Domestic Adoption

One of my brother-in-laws is one of seven children, which only he and one other sibling are biological. The other five were adopted internationally. I was talking to my sister the other day and she mentioned that they were considering adopting an international child. Since I am somewhat aware of the extreme need that we have domestically to find our own family-less children homes, I asked her why they weren't considering a domestic child. She told me that they had checked into it, but apparently domestic adoption is much more expensive and time consuming than international adoption. Why is this? I'm not sure what role, if any, our federal government plays in establishing our guidelines for domestic adoption, but it only stands to reason that simplifying the process would be much more cost effective for both the adopting parents and the state and/or federal governments that are having to support the children in their care. Now, I'm not suggesting that we pawn these children off on just anyone who seeks to adopt. We need to maintain high standards and careful procedures to ensure that these children are being placed in a capable, loving home. It just seems absurd that international adoption, even after considering travel and distance, is cheaper and less cumbersome than domestic. Our government clearly needs to intervene to ensure that our people are able to take care of our children before resorting to care for others. I in no way am implying that children of other lands are any less deserving or in any less of a need of a loving home. I simply feel that we should take care of our own first.

Deana Davis
POS1041