Adopting a child from a foreign country comes with a set of risks that one would be foolish to not acknowledge. I frequently hear comments about families who state that they chose international adoption to avoid the risks that go along with domestic adoption. Mind you, many of the so called risks in domestic adoption are actually perceived risks that only affect a very small percentage of domestic adoptions. My goal of this post is to shine some light on and spread awareness of the risks that exist in international adoption.

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  Your country of choice could close its doors to international adoption. You could have just signed on with an agency, or be weeks away from travel, but it is a possibility.
  


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  Your child could become ill or pass away before you are able to travel to adopt them.
  


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  Your adoption agency could lose their license, close their doors, or put waiting families on hold indefinitely.
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  You could be issued a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) after you have adopted your child.
  


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  Timing could change drastically and wait times can be shorter or greater than expected.
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  Your referral may be “lost”, meaning you will not be able to adopt the child you had planned on adopting after accepting their referral. A biological family member could come back for the child, the child could have been referred to more than one family or the child could have passed away.
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  Your child’s medical information and history may be inaccurate or incomplete.

This post was not written in an effort to scare people away from adopting internationally, rather to share information that some may not be aware of. Most adoption agencies will inform families about the risks involved, and acknowledge that the risks are very real, although most adoptions do go smoothly and without incident. I am clearly in favor of international adoption, but I think it would benefit all prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) to be aware of the risks and prepared for changes that were unforeseen.

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More Reading:
Adoption is Risky
International Adoption - Health and Emotional Risks
How to Research Your Adoption Options