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We are seeing a new trend with domestic infant adoption agencies. More agencies are now requiring families to be open to adopting drug exposed infants. These same agencies state there are no health considerations in adopting a child that has been exposed to illegal drugs in utero. It is difficult to believe that these adoption agencies are completely disclosing all information about the infants they are trying to place for adoption. All 50 states have adoption laws that require adoption agencies to fully disclose all information about the child a hopeful adoptive family is considering for adoption. I think it is plain wrong for adoption agencies to require hopeful adoptive couples to be "open" to drug exposed children. I also think it is wrong to disregard scientific evidence showing both the short term and long term effects on children exposed to illegal drugs.
This increase in requirements that hopeful adoptive parents must adhere to seems to be a reaction to fewer infants being available to adoption.
The poor mites need homes, too, but it is insanity to place them in homes that are not prepared to deal with the problems. That is putting the babies at risk if the new parents are not the type who can deal with the extra stress.
You don't have to be open to ALL drug use. Normally you go a list of different substances and different levels of use of those substances that an HAP will or will not accept. The HAP needs to do their homework to determine how much exposure they would be comfortable with in case the exposure does affect the child. That could be, minimal marijuana use, some drinking prior to the expectant mother knowing she was pregnant, to continued heroin use.
Now HAP shouldn't just say they'll take ANY type of drug use just to get a child quickly and hope no long-lasting effects emerge. Also, unfortunately, some agencies just do not get all of the information from the expectant parents as they are interviewing/getting to know them.
Wow sorry but that would be a solid "no" for me. My husband and I adopted two children from foster care who had been prenatally exposed to drugs & alcohol. We picked up both kids from the hospital nursery & they never spent any time with their birth families - they only lived with us.
We also have 4 biological children. Our family life is stable - same house for 23 years, no domestic violence, addiction or mental illness, higher income level that allowed me to stay home with the children, nice neighborhood, access to excellent Healthcare & nutrition, etc.
All of our biological children turned out fine. No drama, drugs, school issues, behavior issues (other than laziness sometimes) - just normal kids.
But - - both of our adopted children have had struggles since birth. They both needed early intervention needed to attend the Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities preschool to get physical, speech & occupational therapy, both have lower than average IQs, school was VERY challenging for both - especially as they got older. They had behavioral problems related to lack of impulse control. They're not biologically related. The younger was recently diagnosed as a psychopath. We saw the signs as the younger one was growing up but it culminated in a very unexpected, violent situation. The younger one spent several months inpatient at a psychiatric hospital, then therapeutic foster care so they didn't kill any of our family.
The older one has been in & out of mental hospitals and uses drugs to control their emotions and anxiety. These children are 18 & 20. They grew up with all of the advantages, love, attention, interesting experiences, therapies & stability that the bio kids did but clearly, nature wins out over nurture.
This has been true for most of the adoptive families we've known - both those adopting from foster care and those through private adoption. Not all have been as severe while others have been more severe but my point is that anyone who tries to say that children exposed in-utero to drugs or alcohol have no unusual problems resulting from that, is flat out lying.
We are seeing a new trend with domestic infant adoption agencies. More agencies are now requiring families to be open to adopting drug exposed infants. These same agencies state there are no health considerations in adopting a child that has been exposed to illegal drugs in utero. It is difficult to believe that these adoption agencies are completely disclosing all information about the infants they are trying to place for adoption. All 50 states have adoption laws that require adoption agencies to fully disclose all information about the child a hopeful adoptive family is considering for adoption. I think it is plain wrong for adoption agencies to require hopeful adoptive couples to be "open" to drug exposed children. I also think it is wrong to disregard scientific evidence showing both the short term and long term effects on children exposed to illegal drugs.
This increase in requirements that hopeful adoptive parents must adhere to seems to be a reaction to fewer infants being available to adoption.
There are people who will adopt babies that were born addicted.
I don't know what the numbers are for addicted babies that do get adopted and those that do not. Does anyone know how many stay in foster care?
I work in the foster care industry and there is high demand in my area for any baby even drug exposed ones. When we get baby referrals needing a home they get more than 20 foster parents submitting on them in the hopes that they will adoptable. Most of our babies are drug exposed and they never lack for a home even with potential issues. I have had a few homes that have specified no drug babies but they sit empty for months on end or longer.
I work in the foster care industry and there is high demand in my area for any baby even drug exposed ones. When we get baby referrals needing a home they get more than 20 foster parents submitting on them in the hopes that they will adoptable. Most of our babies are drug exposed and they never lack for a home even with potential issues. I have had a few homes that have specified no drug babies but they sit empty for months on end or longer.
Thanks so much for your input. It's good to hear that people will gladly take the infants who had no choice in what they were exposed to in the womb
i do not know where o put this so i will putt it here. are kids now step daughters/sons or are they calling them now bonus sons/daughters bcs i just read article where they call them BONUS now
Babies with disabilities are also in demand. There are people that want a baby enough to do the research to understand drug/alcohol exposed, along with a wide spectrum of disabilities, and make an informed decision.
When we adopted a baby with Down syndrome 35 years ago (now there is a long waiting list of homestudied and qualified people just waiting to adopt a baby/child with DS), the private agency said that at that time, those that specified a gender preference ended up waiting longer, because birth mothers and fathers had a preference for those that would be happy with either gender. Made sense to me.
Also, I suspect that sometimes, they are not sure of what exposure could have taken place during the pregnancy, so they cover their behinds by having adoptive parents who agree to accept a baby in any case.
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