[SOIK2000]

I was wondering about the term "waiting to be matched", Is there more people willing and waiting on lists to adopt then children up for adoption? I just started considering adoption although haveing a bio child is an option. I always felt like If I can provide a loving home for a child who needs one that would be how I became a mother. How long is the waiting to be matched phase?

Thanks Jennifer

[DianeS]

Yes, for some types of adoption there are more adults waiting for children than children waiting for adults. But there are other reasons, too, for needing to wait before being matched with a child.

Most common is domestic infant adoption. In that case, the adults wait for a woman who is pregnant to choose them to parent the child. In the USA it is estimated that there are 40 waiting adults/families for every 1 newborn who is being placed. Those adults must "wait to be picked" or "wait to be matched" - often a very long time, with few estimates of how long.

In international adoption, estimates vary as to how many waiting adults there are and how many waiting children. Sometimes even though the children may outnumber the adults, it still takes time for the adult's paperwork to make it through the steps to be matched up with a waiting child. There isn't anything else the adult has to do except wait while the foreign government does their thing, so that's also considered "waiting to be matched". The waiting is structured along a first-come-first-serve list, and most agencies can tell you how long you'll wait and be pretty accurate.

And in the USA's foster care system, there are thousands of children waiting for families, and very few families wanting them. But since most of them are older children, they have very specific needs that must be met by the family. So families with approved paperwork must still "wait to be matched" with the child who needs what they can provide. The waiting is unstructured, and depends on the workload of the person doing the matching, their personal contacts, and the type of child you can provide for.

Hope that helps!