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05-08-2004, 07:20 AM
http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/058202004_new01adoptionn.asp
Families who adopt look out of U.S.
By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com
There's a child in Guatemala who hasn't yet been born, but she already has a
name, parents, a sister and a home waiting for her in America.
And she's just one of more than 21,000 international adoptions that will take
place in the United States this year, nearly triple the number from 10 years
ago.
"My husband and I just really feel like this is the right thing to do," said
Stacy Bracher, 22, of 305 Montgomery St. "We want a girl and we plan to call
her Sophie Nicole."
Bracher, a substitute teacher for Marietta City Schools and a stay-at-mom to
daughter Aly-Jo, 1, and her husband Michael, 24, employed by Citi Financial,
just completed their adoption home study and hope that by Mother's Day next
year, they will have a new baby from Guatemala in their home.
"I always thought that I would just have my own kids," said Bracher. "But once
I started thinking about this, it felt really right."
About 21,616 children were adopted internationally by parents in the U.S. in
2003, with most of those children coming from China, followed by Russia,
Guatemala and South Korea. In 1993, only 7,377 children were part of an
international adoption in the U.S.
One reason for the growth may be that international adoption makes it easier
for U.S. families to bring home newborns.
"Many times people wait for years in the states (for a newborn) and never get
chosen by a birth mother," said Sue Hedberg, executive director of Celebrate
Children International, a Christian adoption agency based in Oviedo, Fla. used
by the Brachers and Marietta residents Sarah and David Korodi. "In other
countries, there are readily available newborns waiting for homes rather than
having families waiting for them."
There is also less chance of a birth mother changing her mind about adoption in
many countries, where the mother must choose to relinquish her children.
"Here, many adoptive parents are scared the birth mother will come back," said
Hedberg. "I don't think there has been one case in other countries where that
has happened."
It's an experience Marietta's Tom and Joyce Danford went through several times
as they tried to adopt children.
The Danfords adopted daughter, Hillary, now 10, in a domestic adoption and then
decided to adopt more American children.
"There were a couple of times when the birth mother changed her mind," said
Joyce Danford. "We had been through that twice."
The couple turned to international adoption, bringing home from Russia son
Hunter at 8 months and daughter Kate at 9 months. The children are now 4 and 5.
"They know they were adopted and if you ask them where they're from they say
'Russia,'" said Danford. "They were smiling when they brought them to us and
they've been smiling ever since. We would do it again in a heartbeat."
Stacy and Michael Bracher are discovering that the adoption process can be long
and costly, too.
An international adoption can mean more paperwork and a considerably higher
cost than a domestic adoption, depending on the age of the child and their
country of birth.
The country's fees alone required in an international adoption range from
$12,000 to $35,000.
The country fee for Guatemala is $17,000 and the Brachers must also pay $500 in
humanitarian aid, more than $1,200 in travel costs, and $665 to the immigration
service. Their total cost for adoption will be about $25,900.
"Our lives were set up, we had bought this house, have a vehicle and our first
child," said Stacy Bracher. "We're weren't ready for this cost."
The Brachers have applied for several grants and are hoping community members
will send in donations to support the adoption.
"This will be our community," said Bracher. "The children will be raised here."
The cost to adopt a child in Washington County who is not a newborn is
typically less than $2,000, said Teri Wright, adoption supervisor for
Washington County Children's Services. Domestic adoptions that involve newborns
are sometimes comparable in cost to international adoptions because of the
medical fees that must be paid.
For Sarah Korodi, who along with husband, David, adopted two daughters from
Guatemala, the cost was irrelevant.
"We would have paid ten times as much," said Korodi, 30. "But I would say the
emotional cost is higher with an international adoption. The baby is always
five hours away by plane."
One-year-old Emily and 19-month-old Katie were 8 and 3 months old when they
were adopted by the Korodis.
"We saw those beautiful brown eyes and brown hair and fell in love," Korodi
said. "They're my reason for getting up in the morning."
Korodi, adopted, too, said the process has some challenges.
"I wish people would stop coming up to me in Wal-Mart and asking me how much my
child cost," she said. "People also ask if they're real sisters. They are in
every way that's important."
Korodi said they plan to take their daughters back to Guatemala to visit
someday and will teach them about the country. The girls already spend time
playing with other Guatemalan children in Guatemalan Families groups in West
Virginia and Columbus.
"They have a wonderful cultural heritage that we don't have," said Korodi.
Both the Brachers and the Korodis said poverty in Guatemala encouraged their
decision to adopt children from there.
"Poverty is typically the reason mothers relinquish their children there," said
Hedberg.
Even in Guatemala, a popular country for adoptions, there are many children
waiting for homes, said Hedberg.
"Every day boys are turned away," she said. "Most people want girls."
In Washington County, there are four children currently available for adoption,
said Wright.
Nations of origin
for U.S. adoptions
Top three countries:
2003: China, 6,859; Russia, 5,209; Guatemala, 2,328
1993: Korea, 1,775; Russia, 746; Guatemala, 512
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Families who adopt look out of U.S.
