International Adoption Popularized After Haitian Earthquake

Adoption typically is a complicated process mired in paperwork with long lead times. But international adoption only magnifies these complexities, particularly when one considers the unique laws and processes associated with each individual country of origin. Chicago family law attorneys may not know about each country's laws but certainly could assist in the process.

FindLaw strongly recommends that prospective adoptive parents do as much research as possible before flying to a chosen country. Just to give an example, many nations' laws require the adoptive parents to stay in that country for several weeks or even months before bringing a child home with them.

Haiti's deadly earthquake left thousands of orphaned children in its wake and brought the issue of international adoption to the forefront, as explained in a Chicago Tribune article.

One family profiled in the article that already had decided on international adoption, Chris and Necole Marlow, wanted to adopt children from Haiti but soon discovered the difficulties of dealing with a foreign bureaucracy. Chris Marlow said the temporary moratorium on new adoptions of Haitian children has been frustrating:

"We're kind of waiting for the Haitian laws to clarify what's going on.
When summer is over, we'll see if we can locate a kid (or kids) whose parents have died or whatever, and adopt one or two of them."

Bonnie Delongchamp, spokeswoman for the Alliance for Children, noticed a significant uptick in international adoption inquiries for orphans from the entire world following the disaster:

"The earthquake in Haiti really has brought international adoption into the forefront of people's minds."

She also recommends extensive research for families considering international adoption, particularly since all countries and vastly different and the US government typically stays out of the process (except to provide information).

Consulting with an Illinois family law attorney experienced in US adoptions from other countries also is advised.

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