Madonna’s Adoption in Malawi May Lead Others To Africa
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With Madonna taking to the airwaves to defend her decision to adopt an infant from a Malawi orphanage, more Americans could be inspired to consider African adoption.
Last year, nearly 23,000 children born abroad were adopted into American families — more than three times the number of international adoptions in 1990. China is currently by far the most common go-to country for adoptive parents, with nearly 8,000 orphan visas granted from that country last year. Russia comes in a distant second, followed by Guatemala, South Korea, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.
But adoption counselors say would-be parents are increasingly turning an eye to African countries.
The number of Ethiopian and Liberian children adopted by American parents rose 66% and 94%, respectively, between fiscal years 2005 and 2006. During the 12-month period that ended in September, 731 children from Ethiopia and 353 children from Liberia were granted orphan visas, up from 440 and 182 the previous year, U.S. State Department figures show.
While the federal Office of Immigration Statistics does not provide a state-specific breakdown of adoptions by country, data show that New Yorkers go abroad to adopt in larger numbers than residents of any other state.
The president of the New York City chapter of the Adoptive Parents Committee, Samuel Pitkowsky, said adoptive parents who live in New York tend to be slightly older than their counterparts in other parts of the country. They are also more likely to be single, gay, and open to the idea of a multiethnic family, he said.
Stars such as Angelina Jolie, who took home an Ethiopian daughter last year, are spurring the rise in African adoption, according to the director of Americans for African Adoption, Cheryl Carter-Shotts. She said news of Madonna’s adoption of a 13-month-old could have a similar impact on wouldbe adoptive parents stateside. “The controversy wasn’t good, but certainly it brought forward the need,” Ms. Carter-Shotts said.
While adopting a child from China, Eastern Europe, or Latin America can cost $20,000 to $30,000 — including agency, lawyer, and country-specific processing fees, in addition to paying for travel — adopting from Africa can be significantly cheaper.
Americans for African Adoption charges adoption fees of $4,500 for children from Liberia and $7,500 from Ethiopia, not including travel. Ms. Carter-Shotts founded the agency shortly after adopting a teenage boy from Mali 21 years ago. She also has a grown daughter, whom she adopted from Ethiopia. In the past two decades, she has helped other Americans adopt some 600 African children. Most of these children were born in Ethiopia and Liberia, though the agency has placed youngsters from Mali, Sierra Leone, and Somalia in years past.
Critics have accused Madonna of bypassing Malawi’s adoption laws, and even of kidnapping — claims that the singer denied in an interview that aired yesterday on NBC. “I followed every rule, every law, and every regulation,” she said. “All the criticism is ultimately a blessing in disguise, because now people know about Malawi, and about the orphans there.”
Each year, Americans adopt about 130,000 children. That number comprises the international adoptions, some 15,000 domestic infant adoptions, and the tens of thousands of children who are adopted out of foster care or by a relative, according to the executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. Adam Pertman. The Boston-based Adoption Institute commissions research projects on adoption, and advocates on behalf of adoptive parents and their children.
Mr. Pertman, the author of “Adoption Nation: How Adoption is Transforming America” (Diane, 2000), said African adoption is becoming increasingly common, amid the AIDS crisis there. “People see needy children, and they want to do something,” he said. “The same thing happened in Romania after the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Each country determines its processing fees and restrictions regarding the age and marital status of would-be adoptive parents. The amount of required paperwork, and the average wait time also affect a country’s popularity with those looking to adopt.
Sure, celebrity adoptions have brought attention to Africa, but they could also lead to dangerous bending of rules, one adoptive mother said. “What’s to stop people with a lot of money for approaching the government to circumvent the rules and regulations in place to safeguard children?” Elise Stone, a Greenwich Village resident who with her husband, Craig Smith, adopted three children from Ethiopia, said.
The younger two children, Tesfahun, 9, and Hakima, 7, arrived five years ago, and Kerem, 11, joined the family last year. “People say, ‘They’re very American,'” Ms. Stone said. “I say, ‘No, they’re New Yorkers.’ They stick out their hand to hail a cab, when they’re tired of walking. They want to go out for Chinese food.”
Ms. Stone, an actress, said that while many people prefer to adopt infants, taking in older children has its own rewards. “What we’ve enjoyed is watching the ‘wow’ factor as they’ve gone from living in a Third World country to living in New York City,” she said. “Never having seen a vacuum cleaner or Times Square — everything is a new and exciting experience.”