[Archive]

Originally Posted By Mrs. Clayton

Hello
My name is Mrs Jewel F. Clayton. My husband (Keith) and I are very
interested in adopting a bi-racial one year old little girl through an
public agency.

We have no children together as I am unable to have children. I am 43
years of age and my husband is 52 years old. We have our own company and
are self employed.

We live in Perth Western Australia. Keith is a white Australian man and
I am a African American women. We would ideally like to "adopt" a little
girl between the age's of one and two who has come from Caucasian and
African American parents. We will always live in Australia and would
raise our child in Australia.

I am a US citizen but have been a permanent resident of Australia for 20
years and my husband is a citizen of Australia.

Can you please help us with more information on how to get started.

Sincerely,

Mrs J. Clayton

[Archive]

Originally Posted By Beth Hall

It is really difficult to adopt children in the US when living abroad. It requires multiple trips to the US on a moments notice as well as many long distance telephone calls. I have included information below pertaining to US adoption but I would think you would want to look into adoption in Australia. Here is the only resource I have: http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/2700/

When thinking about adoption you should consider all the types of adoption and options available to you first. After answering questions for yourself about the child you can consider parenting then you can begin to interview agencies and ask them questions pertinent to your situation before making your final selection.

In general there are three types of adoption open to US citizens. The frustration is the three “systems” do not overlap very well so you must make your choices early because a homestudy for one type will usually not apply to another etc.

 The three forms are:

* International Adoption: the adoption of a child born in a country other than the U.S. U.S. citizens must fulfill not only US law but also the laws and regulations of the country from which their child is adopted.

* Domestic Agency-Assisted or Private Adoption: the adoption of US born children with placement usually directed by the birth parents themselves. Often the birth parent chooses the adoptive family for their child. The child is relinquished by choice of the birth parents and usually very shortly after birth.

* Public or Waiting Child Adoption: the adoption of children who have almost always been removed from their parents custody by CPS (child protective services). These are always children in the custody of the state in which they reside. These children are often adopted through fost-adopt programs. Most of the children available for adoption are older than one year and many have special needs.

Questions to ask your selves include:

* Do you want to adopt an infant, toddler or an older child?

All adopted children must make the transition from their birth family to their new family. The older the child the more experiences of transition, loss and perhaps trauma that child has had. These experiences will certainly have an impact on the child and thus will figure into your parenting issues. It is important to educate yourself about issues children from foster care or orphanages typically face if your are considering a child other than an infant. This can be done through classes offered in your area, the internet and books. In general the youngest infants are available through domestic agency-assisted and private adoption. Older children are more commonly placed through international and public adoption systems.

* Are you open to adopting a child with “special needs”?

Children with special needs range from kids with medical issues, prenatal drug or alcohol exposure, histories of abuse or neglect or simply long-term foster care or lack of permanence. Any child with or without special needs , born to the family or adoption, requires special parenting based on who they are and what their particular gifts and challenges are. Some needs can be predicted, particularly when the child is older or has a specific medical issue, with infants or very young children the impact can be harder to anticipate. Children with known special needs can be adopted through public adoption and sometimes international adoption.

* Can you only consider a specific gender child?

If you only want one gender (boy or girl) child, you may want to consider adopting an older child. Birth parents looking to place their children for adoption usually do not know the gender of their unborn child. They also tend to respond to waiting parents who gender select with some amount of suspicion because they wonder if the family is prepared to love their child as much as if the child was born to them since they would not be gender select if they were giving birth to their child.

* What race/ethnicity child are you prepared to adopt?

Among waiting children, available for adoption through the public system most of the kids are children of color (the highest numbers being of part or whole African American descent). These numbers apply to infant adoption as well. Latino (or Hispanic) children are available both domestically as well as internationally. Asian children are available as older children domestically and internationally as infants or toddlers. In general, same-race families (families with at least one parent or both who are the same race as the child to be adopted) will connect to their child more quickly than parents who are considering transracial placements.

* What is your budget for an adoption?

 Public adoptions are free to foster and adoptive parents and most children are also given a subsidy to assist families in their care. Domestic agency-assisted and private adoption ranges enormously in cost from @ $3,000 to $30,000. Much of the cost has to do with what the agencies, attorneys or professionals involved in the adoption charge. Be sure to find this out before you sign up with anyone. International adoption tends to be the most expensive ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. No matter what kind of adoption you choose, understand you are not paying for a child but for services. Be sure you are going to get the services you want and need. Be warned that there are professional in the field of adoption looking to make money off of adoptive parents desperation for a child. Be careful.

* Do you believe that your child will benefit from ongoing information and some form of contact (NOT CO-PARENTING!) with their birth parents or extended birth family?

Many adoptive parents begin by being fearful about open adoption but do consider the following. In the past adopted people have yearned to have access to complete medical histories and information about their genetic heritage. This is not an indicator of their comfort in their adoptive family but rather the natural result of the journey to understand one’s full identity in the context of have “dual” heritage. Access to this kind of information is most available through domestic agency-assisted or private adoption although it is occasionally possible through international or public adoption as well.

Below are some places you can request information regarding agencies in your local area. If you are interested in adopting an infant or young child of color, please contact us a Pact directly. We are always eager to hear from families of color as well as those considering adoption across racial lines.

