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Maybe a Baby?

Navigating the Infant Adoption Maze

By Kelly Burgess

Hochman has seen a gratifying increase in parents who are willing to adopt special needs infants. "When I first came here to work, we couldn't find parents for Down syndrome children," Hochman says. "Now we have a waiting list."

One of the most amazing changes in the field of adoption that Hochman has seen is the idea of open adoption.

Hutzel initially agreed to an open adoption at whatever level the birth mother would be comfortable with. She now sends a letter and photograph of the baby monthly to the agency, who will turn it over to the birth mother upon her request.

Adam Pertman is executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and the author of Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution Is Transforming America (Basic Books, 2001). In his opinion, open adoption, while a good idea overall, has put a financial emphasis upon adoption that may keep some very worthy prospective parents from pursuing it.

"[With open adoption], there's an element of luck and an element of money," Pertman says. "For people with fewer resources, I would suggest they think about foster adoption or even taking out a loan. People take out loans for things much less important than starting a family."

Like domestic adoption, international adoption has its pitfalls. Just as every state has its own individualized adoption laws, every country has theirs. However, unlike the states, which are extremely slow to change their often outdated systems, international adoption law can change from day to day. The year 2003 – with an increased focus on international terrorism, threats of SARS and the war in Iraq – was a particularly tough year for international adoptions, with several countries placing a complete hold on adoptions.

"International adoption is always in flux," Pertman says. "If you go back 10 years or so, Russia and China weren't even on the map. This is something that will always be changing, depending upon whims and politics."

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