National Adoption Day
National Adoption Day is meant to celebrate and raise awareness for families who are involved in the adoption process. Rachel Fatula, freshman, said, “I think people that were adopted should know that it is nothing you should be embarrassed or ashamed about. What people should know about adoption is that it is not fair to make comments about being a “mistake” or so on and so forth. You should celebrate and educate yourself about it.”
December 14, 2018
National Adoption Day occurs annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. This holiday is meant to raise awareness for children in foster care waiting to be adopted and to show support towards families who have been brought together through adoption. Adoption is a long and tedious process, but is also very important when it comes to society.
Roughly 135,000 children are adopted in the United States every year. About 60% of adoptions are through the foster system, 25% are from other countries, and 15% American babies who were given up by their biological parent(s). 2% of children in the U.S. are adopted. Although it may seem like a small percentage, it comes to 1.8 million children.
The adoption process can be very different for each family depending on the circumstances and also the child. For example, the amount of time that it takes to finalize the adoption depends on the child. A healthy infant could take anywhere from 2-7 years. Cost is also a major factor that is dependent on the child being adopted. On average, adopting a child is about $10,000 to $15,000. Once an adoption is finalized, the biological parents have no legal relationship with the child.
One concern for most people about the adoption process is the involvement with the biological family. Clarre Porter, sophomore, lives in a family of fourteen children, five of which are adopted. She said, “My experience with adoption has never been to the point of an identity crisis, always wondering who my parents are, or wanting to go back ‘home.’ I have never felt alone or different in the family because I was adopted, partly because my parents had already adopted kids before me and the dynamic of my family is already so weird, so this adoption thing never crossed my mind as anything other than a word. Therefore, I am very grateful for having an amazing experience with adoption.”
Rachel Fatula, freshman, was adopted as a baby and had a very positive experience. ”My personal experience with adoption was as positive as it could be. My parents raised me being very aware of my situation and helping me understand every part without trying to hide anything.” This shows that while the adoption process can be long and painstaking, it helps to bring families together, and can provide caring homes for children and teens all over the U.S.
Diane Elliott • Dec 19, 2018 at 8:55 AM
Clarre and Rachel, Thanks for sharing! As a happy, grateful mom of 9 adopted children, I’ll just add that while adoption can be expensive, there’s always a way to make it happen. And I can’t imagine a better investment!