A growing number of parents are creating their families by overseas jet rather than in the birthing room. And Du Page County is home to many of the new bicultural families through adoption.
”When we first moved to Naperville, 10 years ago, there were three families with Korean kids. Now there are 25 to 30 families,” said Russetta Rauch, who with her husband, Bill, has adopted a boy and girl from South Korea and a boy from the United States. ”It`s a growing phenomenon.”
Muriel Shennan, coordinator of intercountry adoptions for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, said that the number of applications statewide for placement of a foreign-born child has increased about nine-fold since 1980, the first year for which statistics are available. There were 51 applications that year, Shennan said, and requests constantly have been on the rise. In 1987, there were 456 applications.
Four of the adoption agencies placing children from other countries with families in Du Page County note similarly dramatic increases:
Travelers & Immigrants Aid of Chicago began its international program in 1974 with a part-time social worker serving eight families. From July 1, 1987, to June 30, 1988, 129 children were placed by a staff of two full-time and three part-time workers. Since July, 1982, when formal record-keeping began, the agency has placed 583 children, mostly Korean infants. Children from India, the Philippines, Poland and Colombia also are placed.
Sunny Ridge Family Center in Wheaton has served as a liaison for families adopting 200 children from 18 countries since 1981, with the majority placed since 1985. Of the 250 families who have adopted or are awaiting a child served since the agency formally began its international program in 1983, 40 are from Du Page County.
Bethany Christian Services in Evergreen Park has placed more than 320 children, or about 80 each year, since its international program opened in Illinois in spring, 1984. About 85 percent of the children are Korean infants, and a few children are from Colombia and India.
Bensenville Home Society in Bensenville has placed 340 children since October, 1984. Forty children were placed the first year, mostly from Korea. Since then, children also have been placed from Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, India and 11 Latin American countries.
Although statistics aren`t available specifically about Du Page County from agency and state officials, international adoption is increasingly popular among couples here, said Rauch, who also is co-president of Chicago Area Families for Adoption, one of the largest adoptive parent support groups in the Chicago area. A group of west suburban parents who adopted Korean children founded the organization in 1973, and membership now is open to families involved in all types of domestic and international adoptions.
”I would say the bulk of our 165 member families lives in Du Page,”
Rauch said.
Agency and foreign government fees vary, but generally it costs $5,000 to $6,000 to adopt a Korean child escorted to the United States, and $10,000 to $14,000 to adopt a South American child, depending on travel expenses. Unlike South Korea, South American countries require one or both parents to finalize the adoption in person and to pick up the child.
International adoption is on the rise in Illinois, as well as the rest of the U.S. and Western Europe, primarily because there aren`t enough healthy infants available, Shennan said.
”Not only abortion, but the whole idea of an unmarried mother raising a child is more acceptable today; so there are far fewer infants available domestically for adoption now than 15 years ago,” said Marge Topps, director of international adoptions at Bethany.
”With some (domestic) agencies, the wait is five or six (or more) years for a healthy, white infant,” Topps said. ”Obviously, international adoption is a much more attractive option when the wait is one year or less.
”Perhaps we (Americans) are more internationally oriented today. Foreign adoption is easier now than before. With our program in Korea, people know there is a good supply of children and that the procedure is well set up.”
Robert McNeill, director of intercountry adoptions for Sunny Ridge, said that certain factors make couples ineligible to adopt children domestically, such as the applicant`s age, length of marriage, a previous marriage, religious affiliation, or that they have other children.
”A lot of people feel shut out by the domestic process,” McNeill said.
”There are more sources and opportunities available through international programs, and most don`t place those stipulations on applicants.”
About 50 to 60 percent of Bethany`s applicants are childless couples and 40 to 50 percent are couples with one to three children who are adding to their family, Topps said.
”More and more people are postponing marriage and childrearing. There is some speculation about the infertility rates rising,” Topps said. ”Most of our applicants are older than 35 years.”
Requirements for prospective parents vary by country and according to the age and health of the child sought. Generally only married couples age 40 or younger are eligible to receive an infant, particularly in Korea. Single parents and older couples may apply for infants in India and some South American countries, and the wait is usually shorter for older or special needs children.
International adoption is not suitable for everyone, agency officials cautioned.
”As I look at a family, I look for their willingness to be flexible through the application and waiting process, the length of time they`re willing to wait and the type of child they want,” said McNeill of Sunny Ridge. ”Very often, there is little background information available on which to decide, just a photo and a little history. For a lot of people that`s quite a step of faith.
”The family also must have an appreciation of and a willingness to accept a child from a different racial background. They will become a biracial family,” McNeill said. ”The parents must be sensitive to issues of racial identity, cultural background and appreciation of heritage-not that they`re going to raise the child as a Guatemalan or Korean but that they`ll help him maintain his own identity without jeopordizing the family relationship.”
In addition, the legal requirements of a foreign country can change without notice and ”sources can dry up at any time,” Shennan said. ”Foreign adoption is not a right; it`s a privilege and can be done only when a country is willing to give up a citizen.”
To help prospective parents sort through the before and after concerns of the intercountry adoption process, a variety of support groups have sprung up. They provide newsletters, educational workshops, social and cultural activities and service projects to raise funds and donate items for orphans and child welfare agencies.
Agency officials agree that the future of international programs is bright.
”It`s very cyclical. There may be a short waiting list for one program. Then it becomes filled and other agencies open that can offer shorter waits,” Topps said. ” There are a lot of ups and downs in the process, and it`s a matter of hanging in there. But there are always going to be programs available to families that can be flexible.”
