When people hear about adoption their typical impression is that most adoptive parents either have newborns placed or adopt internationally. The majority of people consider the adoption of a child from Foster Care as an adoptive parent’s last choice. It’s just the general impression of society, probably due in part to the lack of funding there really is when it comes to children in the system. In addition, families who adopt older children may encounter negative remarks, or judgments from friends and family.
Choosing to adopt an older child internationally or from the United States Foster Care System is generally a choice adoptive parents make intentionally. The majority of parents who have an older child placed for adoption specifically wanted to adopt an older child and chose the path with this intention in mind. Adopting an older child is rarely the last choice adoptive parents have, and more often is the first choice the parents made.
Parents who do decide to adopt older children generally educate themselves as much as possible about the potential issues, problems and solutions they may have in the future. In the United States, each States Foster Care System defines the status of an older child, the age range is usually between three-years-old and five-years-old depending on the State. There is an estimated, 120,000 children in the United States Foster Care System who are Legally Free and Waiting for Adoption.
Families who are interested in adopting an older waiting child and adoptive parents who have adopted older children may be a small percentage of the adoptive parent community, but there are many of us who choose this path for adding children to our families. Over the next several weeks, this Blog series of Adopting an Older Child will be written in addition to the Attachment Disorder Series.
For more information about adopting an older, waiting, or special needs child, you may be interested in visiting the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse Website. This is a federally funded site offering information about all types of adoption and adoption related issues. Please feel free to post in the Adoption Forum at Families.com or visit Adoption.com. If you would like to know more about my adoption story and my personal efforts to Advocate for the Adoption of Foster Children, please visit my personal website.
Special Needs and Adoption-Related Terms:
A | B | C | D | E-F | G-H-I | J-K-L | M | N-O | P | Q-R | S | T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
For more information about parenting special needs children you might want to visit the Families.com Special Needs Blog and the Mental Health Blog. Or visit my personal website.