The State Of International Child Adoption Amidst The Global Pandemic

By Author: Children's House International
Total Articles: 8
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The global pandemic has forced into upheaval everything from childcare to work to their kids' education. The pandemic has changed nearly as much for soon-to-be parents.

According to the survey conducted by the Fortune-Civis Analytics, the coronavirus crisis has led 34% of people to plan to have children sooner than they would have otherwise. There are 7,000 U.S. adults, including 1,700 who identified as "would-be parents," between mid-July and mid-August participated in the poll survey.

The Brookings Institute predicted that births will decline by 300,000 to 500,000 in 2021.
This is based on a fertility behavior model during both the 1918 Spanish Flu and the recent Great Recession. But there is an indication that the COVID-19 crisis is unique from past challenges according to Fortune's survey results.

The survey did not state why people are moving up their family-planning timelines but there are couples mentioned that spending more time at home led them to appreciate the kind of lifestyle that would entail in raising young kids. Others who are struggling with fertility said they didn't want to risk losing out on time they need to get pregnant.

The pandemic has affected all kinds of adoptions, including out of country adoption. There are some excited would-be parents with pregnant surrogates who made plans to be around the birth of their child. Some got lucky to opt for adoption services within Washington State which makes it easier for parents who have opted for this route to travel long distances between states. They even rented nearby accommodations during the early day of the COVID-19 outbreak in anticipation they would be nearby for the delivery. Many hospitals have strict rules and only allow one person to be present at birth which makes it a difficult decision to make between the surrogate partner or the adoptive parents.
International child adoption, however, is a different story. The Children’s House International is working hand-in-hand with their 11 program countries that have different policies concerning COVID-19.
Currently, US citizens are not allowed to travel to their program countries to finalize international children’s adoption. Many families will have to wait until the community quarantine and restrictions are lifted. Children’s House International keeps open communication with their program countries and the concerned families.

Each state has different requirements and each program country also has different in-home requirements. Children’s House International familiarize themselves with the various policies. Many families are still interested in international child adoption and the organization is mindful of all of the policies that entail.

The children in the program countries will have to wait longer than usual for their families to come and get them. Registration for international adoption or referred-to families who are on extended wait time due to restrictions on physical contact. The program countries are making sure that the global pandemic and the entire process will not have too much negative impact on the children.

Going for international child adoption like adopting a child in Ukraine proves to be challenging in the middle of a global pandemic. Get in touch with Children’s House International at (360) 383-0623 or email them at inquiry@chiadopt.org to find out all you need to know on child adoption.

We are an International adoption agency, finding loving homes for orphaned and needy children worldwide. We provide home study and post adoption services for both international and domestic adoptions. Licensed since 1975.