Search Results for: blog a sampling of overseas child welfare efforts by us adoption agencies

Will Changing Attitudes Toward Disabilities Affect the Future of International Adoption in China?

My last blog featured another profile of an elite athlete who was adopted—Jessica Tatiana Long, who was adopted from a Russian orphanage at 13 months of age, and had her legs amputated below the knee when she was 18 months old. She competed last week in The Paralympic Games in Beijing. These Games have brought changes to China, in both infrastructure and attitudes toward the disabled. Last May I wrote a blog about Chinese people applying to adopt earthquake orphans. This also represented a big change. Traditional beliefs in many parts of China included the importance of a pure bloodline, … Continue reading →

Landmark Dates in Adoption History

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Two notable dates in adoption history were the 1955 adoption of eight Korean War orphans by Harry and Bertha Holt, who later facilitated the adoptions of many Korean children. Although later accused of automatically assuming life in America was better for the children and of not doing proper background checks or follow-up on their adoptive families, still the Holts were absolutely instrumental in publicizing the needs of children around the world, especially in Korea. Another landmark date in international adoption was April 1975. At the order of U.S. President Gerald Ford, military planes and jumbo jets loaded with hundreds of … Continue reading →

Warning from the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam, and, What is an Orphan?

The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, recently issued a statement urging parents considering adopting from Vietnam to be very careful in choosing their “adoption service provider”. The U.S. Embassy has been increasingly denying orphan petitions and U.S. visa applications because of irregularities in adoption cases brought to it. The statement did not say what any of these irregularities were. The wording “an adoption service provider” leads me to believe that the Embassy refers to adoptions arranged through attorneys or adoption facilitators rather than through social welfare agencies. I would always be more skeptical about this kind of adoption, although in … Continue reading →

Another Hero in Adoption

My last blogs have written of some heroes of U.S. and international adoption. Now I’m going to tell you of a hero whom I have actually met. I’ve spoken before on how awed I was by the commitment, community and faith shown by the staff and foster mothers of Eastern Child Welfare Services in Korea. Eastern’s founder, Dr. Kim Duk-Whang, is one of my heroes. Born in what is now North Korea during Japan’s 35-year occupation of Korea, he was studying in China when World War II broke out. He later escaped to North Korea, only to see that become … Continue reading →

Pioneers in International Adoption

My last blog honored a few “saints” in U.S. adoption. This blog will focus on a few heroes in international adoption. Pearl Buck, an American who lived in China with her missionary parents and then her agricultural scientist husband, is known for her book The Good Earth. She had one child, then adopted seven. She also was shocked to discover in 1949 that existing agencies considered Asian and multiracial children unadoptable. She founded Welcome House adoption agency to serve these children. The first international and interracial adoption agency, Welcome House still exists today, now working with children from several countries, … Continue reading →

October: Adoption Blog Month in Review

In the adoption blogs for October you’ll find several series: one series on research on “how adopted children turn out” and the genes-vs.-environment question, one on giving back and how adoption makes the world seem a bit smaller, and one on single parent adoption. Media reviews included a workbook helping parents imagine what an inter-country move might be like for their child and think through related decisions. I also reviewed a wonderful resource for parents who think their child may have been exposed to alcohol prenatally. Another review was of an incredible story of an Ethiopian woman who runs two … Continue reading →

A Sampling of Overseas Child Welfare Efforts by U.S. Adoption Agencies

A common phrase one hears from good adoption organizations is, “We’re not in the business of finding children for parents; we’re in the service of finding parents for children.” One measure of this “children first” philosophy can be an agency’s commitment to helping those children who will not be adopted. It is common for agencies including Holt, Children’s Home Society and Family Services, Catholic Community Services, WACAP and others to partner with organizations in sending countries to support children’s homes, orphanages, and medical facilities in sending countries. Some of these partner agencies sponsor job training and counseling for unwed mothers … Continue reading →