[mjoseph]

Tanya,

I can't count how many people that found out I was adopting overseas has asked me that very same question. You are correct, there are many children available for adoption in the United States. The process though is very different. In the US you can adopt one of two ways.

1) Domestic Adoption
If you are to adopt an infant through a domestic adoption you go through a private agency, attorney, or public agency in some cases. You basically create a family portfolio that depicts everything about your home and life with pictures. The birthmother then goes through all the parent profiles and she chooses which family will adopt her child. The waiting lists are long as there is no telling when you will be 'picked'. Also, the birthmother has the opportunity to change her mind AFTER the baby is already home with you about the adoption and she can take the baby back.

2) Foster Care/Adoption
The majority of children available for adoption in the US are in the foster care system. In order to get a child under the age of 6 you must become a foster parent. That is the only way to get a child under 6 placed with you unless that child has severe needs. Not every child placed with you will become available for adoption as the goal is to reunite them with their families. So a person may have to foster several children before having a placement that may turn into an adoption opportunity. The children have been either born drug or alcohol addicted, been abused or neglected, etc...The large majority of children in foster care are special needs. They have medical, physical, or emotional problems. Many have disorders such as RAD, other attachment disorders, etc...These children deserve loving homes, all children do of course, but it takes a special type of person to parent a child with special needs and moderate to severe emotional disorders. It is not an easy process at all.

People turn to adoption overseas for infants because unlike the US there are a large number of children already waiting to be adopted and not enough families. In the US there are a large number of families waiting on babies to be placed. You go through the adoption process and in 6 - 8 months you bring your baby home. No indefinite waiting lists or sitting and praying you get "picked". You also don't have the risk of losing your baby after you take them home if the birthmother changes her mind. The cost in some cases can be less than a US Domestic Adoption.

Hope that information helps put things into better perspective for you and helps you understand the difference in both types of adoption.