Adoption can be confusing. With so much information available from so many different sources, it’s hard to know what’s what. We’re here to help! We’ve addressed the seven most common myths about adoption below.
1. I can’t afford to adopt.
Adoption costs can feel really overwhelming. The good news is that there are so many adoption grants and financing options that can help make adoption possible for your family. In the last two years alone, AGCI families have received over 1 million in adoption grants! The Brittany’s Hope Grant and the AGCI Adoption Grant Fund are adoption grants available through AGCI to help families with adoption costs. There are also dozens of other organizations that provide adoption grants and aid to adopting families, as well as tax credits and military subsidies. To learn more about available adoption assistance, please begin your journey with us by completing a pre-app.
2. International adoption isn’t ethical.
Sadly, not all agencies provide ethical adoptions. However, adoption through All God’s Children is always ethical. We are a Hague accredited agency and are dedicated to ensuring that all of our adoption programs are completely ethical and held to the highest standards. As an orphan care ministry, we are passionate about finding families for children, not children for families. The wellbeing of the child is always our first priority and we always seek to reunite or preserve families whenever possible before we consider adoption for a child.
3. Adoption takes too long.
Adoption—like most things—does not happen overnight! However, there are some ways for the process to go a little faster. Wait time significantly decreases based on a family’s openness to special needs, older children, and sibling groups. AGCI will also provide paperwork calls to help families reach their goals and finish the paperwork process as quickly as possible! For more information on the country programs that currently have the shortest wait times, please reach out to us at inquiry@allgodschildren.org for more information.
4. Relatives may find my child and take them back.
Legally, this isn’t possible. Once final, adoption is permanent and irrevocable. Before a child can be placed with a family, they must first be legally relinquished by their birth parents or go through the abandonment process. To go through the abandonment process, the central authority needs to show that they have tried to contact all biological family members before the child can be placed for domestic or international adoption. If the family is responsive to contact, they must then decide that they are unable to care for the child or the government may reach this conclusion as well.
5. The only children eligible for adoption have very severe special needs or are older.
The term “special needs” can seem scary or overwhelming at first. It’s important to keep in mind that certain special needs labels can look very different for every child. For example, cerebral palsy does not progress with age and there is a very wide range of what this can look like; many children are still able to walk, etc. It’s also important to remember that all of the children eligible for adoption have experienced trauma by the sheer fact that they are not being raised in their biological family. AGCI’s adoption training platform, Families Are Forever, takes all of these factors into account and prepares families to parent children from all backgrounds.
6. Single parents can’t adopt.
There are so many adoption opportunities for single women! We have adoption programs for single women in Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, South Africa and the Philippines! For more information on program eligibility, please fill out a free pre-app!
7. My health disqualifies me from adopting.
Health conditions are considered on a case-by-case basis and many countries have different rules regarding physical and mental health conditions. Many countries are moving toward accepting these diagnoses if the condition is “mild” or well controlled. In most cases, if a doctor endorses the adoptive parent as being stable and able to adopt, there are not any issues.
Do you have more questions about adoption? Please reach out to us at inquiry@allgodschildren.org, or fill out a pre-app now to begin your journey!