Beth Hall, Co-Director

Pact, An Adoption Alliance

San Francisco: 3450 Sacramento Street Suite 239 San Francisco, CA 94118

Los Angeles: c/o Vista Del Mar - Community Services 3200 Motor Avenue, LA, CA 90034

(415) 221-6957 (main office) (310) 836-1223 ext. 343 (LA office)

(800) 750-7590 (birth parent line)

(888) 448-TAPS (transracial adoptive parent peer support line)

http://www.pactadopt.org

a non-profit serving children of color

information exploration affirmation support

[Archive]

It is really difficult to adopt children in the US when living abroad. It requires multiple trips to the US on a moments notice as well as many long distance telephone calls. I have included information below pertaining to US adoption but I would think you would want to look into adoption in Australia. Here is the only resource I have: http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/2700/

When thinking about adoption you should consider all the types of adoption and options available to you first. After answering questions for yourself about the child you can consider parenting then you can begin to interview agencies and ask them questions pertinent to your situation before making your final selection.

In general there are three types of adoption open to US citizens. The frustration is the three “systems” do not overlap very well so you must make your choices early because a homestudy for one type will usually not apply to another etc.

 The three forms are:

* International Adoption: the adoption of a child born in a country other than the U.S. U.S. citizens must fulfill not only US law but also the laws and regulations of the country from which their child is adopted.

* Domestic Agency-Assisted or Private Adoption: the adoption of US born children with placement usually directed by the birth parents themselves. Often the birth parent chooses the adoptive family for their child. The child is relinquished by choice of the birth parents and usually very shortly after birth.

* Public or Waiting Child Adoption: the adoption of children who have almost always been removed from their parents custody by CPS (child protective services). These are always children in the custody of the state in which they reside. These children are often adopted through fost-adopt programs. Most of the children available for adoption are older than one year and many have special needs.

Questions to ask your selves include:

* Do you want to adopt an infant, toddler or an older child?

All adopted children must make the transition from their birth family to their new family. The older the child the more experiences of transition, loss and perhaps trauma that child has had. These experiences will certainly have an impact on the child and thus will figure into your parenting issues. It is important to educate yourself about issues children from foster care or orphanages typically face if your are considering a child other than an infant. This can be done through classes offered in your area, the internet and books. In general the youngest infants are available through domestic agency-assisted and private adoption. Older children are more commonly placed through international and public adoption systems.

* Are you open to adopting a child with “special needs”?

Children with special needs range from kids with medical issues, prenatal drug or alcohol exposure, histories of abuse or neglect or simply long-term foster care or lack of permanence. Any child with or without special needs , born to the family or adoption, requires special parenting based on who they are and what their particular gifts and challenges are. Some needs can be predicted, particularly when the child is older or has a specific medical issue, with infants or very young children the impact can be harder to anticipate. Children with known special needs can be adopted through public adoption and sometimes international adoption.

* Can you only consider a specific gender child?

If you only want one gender (boy or girl) child, you may want to consider adopting an older child. Birth parents looking to place their children for adoption usually do not know the gender of their unborn child. They also tend to respond to waiting parents who gender select with some amount of suspicion because they wonder if the family is prepared to love their child as much as if the child was born to them since they would not be gender select if they were giving birth to their child.

* What race/ethnicity child are you prepared to adopt?

Among waiting children, available for adoption through the public system most of the kids are children of color (the highest numbers being of part or whole African American descent). These numbers apply to infant adoption as well. Latino (or Hispanic) children are available both domestically as well as internationally. Asian children are available as older children domestically and internationally as infants or toddlers. In general, same-race families (families with at least one parent or both who are the same race as the child to be adopted) will connect to their child more quickly than parents who are considering transracial placements.

* What is your budget for an adoption?

 Public adoptions are free to foster and adoptive parents and most children are also given a subsidy to assist families in their care. Domestic agency-assisted and private adoption ranges enormously in cost from @ $3,000 to $30,000. Much of the cost has to do with what the agencies, attorneys or professionals involved in the adoption charge. Be sure to find this out before you sign up with anyone. International adoption tends to be the most expensive ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. No matter what kind of adoption you choose, understand you are not paying for a child but for services. Be sure you are going to get the services you want and need. Be warned that there are professional in the field of adoption looking to make money off of adoptive parents desperation for a child. Be careful.

* Do you believe that your child will benefit from ongoing information and some form of contact (NOT CO-PARENTING!) with their birth parents or extended birth family?

Many adoptive parents begin by being fearful about open adoption but do consider the following. In the past adopted people have yearned to have access to complete medical histories and information about their genetic heritage. This is not an indicator of their comfort in their adoptive family but rather the natural result of the journey to understand one’s full identity in the context of have “dual” heritage. Access to this kind of information is most available through domestic agency-assisted or private adoption although it is occasionally possible through international or public adoption as well.

Below are some places you can request information regarding agencies in your local area. If you are interested in adopting an infant or young child of color, please contact us a Pact directly. We are always eager to hear from families of color as well as those considering adoption across racial lines.

Beth Hall, Co-Director

Pact, An Adoption Alliance

San Francisco: 3450 Sacramento Street Suite 239 San Francisco, CA 94118

Los Angeles: c/o Vista Del Mar - Community Services 3200 Motor Avenue, LA, CA 90034

(415) 221-6957 (main office) (310) 836-1223 ext. 343 (LA office)

(800) 750-7590 (birth parent line)

(888) 448-TAPS (transracial adoptive parent peer support line)

http://www.pactadopt.org

a non-profit serving children of color

information exploration affirmation support