Why did you choose Korea

Please don't wait too long, if you hope to adopt from Korea. The number of available, healthy babies or babies with minor special needs is at an all time low. While original predictions that Korea would close its program, except possibly for special needs adoptions, in 2012 were probably too optimistic, it does seem very clear that healthy infant/toddler adoptions will close in the not-too-distant future. The reasons for the change are many, and include the increasing prosperity of the country, changing cultural values that now allow some single women to raise their babies born outside of marriage instead of making an adoption plan, a greater willingness of Koreans to adopt domestically because of changing attitudes towards raising children who are "not of their blood", and government incentives to promote domestic adoption. Always a country with strict requirements, expect Korea, Korean child welfare organizations, and American placement agencies to become even more strict, in order to limit the number of applicants and keep waiting lists short. They do not want to see five year waits from the time families apply, as is happening in China now. Korea is a wonderful program, and if you meet the requirements regarding age, marital status, length of marriage, health status, and so on, it makes sense to get paperwork to an agency as quickly as possible. Korea has been placing children with American families for about 60 years. The program is ethical and well-organized. The children are generally in foster care, rather than orphanages, and many (though not all) of the foster families do a great job. Korean orphans receive excellent medical care, and their medical records are generally accurate. Korea accredits only a small number of American agencies to place children, and has strict criteria for them; thus, expect to find some very experienced agencies, with high standards of client service, in the program. Korea is the only country in the world that requires prospective parents to use an agency that is licensed and has an office in their home state, if they are doing a healthy infant/toddler adoption; the rules are a little more liberal for families in the special needs program. The drawback here is that you will have less choice of agencies, and that a few states have no agencies accredited to place healthy infants from Korea. Each U.S. agency with a Korea program is affiliated with one or more of the four social welfare organizations in Korea. Each of the four organizations has its own rules, which may be more strict than the Korean government's. As an example, at least one of the organizations has a Body Mass Index requirement, meaning that greatly overweight people cannot adopt, using an agency affiliated with that organization. Technically, Korea does not require travel by the prospective parents. The parent can pay for an escort, usually someone affiliated with the agency or the social welfare organization, to bring the child to the parents in the U.S. HOWEVER, because it is increasingly clear that travel to a country helps families teach their children to respect and honor their birth heritage, many American agencies now require travel. The trip can be very short, however -- under a week, in most cases -- although some parents prefer to do some touring, and stay longer. Korea does not finalize the adoptions; children travel home on a decree of guardianship, for adoption here. This means that, even after going through the Korean adoption process and the American immigration process, families still must go through a finalization in their home states, just as if the children were being adopted domestically. All of these things may deter some families. Some families are also deterred by the fact that more referrals, nowadays, show that the birthmothers admitted to drinking alcohol and/or smoking during pregnancy. Some cases of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders have been diagnosed in Korean children. Prenatal exposure to alcohol can cause symptoms ranging from very mild to quite serious, and may not be able to be diagnosed definitively until the child reaches school age. In the past, Korean children were often referred a few days after birth, and came home when they were six months old or younger. Because of the new emphasis on domestic adoption, children are being referred later, and only after no Korean resident expresses an interest. Many children will be at least a year old when they arrive home, now. I hope this helps. Sharon