By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com
There's a child in Guatemala who hasn't yet been born, but she already has a
name, parents, a sister and a home waiting for her in America.
And she's just one of more than 21,000 international adoptions that will take
place in the United States this year, nearly triple the number from 10 years
ago.
"My husband and I just really feel like this is the right thing to do," said
Stacy Bracher, 22, of 305 Montgomery St. "We want a girl and we plan to call
her Sophie Nicole."
Bracher, a substitute teacher for Marietta City Schools and a stay-at-mom to
daughter Aly-Jo, 1, and her husband Michael, 24, employed by Citi Financial,
just completed their adoption home study and hope that by Mother's Day next
year, they will have a new baby from Guatemala in their home.
"I always thought that I would just have my own kids," said Bracher. "But once
I started thinking about this, it felt really right."
About 21,616 children were adopted internationally by parents in the U.S. in
2003, with most of those children coming from China, followed by Russia,
Guatemala and South Korea. In 1993, only 7,377 children were part of an
international adoption in the U.S.
One reason for the growth may be that international adoption makes it easier
for U.S. families to bring home newborns.
"Many times people wait for years in the states (for a newborn) and never get
chosen by a birth mother," said Sue Hedberg, executive director of Celebrate
Children International, a Christian adoption agency based in Oviedo, Fla. used
by the Brachers and Marietta residents Sarah and David Korodi. "In other
countries, there are readily available newborns waiting for homes rather than
having families waiting for them."
There is also less chance of a birth mother changing her mind about adoption in
many countries, where the mother must choose to relinquish her children.
"Here, many adoptive parents are scared the birth mother will come back," said
Hedberg. "I don't think there has been one case in other countries where that
has happened."
It's an experience Marietta's Tom and Joyce Danford went through several times
as they tried to adopt children.
The Danfords adopted daughter, Hillary, now 10, in a domestic adoption and then
decided to adopt more American children.
"There were a couple of times when the birth mother changed her mind," said
Joyce Danford. "We had been through that twice."
The couple turned to international adoption, bringing home from Russia son
Hunter at 8 months and daughter Kate at 9 months. The children are now 4 and 5.
"They know they were adopted and if you ask them where they're from they say
'Russia,'" said Danford. "They were smiling when they brought them to us and
they've been smiling ever since. We would do it again in a heartbeat."
Stacy and Michael Bracher are discovering that the adoption process can be long
and costly, too.
An international adoption can mean more paperwork and a considerably higher
cost than a domestic adoption, depending on the age of the child and their
country of birth.
The country's fees alone required in an international adoption range from
$12,000 to $35,000.
The country fee for Guatemala is $17,000 and the Brachers must also pay $500 in
humanitarian aid, more than $1,200 in travel costs, and $665 to the immigration
service. Their total cost for adoption will be about $25,900.
"Our lives were set up, we had bought this house, have a vehicle and our first
child," said Stacy Bracher. "We're weren't ready for this cost."
The Brachers have applied for several grants and are hoping community members
will send in donations to support the adoption.
"This will be our community," said Bracher. "The children will be raised here."
The cost to adopt a child in Washington County who is not a newborn is
typically less than $2,000, said Teri Wright, adoption supervisor for
Washington County Children's Services. Domestic adoptions that involve newborns
are sometimes comparable in cost to international adoptions because of the
medical fees that must be paid.
For Sarah Korodi, who along with husband, David, adopted two daughters from
Guatemala, the cost was irrelevant.
"We would have paid ten times as much," said Korodi, 30. "But I would say the
emotional cost is higher with an international adoption. The baby is always
five hours away by plane."
One-year-old Emily and 19-month-old Katie were 8 and 3 months old when they
were adopted by the Korodis.
"We saw those beautiful brown eyes and brown hair and fell in love," Korodi
said. "They're my reason for getting up in the morning."
Korodi, adopted, too, said the process has some challenges.
"I wish people would stop coming up to me in Wal-Mart and asking me how much my
child cost," she said. "People also ask if they're real sisters. They are in
every way that's important."
Korodi said they plan to take their daughters back to Guatemala to visit
someday and will teach them about the country. The girls already spend time
playing with other Guatemalan children in Guatemalan Families groups in West
Virginia and Columbus.
"They have a wonderful cultural heritage that we don't have," said Korodi.
Both the Brachers and the Korodis said poverty in Guatemala encouraged their
decision to adopt children from there.
"Poverty is typically the reason mothers relinquish their children there," said
Hedberg.
Even in Guatemala, a popular country for adoptions, there are many children
waiting for homes, said Hedberg.
"Every day boys are turned away," she said. "Most people want girls."
In Washington County, there are four children currently available for adoption,
said Wright.
Nations of origin
for U.S. adoptions
Top three countries:
2003: China, 6,859; Russia, 5,209; Guatemala, 2,328
1993: Korea, 1,775; Russia, 746; Guatemala, 512
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
