I just don't understand...

[karynnix]

Maybe I am missing something here. I watch a show called "Adoption Stories" and there was a couple on there that had waited 18 YEARS for a baby. Angelina Jolie puts in her application in Vietnam and gets one in a matter of months. Why is it so hard for "normal" Americans to adopt when celebrities can do what they want? Is there something going on that I am not aware of?

 

[Linzybrooke]

I am in complete agreement with you. It seems like babies and children should go to families with the love and time to raise a child on their own. I'm not saying that celebrities don't love their kids, but they have full-time nannies who basically raise their kids for them while they are busy with their movie, tv and music careers (yes, this is a generalization of celebrity parents). It just goes to prove that money and celebrity will get you anything in this world while the average joe can rarely get out of a speeding ticket. Its a sad state of affairs.

 

[mrsv98]

It really depends on a lot of different circumstances. What country, if they are willing to take a special needs child, older child, etc. From what I understand, Jolie is following the typical route and it normally only takes a few months in that country. She is also adopting an older child.

When my aunt and uncle wanted to adopt a second child, they put their names back on the list when my cousin was one. They thought it would be a year at least. Imagine their surprise when they received a call four months later! My younger cousin is mixed race and that may have effected the timeline in their case.

So you see, there can be many different circumstances that effect the time it takes to adopt.

 

[meandtheguys2]

We've got friends adopting from Vietnam, and Ethiopia. It will be about a year total for each family from what I understand. I don't know why it would take so many years for the family on TV.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

Augh. I HATE the media when it comes to adoption.

1) If a couple waited 18 years to adopt a baby more then likely they were looking for an american child, white, no health concerns, newborn, possibly even an open adoption with a mother. Where you wait for a birth morther to choose you - if they had any health problems at all, birth mothers may shy away from them. Perhaps they had a baby and a birth mother changed her mind.

2) Angelina Jolie did not get her baby in a couple of months.

Vietnam's processing procedures take approximately one year from the start of the application to the adoption for infants. Since Jolie's child is considered a "waiting child" or "older child" then the process is actually streamlined due to attachment disorders becoming more promident the older a child gets. Jolie's reps stated that they started the process shortly after Shiloh was born - so figure June. It is now mid March - so 10 months. Not completely outrageous considering the normal time frame is a year.

But would the media report that - of course not.

~Amanda

 

[Nancy]

I agree, a alot depends on the route you take. Waiting for a newborn is going to take longer than an older child. Adopting from outside the country is shorter than inside. Unfortunately with private adoptions, going through normal channels is probably very time consuming since there aren't that many newborns being placed into the system.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

I am in complete agreement with you. It seems like babies and children should go to families with the love and time to raise a child on their own. I'm not saying that celebrities don't love their kids, but they have full-time nannies who basically raise their kids for them while they are busy with their movie, tv and music careers (yes, this is a generalization of celebrity parents). It just goes to prove that money and celebrity will get you anything in this world while the average joe can rarely get out of a speeding ticket. Its a sad state of affairs.

Please see my other post for more information - and I apologize to Linzybrooke for being mean.

 

[Linzybrooke]

Augh. I HATE the media when it comes to adoption.
2) Angelina Jolie did not get her baby in a couple of months.

Vietnam's processing procedures take approximately one year from the start of the application to the adoption for infants. Since Jolie's child is considered a "waiting child" or "older child" then the process is actually streamlined due to attachment disorders becoming more promident the older a child gets. Jolie's reps stated that they started the process shortly after Shiloh was born - so figure June. It is now mid March - so 10 months. Not completely outrageous considering the normal time frame is a year.

But would the media report that - of course not.

~Amanda

Thanks for that information, Amanda!

 

[karynnix]

I didn't mean to cause a stir...I just didn't know all of the facts.

 

[scarlett873]

I am so happy to see other adopted parents posting...

Where was the child from for the couple who waited 18 years?

Most international adoptions don't take that long...We're adopting from China right now and it'll be about 2 years.

Remember that just because the media is broadcasting about it for the first time doesn't mean that the process wasn't started awhile ago...no one except for their family and the country's government know the details surrounding their adoptions!

 

[Linzybrooke]

Wrong and uneducated answer.

