Families should consider the pros and cons of child adoption.
U.S. families often research the pros and cons of child adoption before deciding whether they would like to proceed. While many prospective adoptive parents opt to grow their families through adoption and joyfully welcome children through this process, adoption does require emotional and financial resources. Adoptive parents may need to wait for a lengthy period of time, pay expensive adoption costs and adjust emotionally after the children come into their homes.
Options for Adoption
American adoptive parents benefit from a variety of options, including domestic adoption through a private agency, adoption through a foster care agency or international adoption. Each family can decide on a path that feels right and that fits the family's timeline and financial requirements.
Emotional Benefits
Adoption can become a positive experience for all parties involved --- the child, the adoptive parents and the birth parents. Some adoptive parents have experienced fertility struggles but find peace and happiness in growing their families through adoption. Families who choose open adoption may benefit from continued contact with the birth parents. Birth parents often want to know that their children have found stable, loving homes, while older adoptees can benefit from knowing why their birth parents chose adoption.
Logistical Requirements
Depending on whether the family chooses a private adoption through an agency or attorney, an adoption through the local or state foster care system, or an international adoption, the process can span a number of months and even years. Families spend time waiting for completion of their adoption home studies, for the availability of children for placement and for international adoption processes and U.S. visa application processing.
Financial Costs
Adoptive families also encounter many financial costs along the way. For example, "Adoptive Families Magazine" conducted a November 2009 survey regarding adoption costs and found that the domestic adoption of an American newborn often costs between $25,000 and $30,000. Adoption through the U.S. foster care system often costs less, but may still require several thousand dollars. International adoptions usually require travel abroad, which can be expensive. Families worried about adoption expenses should research federal and state tax credits, adoption subsidies and other financial incentives that might ease the costs of adoption.
Emotional Toll
Many adoption stories focus on the joyful aspects of welcoming a child through adoption. Not every story, however, acknowledges the emotional strain of adoption. Some parents experience post-adoption depression, which can include feelings of sadness, despair, detachment, guilt or lethargy. New adoptive parents might feel that they have not bonded quickly enough with their children, struggle with adjustment to the new members of their household or feel resentful about disruptions to former routines. These feelings are often more common than many adoptive parents expect. "Adoptive Families Magazine" reports that a large number of adoptive parents, up to 65 percent, may experience some feelings of depression. Parents should be aware of post-adoption depression symptoms, discuss their feelings with family members and seek professional help if the symptoms persist.
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