[JuliaS]

I want to know what all the eligibility laws are for every country with international adoption. Agencies don't seem to agree on these criteria, so my guess is that they're incorporating their own criteria as well. But the agencies themselves must have a source where they get the official rules and regs from the countries in question--WHERE/WHAT is that source? And is it public information? Anybody know?

Thanks. Just a bit tired of the, "oh, sorry, didn't we tell you? you can't adopt from X because of Y[criteria heretofore undisclosed]" business I have gotten from various agencies. Argh.Ack. Double ack.

[sak9645]

There is no secrecy.

You can get a good sense of each country's NATIONAL laws by going to the website of the U.S. State Department at Adoption Country Specific Information. You can also go to the website of the U.S. Embassy for each country, in many cases.

Most adoption agencies also get a sense of a country's national requirements by having their leaders go to the foreign country and meet with the federal officials overseeing adoption -- for example, people from the Russian Ministry of Education. These officials can interpret laws that may sound ambiguous to foreigners -- for example, with regard to the requirements for parents.

Some of the foreign federal officials also come to the U.S. to speak at professional meetings. As an example, some staff of the China Center for Adoption Affairs, the branch of the Chinese government that assigns all Chinese orphans to foreign families, spoke at a conference of the Joint Council on International Children's Services a few years ago. They also made themselves available for a question and answer session.

Some countries, such as China, have a centralized adoption system, and the national laws of a particular country may be so clear that you don't need much other information. These countries tend to be very popular with Americans because of the centralized system. Americans like to know that, whether your child comes from Henan province or Hunan province, all parents must follow the same rules.

With other countries, however, individual states or provinces, and sometimes individual cities within states or provinces, may have an additional layer of laws. This is similar to the situation in the U.S., where individual states have their own rules concerning adoption. The U.S. has very few national adoption laws, with the exception of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act's provisions regarding the granting of an adoption visa, although that will change to some degree when the U.S. ratifies the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption. Most of the adoption laws in this country actually are individual state laws -- which, for example, mandate what must be in the homestudy report of a family from that state.

Adoption agencies need to talk with the authorities in foreign states and cities before starting programs there, if these states and cities have laws that go beyond those of the federal government. As an example, you may understand Brazil's adoption laws, but it does not necessarily mean that every Brazilian state will work with people from countries, like the U.S. that have not yet ratified the Hague. The State Judiciary Commission on Adoption from Minas Gerais, for example, will usually work with American citizens; however, other State Judiciary Commissions on Adoption, located in other parts of Brazil, may not.

Further, in some countries, agencies must form relationships with individual orphanages or welfare institutes, which will have their own particular requirements. As an example, in countries where private orphanages are allowed, such as Liberia, a particular orphanage may be run by missionaries of a particular religion, and may establish a requirement that adoptive parents must be of that religion.

People often wonder why adoption is so costly. One reason is that agencies must spend a good deal of time and effort researching a country before establishing a program in it. Agencies need to understand national and local requirements and how, in particular, they have been interpreted in practice. They need to form relationships with government entities, which may require them to obtain licensure and accreditation before allowing them to operate in the country. They also need to develop relationships in a particular area of a country, and in particular institutions, so that they can feel assured that their clients will not experience unwelcome "surprises". They wind up traveling to a country several times, and the costs of airfare and such have to be considered when they price out their services to families.

If you work with a good agency, it will have done its homework, and you do not necessarily have to become an expert on either U.S. adoption and immigration laws or on the laws of the foreign country in which you are interested. As an informed person, you should be sure that you research agencies well before sending any money.

But just because you don't need to become an expert doesn't mean that you don't need to do some research. First of all, you need to know enough about a country's process to recognize when an agency is feeding you a line of B.S. And, second, you need to know whether you will be comfortable with that agency's process. As an example, you will probably want to know whether the average case works through a country's adoption system in six months or 18 months.

Sharon

[JuliaS]

Right. So, I've spent hours on the State Department's website. Its guidelines, however, are not that specific when it comes to questions of mental health. In this regard, there does seem to be quite a lot of discrepancy depending on the agency you consult. Also, since most adoption agencies do not list mental health requirements on their "eligibility criteria" pages, even for countries like China, I continue to believe that there is plenty that isn't disclosed until you're mid-process. That's what I meant by unnecessary secrecy, which creates misleading expectations for potential adoptive parents. And, unfortunately, talking to agencies isn't as clear a solution as you might think. I spoke to an agency in great detail about their mental health eligibility requirements, was assured that I was eligible, then had my adoption application rejected because of the antidepressants. That is the situation I am trying to prevent myself from going through again.

[Mongoose]

Well I have no idea how you can make sure the agency gives you the right answer, but a different approach might be to find other people who have successfully adopted while on antidepressants, and ask them what agency they used.

Good luck.

-
Marie

[momraine]

I would ask very specific questions and specifically mention antidepresents. One issue is that the laws often change. for example China recently changed thier rules, some agencies then had to call people who previously would have qualified and tell them they could no longer adopt from there. Sometimes if an agency has not dealt with a specific thing before, they may beleive it will be fine and not know until they send your paperwork that it's a problem. I don't think it's always the agency keeping secrets. I would be very honest and upfront with the agency and tell them you are currently on antidepressents, and ask which countries they work with will allow that. My friend got upset over a very similar thing until she realized that what she asked them about was "a history of depression that was being treated" she did not spell out that she was still on medication. She ended up adopting a child from a relative so she never did find an agency to work with.

[bluedaisy]

Julia, that's terrible! Did you specifically tell the agency you were on anti-depressants? And did they say the issue was with the country or them? For example, one agency might say that an issue with China won't be an issue with Ethiopia.

FWIW, Ethiopia tends to be very flexible with these sorts of regulations. I know many people on antidepressants who have adopted from there without issue (while fully disclosing the situation).

Good luck!