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Livewi Internet Transforms Adoption Process
Livewi Internet Transforms Adoption Process
Sat May 22,10:25 AM ET By Sue Zeidler LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Web has made it much easier for people to adopt children -- and for scam artists to prey on hopeful parents. While adoption alters and hopefully enhances the lives of children and families, it is also a nearly $2 billion-a-year business that is growing fast. Surprisingly loosely regulated, this business can lead to eager customers -- prospective parents, in this case -- falling prey to not-so-honest practitioners. "The Internet has changed adoption to its core by speeding up the process and also providing wonderful educational tools and support resources," said Adam Pertman, author of "Adoption Nation" and executive director of Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute (http://www.adoptioninstitute.org). The vast majority of the 130,000 adoptions a year in the United States are done ethically and well, he said, but the horror stories make the news. For instance, New Jersey authorities reportedly launched an investigation a few years ago following several complaints about an adoption agency that turned out to be started by a man who previously designed and hosted hard-core pornography sites. "Anyone can hang a shingle by buying a Web site, and I tell people to carefully check references," Pertman said. "There are ways to make money off of illicit adoption." Statutes regulating adoption vary from state to state and country to country, with few states having the resources to monitor and enforce standards to prevent adoption agencies from misleading adoptive parents or even pressuring pregnant women. Agencies charge anywhere from $15,000 and $50,000 to facilitate an adoption, either domestically or overseas. Adoptions overseas by Americans have roughly tripled over the last dozen years to about 21,000 in 2003, according to State Department data. Before selecting an agency, prospective parents should search the National Adoption Directory at (http://www.naic.acf.hhs.gov/database...naddsearch.cfm), experts say. This database, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (news - web sites), lists licensed agencies by state. Some states require certain procedures, such as screening prospective parents through a home study by a social worker, which involves interviewing prospective parents, home visits and FBI (news - web sites) clearance. If approved, the prospective parents then wait for a child or birth mother to be identified, and then go through the legal process to finalize the adoption. Political pressures or red tape can often delay international adoptions. In domestic infant adoptions, the agency compiles a profile describing each family it can provide, and the birth mother picks the adoptive parents based on these profiles. Unethical agencies, many of which advertise on the Internet, may not fairly warn prospective parents of potential hiccups like the high rate in which birth mothers or relatives change their minds after the child is born. Others can mislead people seeking a foreign adoption by lying to them about the child's age or medical condition, which only becomes apparent after the prospective parents have already traveled overseas. Some agencies also pressure families by telling them they have only 48 hours to decide on an international adoption. Parents should also check their agency's international liaisons to confirm they are legitimate, experts say. Despite the pitfalls, adoption advocates say the Internet has enabled thousands of families to adopt infants and find foster kids faster than would have been possible years ago. "The Web is pressuring the public system to work better and gives more control to adopting families," said Barbara Holtan, executive director of the Adoption Exchange Association, which in October 2002 launched the first federally funded national adoption photo exchange at (http://adoptuskids.org) with the Department of Health and Human Services. Holtan said the site has enabled prospective parents to find older adoptive children across state lines, which was a rarity a few years ago. "About 20 years ago, you'd have to wait for social workers to bring you an 8-year-old," she said, "but now you can look on the Internet." Since 2002, the site has helped place about 2,850 children for adoption, Holtan said. But the practice is controversial, and some consider it an invasion of the children's privacy. For instance, AdoptUSKids features photos with descriptions that include personal details like learning disabilities and behavioral problems. "The critics say it is like marketing children," said Pertman. "If we could get more resources and better facilities, we wouldn't have to seek these imperfect solutions, but right now, it's working for many children." Holtan admitted that caseworkers sometimes put too many details about children on the Web site, but said her organization was working to fix the problem. "Adoption photo listings have evolved over time," she said, "and we have a book in process right now on how to best put in listings." http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._livewire_dc_1 Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action. |
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