International Adoption: Building Families Across Cultural Lines
Abstract
Adoption is a long and involved process. Before receiving a child,
parents must wade through months of paperwork, bureaucratic red tape and
waiting lists. Not all adopted children in America were born within the
borders of the United States. These children come from Asia, Eastern Europe,
Africa, or Latin America. International adoption carries with it different
difficulties beyond the paperwork and bureaucratic regulations of all
adoptions. In addition to satisfying the laws of state and federal government,
potential adopters must also work with the laws and regulations of the
country from where they are adopting. The paperwork will be both in
English and the language of the country, and traveling to pick up the child is
often required. Once the child arrives home with his or her new parents
there can be problems of language, climate adjustments, health issues and
culture shock. Once these hardships have passed, most find themselves the
proud parents of a young boy or girl. International adoption is a different
process than domestic, but the end result is the same- a child to love and
raise.