Wow, harsh much? It is the opinion of a vast number of people. I apologize if you are offended by such an opinion but its what the american media portrays to the public. No need to be rude in your response.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

Wow, harsh much? It is the opinion of a vast number of people. I apologize if you are offended by such an opinion but its what the american media portrays to the public. No need to be rude in your response.

I'm sorry - I don't mean to be rude to you. But someone might see your response and not bother to read the rest. Which why I said uneducated not "you moron!" Sorry - adoption is something I'm very passionate about.

~Amanda

 

[RSoxFan]

Augh. I HATE the media when it comes to adoption.

1) If a couple waited 18 years to adopt a baby more then likely they were looking for an american child, white, no health concerns, newborn, possibly even an open adoption with a mother. Where you wait for a birth morther to choose you - if they had any health problems at all, birth mothers may shy away from them. Perhaps they had a baby and a birth mother changed her mind.

2) Angelina Jolie did not get her baby in a couple of months.

Vietnam's processing procedures take approximately one year from the start of the application to the adoption for infants. Since Jolie's child is considered a "waiting child" or "older child" then the process is actually streamlined due to attachment disorders becoming more promident the older a child gets. Jolie's reps stated that they started the process shortly after Shiloh was born - so figure June. It is now mid March - so 10 months. Not completely outrageous considering the normal time frame is a year.

But would the media report that - of course not.

~Amanda

Right, and isn't the child Angelina's adopting now older, like 3 or 4? That's considered "older" by most agencies and therefore harder to place. Being willing to take on an older child with potential medical problems would make a wait shorter.

 

[Linzybrooke]

I'm sorry - I don't mean to be rude to you. But someone might see your response and not bother to read the rest. Which why I said uneducated not "you moron!" Sorry - adoption is something I'm very passionate about.

~Amanda

No hard feelings. I glad you are so passionate about such a wonderful cause.

 

[CEDmom]

They could have tried on their own, then tried fertility and then finally decided to adopt. Maybe they were saying it took 18 years to become parents.

If I added up our time it took DH and I 6 years but only about 18 mo of that was going through the adoption process. We chose China and it can take a while. Vietnam is not that long of a process.

 

[karynnix]

The family that I was watching on the show tried for years to conceive and then waited for about 9 years on a list to adopt. They wanted an American newborn. That's probably why it took so long. I didn't realize how many different adoption options existed! I'll have to watch that show more often. Thanks for the education, guys!

 

[ZachnElli]

I agree, a alot depends on the route you take. Waiting for a newborn is going to take longer than an older child. Adopting from outside the country is shorter than inside. Unfortunately with private adoptions, going through normal channels is probably very time consuming since there aren't that many newborns being placed into the system.

Sorry, but this is incorrect too. We did an infant adoption in 2005 and it only took a few months. We just put down we wanted a human baby, race and health didn't matter. We hadn't even had him a year when the agency we used contacted us about a hard to place baby (not even born yet), but we were moving.

 

[CEDmom]

The family that I was watching on the show tried for years to conceive and then waited for about 9 years on a list to adopt. They wanted an American newborn. That's probably why it took so long. I didn't realize how many different adoption options existed! I'll have to watch that show more often. Thanks for the education, guys!

I have a friend that registered with Catholic Charities for an American newborn and waited about 6 years. I admire Jolie's care and compassion for children in need. You also have to understand that the Vietnam Government is going to downplay the difficulty of adopting from their country to encourage other Americans to adopt their needy children. I honestly can't fault or blame them for that. I do have to tell people that much of the red tape involved in international adoption comes from our own government.

 

[karynnix]

You have to admit that celebrities do have an advantage when it comes to having money to adopt, being able to travel to the different countries and having the legal expertise on their side that many people do not have. I would love to adopt, but financially, it is just not possible. I am sure that there are a lot more people in the same boat.

 

[katerkat]

Sorry, but this is incorrect too. We did an infant adoption in 2005 and it only took a few months. We just put down we wanted a human baby, race and health didn't matter. We hadn't even had him a year when the agency we used contacted us about a hard to place baby (not even born yet), but we were moving.

OK, sorry, I know what you mean, any baby regardless of everything else... But what would you have said if they call and offered a kitten?

Anyway, yes, there are a ton of variables in adoption, mostly depending on what country the parent(s) choose and what kind of child they want. But the media just likes to sensationalize everything having to do with celebrities.