International Adoption Case Study

The rules of adoption are similar to those of ratification. Ratification is defined as the affirmance by a person of a prior act which didn't bind

Adoption is defined as the “act by which an adult formally becomes the guardian of a child and incurs the rights and responsibilities of a parent.” (Legal Information Institute, 2015). The first legislation ACT to govern legal adoptions was made in Western Australia in 1896 at a peak of high infanticide and infant mortality rates. Since then, new legislations have been made across each state and adoption rates have been increasing steadily. However, as indicated by a series of National Data collected by the Australian Government, following the peak of almost 10,000 adoptions between 1970 and 1971, there has been a sharp decline in adoption rates. Over the last decade specifically, there has been a low and steady rate of 400-600 adoptions per

Being from Russia and being adopted, this topic really hits home for me. I think it is absolutely appalling what the Russian government has done towards this issue. Two years later and American families still can’t adopt a child from Russia:

To say that there are legal implications involved in adopting a young human is an understatement at the least, and Florida Law is most concerned with the well-being of the child. Ms. Ellen Kaplan stated, "Our Application Package offers educational details that include explanations of these laws that are so important to the finalization

This adoption is directed by Section 4698(h) of the Welfare & Institutions Code and Section 1567.65 of the Health &

Wardle’s state regulations spread to “Florida, Arkansas, and Mississippi [they] have [also] imposed restrictions on adoption and/or foster care, and such bills have been introduced in the legislatures of 10 additional states” (Biblarz & Stacey 2001).

Idaho Code, Policy § 16-1514A of International Adoption states that parents within the United States are able to bring children from foreign countries into the states for adoption (Idaho Legislation, 2006). This law is overlooked and regulated by the Health and Welfare Agency.

428,000 Children are in foster care in the United States and a total of 135,000 children are adopted each year (Adoption Network Law Center 2018). Adoption is to take voluntarily a child of other parents as one’s own child. Adoption is an incredible step couples can take to change a child's life forever as well as their own. Once a child has been adopted they are taken into a new family who will love them and help them grow up well. Usually when a child is first adopted they have trouble with fitting in because they feel they have to fit into an image of a perfect child and it sometimes has to do with the way they look whether it be via race, culture, gender, or sexuality. This affects the child, but soon they are accustomed to their new life and begin to love and accept their new family. U.S. couples should be allowed to internationally adopt children because it changes a child's life completely and teaches them to love and be themselves.

Last year, the sweetest child ever was being adopted by a great couple with great kids. After living with them for over six months, they were considering taking her in. They denied the case. She was unable to permanently live with this great family because she was Indian and the foster couple was not. In Oklahoma, there were fifty-six adoptions in 2015, ages one to seventeen. However, in 2000 there were about 128 adoptions, some being only a few months old, all the way up to seventeen years old (“Statistics”). Non-Indian couples should not only be able to foster but should be able to adopt an Indian child, because the child begins to bond with the temporary family, and the foster family can learn what is necessary for not only fostering

Laws in Australia are designed to protect the general safety of Australian citizens and should reflect the attitudes, values and beliefs of society. Given that families play such a large role in the structure of Australian society, there is a need for legislation to regulate family relationships. When these regulations are necessary, the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia implement them. As the primary objective of family law is to protect children, adoption is treated with sensitivity under the law. Strict regulations imposed by the adoption laws in Queensland however, make it much too difficult for Australians to adopt children from overseas, and are in need of amendment. The law regarding intercountry adoption in Queensland discriminates against

Australia legalises intercountry adoption, through regulatory structure that involves Commonwealth and State and Territory laws, policies and agencies. The Commonwealth is solely responsible for intercountry adoption policy located in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and for starting and overseeing overseas adoption programmes. The act also identifies that the Commonwealth are accountable for the laws and policies concerning Australian citizenship of the child when they are adopted. The State and Territory governments are accountable for the adoption process, which include information sessions for potential adoptive parents; conditions to receive an application and assessing applications; and supervision of families who want to adopt through the

To understand the full effect of the Dima Yakovlev law, it is important to understand the statistics regarding adoption in Russia. In his resource about the statistics of international adoption, Dr. Robert Johnston shows that American families have been taking the lead in the adoption of Russian children over the past twenty years (Johnston, 2014). In that time, Americans have adopted over sixty thousand children from Russia. Statistics of the Ministry of Education and Sciences of the Russian Federation indicate that Americans are responsible for 62% of adopted Russian children and 48% of special needs children and children with disabilities. Russians adopt far fewer children and typically avoid adopting those with special needs and disabilities

There are many different important aspects to consider in international adoptions versus domestic adoption. When adopting from a foreign country, it is important be comfortable with respecting and teaching the country’s culture and ethics to that child as it is part of their cultural heritage. Likewise, children adopted internationally are of various ethnicities of which you must be comfortable with accepting into your own family. To adopt internationally, travel to the foreign country is usually required once or twice for a period of one to two weeks each trip. This will allow the chance to meet with the child selected for adoption. International adoptions are comprised of the adoption of a child from an orphanage. Due to government guidelines and abandonment issues in foreign countries, it is impossible or very limited to access information regarding the child or their family’s medical or personal history prior to arrival at the orphanage (How to Adopt, n.d.). Because most children adopted internationally are cared for in an orphanage, they are at an increased risk of developmental or motor delays as also stated by How to Adopt (n.d.). It is also important to note that newborns are not available for adoption in foreign countries as it takes time to process all the foreign documentation and approval needed prior to travel to picking up the child and bringing them to the U.S.

In late December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law stating that there is a ban on the adoption of Russian children by U.S families. The law took effect in January 2012. The process of adoption was a very long journey and Putin just canceled it. The international adoptions have been possible in Russia since the early 1900s. Before the ban in Russia 25,000 adoptions were completed by the U.S adopting families. In spite of the constant changes, Russia continues to be one of the most popular international

Russia had not previously been a part of The Hague Adoption Convention, and through basic research it does not appear that the country was a part of the World Summit for Children in 1990 either. Therefore, one should ask the question, “What impact did Russia have on international adoption policies which directly impacted the country?” It is logical to connect this lack of global cooperation with Russia’s current ban of international adoptions by American families. Back in December of 2012, Vladimir Putin signed a bill, now known as the Yakovlev Law,