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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm SteveEmber.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Gwen Outen. Our subject this week is internationaladoptions.

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VOICE ONE:

Adoption is the legal process where people take a child of otherparents as their own. The Census Bureau says more than two percentof children in the United States are adopted. That is aboutone-point-six million children. These numbers are from the nationalpopulation count in two-thousand.

But since the nineteen-sixties and seventies, the number ofAmerican-born children in need of adoption has decreased. So todaymany people go to other countries to adopt a child. Innineteen-eighty-nine, Americans brought eight thousand foreignchildren to the United States. By last year, the State Departmentsays the number was more than twenty-one thousand.

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The Census Bureau says thirteenpercent of the adopted children in the United States were born inanother country. Of these foreign-born children, one-sixth are fromEurope. One-third are from Latin America. And almost half are fromAsia. The largest number of foreign-born adopted children in theUnited States, twenty-two percent, are from South Korea.

But immigration reports show that, in recent years, the largestnumbers of foreign children brought here are from Russia and China.By last year South Korea was fourth, behind Guatemala.

Four years ago, Romania suspended most international adoptions.Romania used to be one of the top countries where Americans adoptedchildren. By last year Romania was twelfth on the list of countries.Two hundred Romanian children were brought here to live.

VOICE ONE:

Romania's president, Ion Iliescu, signed a bill into law lastmonth to bar most foreign adoptions of Romanian children. The lawwill permit grandparents who live in other countries to adopt theirRomanian grandchildren.

Romania wants to join the European Union in two-thousand-seven.E.U. officials were concerned that Romania's adoption system couldnot prevent the illegal sale of children. So the E.U. urged Romaniato pass a new law.

But, in April, American Deputy Secretary of State RichardArmitage called the plan a "tragedy" for children in state care.Critics of the new restrictions on international adoption sayRomania does not have enough families for all the children who needparents.

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Americans who want to adopt mainlywant healthy babies or very young children. But there are not enoughin the United States to meet the demand. Birth rates are down. And,in nineteen-seventy-three, the Supreme Court ruled that women havethe right to end unwanted pregnancies. This meant fewer babies toput up for adoption.

Yet there are many older children in the United States who needadoption but cannot find new parents. Thousands live in temporaryhomes under adult supervision as dependents of the state.

VOICE ONE:

Years ago, few unmarried Americans or couples older than aboutforty adopted children. Today, it is much more common for singlepeople to adopt. The same is true of older married couples as wellas older singles. Some couples of the same sex also adopt children.

Laws about adoptions within the United States differ from stateto state. People who want to adopt are asked to show that they canprovide a safe and loving home. Then they wait until an adoptionagency finds a child for them. Sometimes people wait years. Otheradoptions happen much more quickly.

Costs differ greatly. Some estimates say the average may be aboutten thousand dollars; others say at least twenty thousand dollars.

Adoptions also take place without the services of an agency. In aprivate adoption, a lawyer or doctor brings together a pregnantwoman with people seeking a child. But this does not alwaysguarantee there will be a baby to adopt. Biological parents whodecide to surrender a child for adoption are given time toreconsider.

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Many adoption agencies in the United States also handle foreignadoptions. For parents, the easiest adoptions often involve what iscalled direct relinquishment. This means the biological parents maybe dead. Or they may have already surrendered their child to anorphanage. The new parents then may take the child directly home tothe United States.

Like most adoptions within the United States, internationaladoptions take time -- in some cases, many months. Adoption agenciesand the State Department have a number of requirements for peoplewho want to adopt a foreign child.

A social worker visits the home of the prospective parents, tomake sure the home and family will be good for the child. Forexample, the prospective parent must show the ability to providefinancial support. Officials also look for criminal records.

VOICE ONE:

Prospective parents must also meet any requirements by foreignagencies and governments. For example, China recently has been amajor provider of children for adoption in the United States.Americans adopted almost seven thousand children from China lastyear. One American adoption agency says most children adopted fromChina are baby girls about seven months or older.

Chinese officials will permit single people as well as marriedcouples to adopt children. But China makes a legal differencebetween children whose parents are dead and those who have been leftwithout care.

Generally only childless people age thirty-five or older canadopt a healthy child who has a living biological parent. Peopleunder thirty-five can only adopt children whose parents are dead.This is also true of people who already have a child.

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Many foreign adoption centers require prospective parents to maketwo trips. On the first, the people meet and spend time with achild. On the second, they complete the adoption process. Parentsalso are advised to repeat the legal process in the United Stateswhen they return.

Foreign adoptions can be costly. For example, to adopt a Russianchild can cost thirty thousand dollars or more.

International adoptions involve more than just time and money,both for the adoption itself and the travel. They also requireenergy. And sometimes they even involve safety risks.

For example, many Americans over the years have adopted childrenfrom Haiti. But the State Department has lately advised Americansnot to travel to the Caribbean nation for any reason, because ofpolitical unrest.

Last year, many prospective parents had to delay trips to China.That was because of the health risk from severe acute respiratorysyndrome, SARS. Some people had already waited a long time to becomeparents or add to their families.

Earlier this year, cases of measles led the United States tosuspend adoptions from an orphanage in Hunan province. Americanhealth officials ended the ban last month.

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Parents do not always know much about the physical or mentalhealth of a child they adopt in another country. Or problems maydevelop later. Experts say children who have lived in largeorphanages often develop more slowly than others. Children kept ingroup situations also have a greater risk of infections. Andchildren from some countries may have diseases that American doctorsrarely see.

Some doctors in the United States provide special services forparents who want to adopt a foreign child. A doctor can meet withfamilies before they go out of the country to adopt. The doctor canstudy any medical records that foreign agencies provide for a child.Agencies may also provide videotapes of the child. And the doctorcan examine the child after the adoption is completed.

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But for many people, all the work and the chances they might havehad to take are clearly worth the effort.

Gordon and Jan Forbes live in Rockville, Maryland. They adopted aKorean girl more than thirty years ago. They say it is difficult toexpress the happiness that their daughter has brought them.

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by MarioRitter. I'm Gwen Outen.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICAin VOA Special English.