Success rates for those who start the adoption process

[Pergamum]

We want to adopt. There seems to be a lot of paperwork, hassle, wait, fees, etc, ahead of us.

What is the success rate of those who start the adoption process? Am I going to break the bank without any results? We are reading of 6 year wait times and 100's of thousands of dollars. If folks really want kids adopted, why all the hassle?

 

[Dwimble]

We adopted from China twice, so I can only speak specifically about that. The first time we went through the normal, non-special needs process. At the time our documents went to China couples were waiting 6-8 months, but we happened to hit the beginning of a massive slow-down and shift in China's international adoption program...so we actually ended up waiting 2.5 years. The second time we went special needs (our daughter has some birth defects in her hands). It took us less that a year from the beginning of the paperwork until we had her.

Adopting a child from there who doesn't have a special need is now essentially impossible. The wait would be in the 6-8 year range at least, assuming they even have a non-special needs program by then. They are obviously shifting their international adoption program to only special needs children. That process is relatively streamlined, typically with no real surprises, and can generally be completed in 1-2 years, depending on several factors.

The total cost for each adoption (including travel, fees...everything) was in the $20-25K range. Plus there is a $13K adoption tax credit, so you'd end up recovering about half of your cost. Our entire experience both times was almost completely positive. Any difficulties we had during the process were relatively minor.

We documented both adoption trips on our blog (dwimble.com). So if that is something that interests you, you could check that out to see what our experiences were like. Finally, my wife has a vast amount of info and resources on the China adoption process. So if you desire to look more deeply into the China special needs program, let me know and I'd be happy to get more info to you.

Mike

 

[CJW]

We don't have a success story yet, so I can only speak from that side of the story, and you may not want to read about our worse-case scenario! I am confident though that the Lord means good to us, and we will in His perfect time have success.

Adoption is not for the faint-hearted! Our adversary the devil does not want children brought into covenant homes, and we've had to wage spiritual warfare on a number of fronts: lost and misplaced paperwork, delays, disappointments, changes in countries we've applied to, and misunderstandings/misinterpretations that result in more delays. We made our first contact with an agency almost 4 years ago. We are now getting our dossier together to submit to another country. So we possibly still have another 1.5 to 2.5 year wait. We've certainly not, however, racked up expenses into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and don't expect we will. Our circumstances though are outside the norm, and I would expect it to take longer for us than for folks living in the States.

On the positive side though! We have grown immeasureably in our trust and waiting on the Lord and submitting to His perfect will, and I (a horribly impatient person naturally) have developed a patience that surprises me and my husband! So much good has come out of it all!

 

[Pergamum]

Okay, I am sort of discouraged now. I had a donor offer to help pay the fees, but some orgs have rules that the couple must reside in the US (something we cannot promise to do) and the paperwork and restrictions on our life seem intimidating. However, when I read Scripture, there is so much there about helping the poor, and helping widows and orphans, and so we want to press on.

 

[py3ak]

Brother, you minister to the poor, widows, and orphans on a daily basis. In God's providence, not everyone engages in every duty or good work - some, in fact, prevent others (e.g., the man who is a minister should not also be a magistrate). There is no reason for discouragement in that. You can accept what God sends without feeling that you have failed if you do not succeed in bringing an orphaned child into your home.

 

[Edward]

100's of thousands of dollars.

Someone is getting ripped off. I'd anticipate costs in the range of a nice mini-van -- $25,000 - $30,000. As noted, tax credits can help offset the ultimate costs, although in most cases you'll have been out the money a while before the credit takes effect.

I'd think that the biggest problem you are going to face is your living situation. You fairly regularly post threads here about the health problems that you and your family encounter. You're going to have to find a judge who'll find that putting a child into that environment is in the best interests of the child.

The second biggest problem (as I've posted before) will be suspicion about why, with a large family (by American standards) you'd want to adopt a child from another culture.