Christian Adoption, Faith Based Adoption Blog

Christian Adoption Blog

01/13/07

'Auditioning' for Adoption?

Posted by : Laura Christianson in Christian Adoption Blog at 04:38 pm , 271 words, 163 views
Categories: International Adoption

Check out the in-depth article in The New York Times, "A Taste of U.S. Family Life, but Adoption in Limbo," By Jane Gross (Jan. 13, 2007).

The article details the ever-changing face of adoption and chronicles a family who hosted a Ukrainian child this Christmas in hopes of adopting her.

Gross writes:

Conditions in [Russia and Ukraine] have grown so unsettled, some [adoption] agencies have suspended hosting programs, and the debate is growing about the ratio of risk to reward. Do the many success tories for older orphans make up for the heartbreak when adoption is thwarted?

Gross explains that the fee for the two-week hosting visits (organized by humanitarian organizations and adoption agencies) is $2,500 per child, which includes travel, bilungual escorts and a sizable donation back to the orphanages.

The article details several pros and cons of hosting programs:

SPONSOR

Even though there are no guarantees that the children who participate in hosting programs will get adopted by their host families, many of them do. A trip to the U.S. heightens a child's expectations of getting adopted, which could result in heightened disappointment should they not get adopted.

The children feel as if they are "auditioning" for adoption.

Children and their host families quickly grow attached to one another.

I'd love to hear from readers who have hosted a child through one of these programs.

What program did you use and how was it set up?

What was your experience like? The child's experience?

Did you end up adopting the child you hosted? Why or why not?

Please submit your stories to the Comments area or e-mail me: christianadoptionblog@adoptionmail.com

1 comment

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: shelley1914 [Member]

I want to know why it is so hard and so expensive to give a child in need a home whre he/she can be loved by 2 parents,regardless of age or religion, especially if the parents are going to bring the child up with bible principles, and a christian faith and upbringing. I live in tasmania Australia, and I would be desperate to adopt a child from any country, at any age, if the child was willing to be brought up in the christian faith.My husband and i are both devoted to our faith and to God,but there always seems to be endless amounts of money required( who gets it anyway, if you get the child) If someone called me today and said" I can't take care of my child, will you adopt her?" I would in an instant. I have seen endless TV programs about homeless kids, and overfull orphanages, but no one seems to be giving people who would love a child a fair go, especially here in Australia. Instead of asking for donations to feed a child, why not ask for willing mums and dads to take one of them, and give them a better life? I say NOT FAIR!!!

Permalink 01/26/08 @ 00:52