Many international people who have sought adoption have faced innumerable problems. With the countless hours of paperwork and absurd government regulations it can take years to adopt a child from Romania. According to the NY Times, “Last year 269 Romanian children were adopted by American families, 20 more than in 1994, the United States consul here says,” (Perlez) blaming the low numbers on paperwork and governmental issues.
The graphs above are from an adoption website explaining the risks of international adoption. Dr. Dana Johnson is currently doing the largest longitudinal study of post-institutional children in the US and she has found that most adopted children should be considered “special needs” because of their developmental delays. Dr. Johnson also reports, "adopting parents should expect developmental delays." Tragically, there is an almost universal lack of understanding among adopting parents about what developmental delays really are, how profound they can be for the entire family, and how often they occur with other neurological impairments (Post Adoption).
Though there are many struggles, adoption or foster care is the best option for the currently institutionalized children. But, as the NY Times says, it is certainly not an answer for the continued high number of children in institutions.
