[pappa6280]

We are Indian and we wanted to adopt from India but we are finding out that if even 1 parent is taking a psych medication, most agencies (we've have asked 2) will not work with us. I know China does not work with people taking a psych med. Are there any countries out there that don't have these kinds of restrictions? I have heard that some agencies would work with our situation. Does anyone know of any such agency? I can get a fit to parent from my doctor and get excellent referrals from everyone else.

[sak9645]

Agencies can't work with you if you don't meet the foreign country's requirements.

India tends to be fairly strict about a lot of things, but I'm not sure of its specific requirements regarding psych medications. The State Department doesn't discuss psych meds when specifying India's requirements. But the real authorities would be CARA, the Central Adoption Resource Authority in India, and the Indian state(s) that your chosen agency works with.

The CARA website is currently silent on psych meds, but it is quite possible that CARA is interpreting its general laws on health restrictively, in practice. You'd have to talk to agencies about that. Talk to far more than two agencies. You can get a list of agencies with Hague accreditation and India approval on the website of JCICS or on CARA's website.

Some of the agencies may work in Indian states where the meds are more of an issue than in others. Again, this is something you'd need to discuss with the agencies.

Medical reports and references, for ALL people, need to show that they are fit to parent and would make good parents. Unfortunately, that is not enough if a country has rules about specific illnesses or medicines.

Often, the issue with psych meds is that the foreign government does not really understand the way Americans view mental health. In many countries, for financial and cultural reasons, you don't seek mental health help unless you are pretty much "crazy" -- out of touch with reality, and in no condition to parent.

So when officials hear that a person is taking a medication for anxiety, for example, they don't imagine that the person sought help because he is shy about public speaking, which is affecting his ability to get a promotion at work. And if a person is taking an antidepressant because she's been through several miscarriages and is grieving heavily, they don't focus on the possibility that she wants to work through it and move on to total acceptance of adoption.

U.S. agencies try to work with the foreign governments, to explain the way mental health is viewed in the U.S., but it isn't always possible. And if there is any sort of a scandal -- for example, an adoptive parent who murders his child, or commits suicide in front of her -- then you can expect that there may be a reaction, such as tightening restrictions on acceptance of people who've sought mental health care or taken medication for a mental health issue.

Sharon