Single Man Adoption Questions

Hi Todd, I have these infos where[FONT=Arial] single men can adopt[/FONT]:[FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]India (boys)[/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial]Vietnam[/FONT][FONT=Arial]Cambodia[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial][/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial]probably Philippines[/FONT][FONT=Arial]probably Nepal[/FONT][FONT=Arial]and [FONT=Arial]China (boys)[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial]Guatemala[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial]Russia[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial]Kazakhstan[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial]Belarus[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial]Bulgaria (if childless)[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial]Poland[/FONT][FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]and a few more (but with restrictions).[/FONT][FONT=Arial]And yes, I heard of success stories of singlemen in the last years (Russia, Guatemala, Vietnam, India). This is a site about two men (adopted from Guatemala):

[/FONT][FONT=Arial][/FONT][FONT=Arial][FONT='Times New Roman'][url=http://www.johnandbill.com/welcometojohnandbillshomepage/id4.html]Our Home[/url][/FONT]

[/FONT][FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]sonola[/FONT]

Currently no US citizens (or pretty much anyone else, either!) can adopt from Cambodia.

Thanks, you are right ! Cambodia is already closed (since 2001 !!) for USA. (But Canadian or French people could adopt from Cambodia.) It depends realy where you are come from. (I'm Swiss and I coudn't adopt from Cambodia too, but also not from Bulgaria, Guatemala, Ecuador, Madagaskar (and Rumania))

I have not heard of a single man adopting from Poland, however there are some single women, but the wait is much longer for them than for married people, I imagine if accepted it would be even longer for a man. Also some agencies will not work with single men. I would choose an agency and a country before beginning the homestudy just because some countries have slightly diferent requirements, and different things need to be highlighted for different countries. For example being Catholic and very religous would be a plus and something to be highlighted for a polish adoption, but religion is unimportant for a Chinese adoption and it might even be best not to make a big point about it. Right now some agencies are not taking new applications for Guatamala, and some countries are changing rules this year. I know China just got harder for singles this past year and Vietnam is picky about you living in the same state as your agency. So find an agency and country first. Some agencies if they are near you will not allow you to have someone else do your homestudy, they want it done by thier people so you would end up paying twice. I do know of single men adopting from the US foster care system. There are I think three who post regularly on the special needs boards, one has adopted ten sons. (not all at once, LOL) Good luck.

Thanks everyone for the information. It is a bit discouraging to see how many countries that won't accept single men to adopt...and therefore, how many adoption agencies that won't either. Does anyone have a recommendation on accredited agencies that I could contact for a Poland adoption? Thanks so much again!

Why is that it is Difficult for Single's to adopt from Poland or any other Country?, There are many single Dads Raising children on thier own,,and some that raise them single handily even while having another spouse in the household. When I first met my children back in 2006,,My oldest daughter was living in a very nice House with 2 Parents,,whereas my youngest 2 were living in a very small 3 story apartment building with thier Single Foster Mother,,there also was another child she was fostering that was 10 months old..I would think that Poland would hesitate ,even in thier own home country, to even consider a single person to foster children. I just think that it is unfair what Single's have to go through to adopt a child,,They would have to go through all the rigorous backround checks,fingerprints,,Homestudies etc,,the same as 2 Parents would. I am a Stay at Home Parent,,I am home from the time the children wake up til the time they go to bed,before my husband comes home from work,,Dont misunderstand,,my Husband is a fantastic Father,,and will sneak out of work early when possible,,but I feel Monday thru Friday I am a single Parent..I just wish Countries that have available children that need good homes,would be more leniant on Single Parents..

Yusen - I agree with you that single parents, male or female, should be able to adopt children just as "easily" as traditional couples. Not everyone takes this position. As for single males having the most difficultly getting approved for adoption, it seems that many people have stereotyped them into sexual predators, and/or automatically assume they are gay and are against gays/lesbians adopting children. [I'm not trying to start a pro/anti gay/lesbian/single parent discussion here.] I have a single male friend (also my daughter's kindergarten teacher) who is interested in adoption. He talked to me about this even before I was matched with children, and I talked to him again a few days ago after reading this thread. He would still like to adopt, but knows and dreads the hurdles he faces.

I know many single parents, however, if they are honest they all say it's much harder than it would be if they had a partner. Most of the ones I know still have to find some help, some can afford a good nanny, others have family or close friends nearby to help. My sister is living with me right now. She is raising two children on her own and the financial aspect is daunting for her. There are also issues about child care, it can be very expensive, and if your child is sick you have to take the day off if you have no one to care for them. She can't use her vacation time for a vacation, because she has to use it for taking the kids to the doctor or dentist, or for when they are sick. If the school closes early for weather or something, the day care may not go and get the kids so parents have to leave work. If you have two parents you have the option of one staying home or at least taking turns who will miss work. Now, most single parents I know are doing a great job, however I have known two who wanted to adopt but in reality had no concept of what it would be like. They had not counted the cost of child care, and such. However, this is what the homestudy should be for. That is where the questions should be asked, and that is the time for the prospective parents to come up with a plan to care for thier children, research daycare prices and availability and such. I think once those criteria have been met then the singles should adopt. However in Poland they are looking for the best match for each child, not looking for children for parents. It seems a small difference but it's not. If they have two files in front of them for people interested in a child like the one they are trying to place, they will not go by who had thier application in first, but rather by who would be the best parent for the child whos file is in thier hand. If one is a single parent and the other is a couple, they may decide the couple is better since there are two of them. Just like if one couple spoke Polish they would probaby choose them over a couple that did not. Also remember that the people making these decisions are human, other countries do not have the same norms as we do and every individual person has his or her own likes and dislakes based on their culture and thier own history. Whether it's right or wrong we don't get to make the rules in other countries. One thing that would help is making sure your own requrements are as broad as you think you can handle as far as age, gender, siblings and special needs. Good luck in your journey, I am sorry it will be hard.

Yes, I agree with you all that I will have to face more hurdles than couples will and that the entire journey will probably be difficult and long...but I'm patient and determined and God willing, it will happen eventually, whether in Poland, another country or domestically. My heart is in the right place and when you follow your heart, it usually leads you to your goal. I agree as well that raising a child as a single parent would have to be more difficult than couples but I believe that's where preparation ahead of time matters so much. I have a good network of friends and family that will give their support, my church is my extended family...and I work from home which allows me the flexibility to help raise the child. I also completely understand why it would be longer for singles to adopt as the natural inclination of international social workers would be to choose a couple over a single parent...but there is such a need for permanent homes for these kids that they should be able to place as many kids as they can with these loving homes ready for them. Gosh, there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of orphans in Eastern European countries. That's what is so troubling when a country like Ukraine closes their doors to all singles as they apparently did this week. At any rate, I'm ready for any hurdles that come up. Even if I jump over them or stumble through them, every step is one step closer to the finish line and a waiting child in need. It's all well worth whatever hardship I'll go through...whatever stereotype or scorn I'll face...however long I'll have to wait. The gift of a new life and family for a child is all that matters in the end.

We need more people willing to adopt, so I will be praying for you. I invite you to come visit the special needs adoption board, there are a couple of great single dads that post there, and they might have some great advice for you if you PM them, tell them I sent you. One is Indy and one is Mike, they would be great sources for you even if you adopt foreign. I am sure there are more, but those are two I know.

We need more people willing to adopt, so I will be praying for you. I invite you to come visit the special needs adoption board, there are a couple of great single dads that post there, and they might have some great advice for you if you PM them, tell them I sent you. One is Indy and one is Mike, they would be great sources for you even if you adopt foreign. I am sure there are more, but those are two I know.