their international adoptions, without subjecting themselves to heartbreak and financial loss. But it behooves them to do everything possible to work towards such a goal.

Sharon


Sharon