Recently my husband and I have decided to adopt.  Making this decision was not an easy one, and little did we know, making the decision to adopt is not where the decision process ends.  Having always had an interest in adopting, and participated in community and church programs that worked with foster children, we knew the need for bringing a child out of “the system” was present, in many different ways.   However we had not put thought into which way of bringing a child in to our home worked best with our hearts, abilities and desires.   

After a month of education and deliberation, we came to the conclusion that we have 4 main options:

·         Foster Care – Approximately 800,000 children every year come in contact with the foster care system (jimcaseyyouth.org).   This leaves for a profound need that can be met in a temporary or permanent way.   Adopting through the foster care system is usually the least expensive option, and many resources are available to those that do.  Foster care adoption can take about 12 months.

·         Special Needs – More than 150,000 children with special needs are currently in need of a home (dmoz.org).   When adopting a child with special needs, many times, resources are made available to assist with the care of the child.  It is clearly important to be educated and aware of what is involved with a special needs child, and if your home is one that is capable of meeting these needs.  Special needs adoptions can take anywhere from a few months to a year on average.

·         International Adoption – A little over 20,000 families adopted internationally in 2006 (exploringadoptionblog.com).  These adoptions consisted of many different countries, and ages.  In some ways international adoption can be less expensive, but ranges from $7000 - $30,000 on average (adoption.com). International adoptions can have several restrictions, such as marital status and religion, and can take anywhere from a few months to a few years.  Once a child is adopted internationally the birth mother does not have the right to take the child back (rainbowkids.com).

·         Domestic Infant Adoption -   In 2002, over 22,000 infants were adopted in the US (exploringadoption.com).   There are many difficulties in adopting a new born in the US, including only 1.4% of pregnant women give their newborns up for adoption, and the average wait for a newborn to be adopted is 24 months.  To a family hoping to bring a child in to their home, this can seem like an eternity. The cost for this type of adoption is usually between $20,000 and $30,000 and is most commonly done through an agency or private lawyer.  Despite these difficulties, there is a need for these newborns to go to a loving home, and assistance from the government (in the form of a tax credit), and non-profit agencies for assistance. 

In our exploration of the many adoption options, we have found endless amounts of helpful resources to make our decision.  Our most valued are cited above with www.exploringadoption.com being our most frequented.   If you are exploring adoption, know that there are many options available, and though the information listed above is a summary of what helped guide our decision, there is much more information to help your specific situation.    Taking the time to explore all avenues as well as their implications on your family may be overwhelming, but the impact will have lifelong results!