CT - International adoptions grow more difficult. Higher standards and costs play a role.

From my archive of press clippings:

Chicago Tribune

International adoptions grow more difficult

Higher standards and costs play a role


By Bonnie Miller Rubin, Tribune reporter


February 15, 2010


For years, Americans hoping to build families through adoption looked overseas because the path was more predictable and less complicated than domestic adoption.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Three of the most popular countries — China, Guatemala and Russia — have scaled back, tightened rules or temporarily halted adoptions as they struggle to establish more transparency and accountability.

Countries also have raised the eligibility bar, excluding more prospective parents based on income, marital status and even — in the case of China — body mass index.

Finally, even if a couple manage to slice through all the bureaucracy, there's the price — which can hit $40,000 in some countries, double what it was 10 years ago and a deal breaker for many families."

&

"A major shift came in 2008 with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.

The treaty — signed by 70 countries, including the United States — has been widely supported by accredited agencies as an important step in eliminating concerns of baby-selling and coercion. Such allegations were common in Guatemala and Vietnam."

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brubin@tribune.com