If a couple decides to adopt a child, what information on the child´s background?

KrIs

as far as requesting an orphan I am not sure.....baby's background information they will typicallly give you as much information as they have for the baby....we are currently fosterinf an infant and we know VERY little bit about her.....it is different case to case, just depends how much info the birth parents gave the agency

eve

It all really does very much depend on where the baby is from. That is one of the reasons why I adopted within the US because we have access to lots of info like birth records and medical history and genetic background. If you adopt a child from China, often the agency knows absolutely nothing at all about the baby. Sometimes the babies are left on the side of the road. In the case of an abandoned child, any info that you are given would be virtually impossible to verify and hard to believe is accurate. Many children don't even know how old they really are. I also have a daughter adopted from Russia and we have some minimal info about her -- birth date, birth mother's name and city where the child was born. We have some other info that was just conveyed to us verbally so we have no way to know if it's true or not. Medicial records from Russia are notoriously unreliable because in many cases they do not allow birthmothers to give up healthy children. The orphanages make up illnesses and syndromes (usually minor ones with symptoms that are not verifiable) and say the babies have them. There are some common ones that are often used but, I don't remember names.
It is possible to ask for just about anything when you adopt. However, the more specific requirements you place on the child you would be willing to adopt, the longer and more difficult it will be for you to get a baby,

Developing Minds

Often the children are abandoned, so there is no history on them. But, you should be able to at least check whether there is *any* information available. You have the right to know what they know and likely they will tell you, especially the medical hisotry. But be prepared for behavior changes - new environment combined with the normal behavior changes of a child make anything other than physical health impossible to predict/determine.

kellistines

I am sure this depends what information they have. My daughter was born in Korea. Her mother gave her up at the hosptial and they had some info on her; very little and had to translate. We were lucky. Many babies were found on the streets, left at police stations, etc. They know nothing about them. If you are considering adoption, I would research agencies. We went thru Holt International. They are a very reputatble agency that has been around since the early 1950's. They started after the Korean War by Harry and Bertha Holt. Check out their site. www.holtintl.org
Good Luck; it is a wonder process, the best thing we EVER DID!!!!!!!

StacieG

In general adoption agencies will give ALL the information they have on a child. Now sometimes the child's birth country won't divulge everything...or things will be worded euphamistically, but I think that's pretty rare. Agencies, though, especially want to make sure that the placement is successful & the chances of a disruption increase when the adoptive parents are given all the info so they can make an informed decision & prepare to parent the child.

We adopted two school age children internationally. We were given a lot of info on them (social/family/medical background as well as what had happened since they had come into the govt's care). We still found out things about them that the government didn't know but they had rattling around in their memories. Flexibility is key to success in an adoption.

i suppose it would be possible but why? With the ratification of the Hague Convention, it's becoming nearly impossible for a foreign government or anyone in an international adoption to be involved in shady or questionable adoption practices. The kids who are waiting for families are in care because their orphaned or because the parental rights were terminated (either voluntarily & with a waiting period or by the government for cause). Don't worry about adopting a kidnapped child, it would be extremely unlikely.

RavenScout

In the US it really depends. As for asking for an orphan, it's basically impossible. If you are adopting from a private agency then the birth mother is making a decision and is more likely to give information about herself and family medical history.

In the foster care system, you won't get any of this most of the time. They can give you what they want. As little or as much.

In other countries, if the child has been abandoned, then they won't have any information about the bio parents. If it's through an agency, and the mother decided not to parent, then you may get the information.

As for orphans, I'm guessing you are questioning this because of the fear of losing your adopted child to a parent that comes back. Please know that if you deal with a good agency that does their job, this doesn't happen. As the birth parents only have a certain amount of time to appeal the adoption. In other Countries, the adoption is finalized, and there is no chance of a birth parent ever coming back. That is one of the reasons so many people go International is because of that fear. Which is completely understandable.

At the same time, the number of domestic adoptions that go wrong is incredibly small. That is why when they do, they make national news.

You must do what your heart tells you to do. If that's your biggest fear, then International is probably the best option for you and your family.

Good Luck!!

marcyp06

It all depends on where you adopt from. Each country has its own rules as far as how much information is realeased. In the US, it is on a case-by-case basis. Some childrens information is not released for their own safety.
As a general rule when you adopt you will be knoweledgeable about any serious family medical history, anything that could cause problems later in your childs life. That is, of course, if the adoption agency HAS that information. Some countries/agencies will give you pages and pages of family history, it all just depends.

As for "requesting an orphan" im not sure. Honestly if you can have medical information on your child, you should. It will help in the future. In areas in the Asia's, you can specify the childs background info, so that might open a pathway for the orphan thing, im not sure.

macky. :)

you have to adopt an asian child. specifically Filipino. :D

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