Adoption is a reasonable option for single individuals or couples who have been unsuccessful with or do not wish to undergo fertility treatments. There are many issues for the prospective parents to consider: the age, ethnic background, or race of the child they wish to adopt, domestic vs. foreign adoption, and whether the couple would be willing to adopt a child with special needs.
Many couples disagree about adoption and it can take some time and effort to arrive at a plan that is satisfying to both members of the couple. The costs of adoption can be high, approximately $30,000, for either domestic or foreign adoption, and are not covered by insurance.
Adoption Resources
Many couples find consultation with an adoption counselor to be very helpful in sorting through all the options that are availiable to them. Two resources available to couples considering adoption include:
Domestic Adoption
Domestic adoption (adoption within the United States) can be either public (through the Department of Social Services) or private (through an agency or lawyer). Most private domestic adoptions in Massachusetts are semi-open, meaning that couples will have some contact with the birth family before the birth and sometimes afterwards. The advantage of domestic adoption is that babies are very young, often right out of the hospital. Disadvantages include the expense and uncertainty around waiting and being "matched" with a birth mother.
Foreign Adoption
Many organizations in Massachusetts and nationwide help families adopt children from other countries. The children are slightly older in most cases, but are legally (in most countries) considered orphaned or abandoned, so some adoptive parents find this more "certain." The international adoption process varies a great deal by country, so it is important to work with a good agency that can help work with the systems both in this country and in the country of adoption. Children of all ages and races from many different countries — most commonly in Asia, Latin America, and the former Soviet Union — are waiting to be adopted.
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