Our Eyes Have Been Opened!

Jeremy and I have learned a lot in the past few months in the research we've been doing as we considered embarking on the adoption journey.  

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do.  God, who weights our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Prov. 24:12

We'd love to share some facts with you and dispel some myths, as well (i.e. get out your notebooks and pens - it's school time!).

Here are a few facts we have learned about the need for international adoption:

WorldOrphans.org estimates over 153 MILLION orphans worldwide! By 2015, it is estimated that there will be 400 million orphans worldwide!

UNICEF estimates that there are over 50 million orphaned children in China alone.  

The number of completed international adoptions has decreased by 50 percent since 2008.  About 8500 international adoptions took place in 2012 and this number drops each year - while MILLIONS of children wait.  

Take a look at the trailer for the documentary “STUCK” which explains the tragedy of millions of children who are stuck in their birth countries due to bureaucracy and inefficiency of government policies.  It’s heartbreaking!  An organization called Both Ends Burning is working to end this bureaucratic red tape so that children can come home to their families.  

It’s a truth many don’t know:  Kids die in these orphanages. 

Internationally, children "age out" of the orphanage system between the ages of 13-15 with nothing to their name.  They have no family, no resources.  They are out on the street.  

Jeremy and I have also discovered that there are many things that we (and many others) thought were true that are actually myths:

I assumed that international adoption was far more expensive than domestic adoption.  Actually, though, their costs can be very similar.  The majority of domestic newborn adoptions cost between $20,000 and $40,000.  Currently, the average international adoption costs approximately $28,000.  Our adoption from China will likely cost right around that average.    

Another common myth I believed is that I wrongly thought that (especially in China) there were far more girls waiting for families than boys.  I know that many others think this to be true, as well.  It is the most common surprised reaction we get when we talk about our adoption.  People often respond, “It must be very hard to get a boy! I didn’t think China had any boys available for adoption!”

According to Rainbow Kids, an international adoption online magazine which contains photo listings of children internationally who are waiting for families, one of the biggest “special needs” a child may face is being born a boy. 

On Rainbow Kids currently, there are 932 boys waiting and 581 girls.

Another myth is that international adoption has to take years and years.  It is always a very involved process and probably always longer than most would like, but some believe that it will take 5 or 6 years to adopt a child internationally.  With regard to China, this can be true if wanting to adopt a healthy female child. 

In China, 90-98% of the children being abandoned are children with medical needs, so the number of these children waiting for families is much higher.  

On Rainbow kids right now, there are 75 children under the age of 2 years old  - all boys - who could be adopted in 14 months or less to qualified families.  These children have special needs which range from mild to severe.  Some only need medical treatment or surgery which they may not receive until they are adopted.  Once they receive the treatment they need, they may be healthy children. 

We have been told that our process should be about 12 months start to finish.  This is primarily because we are interested in adopting a boy, are open to special needs, and are working with a smaller agency and therefore have fewer people “in line” ahead of us. (We are prepared that we could run into delays and that this time frame could change but we have had the opportunity to talk with several families online who were successful with falling into the ‘about a year’ time frame).  

We would be happy to share more information or answer any questions that we can about international adoption.  Of course, we are certainly still learning ourselves – and probably will be forever!  : )