International Adoption Law Comes To The Forefront

Since 1999, American families have adopted more than 240,000 foreign-born orphans. This has gone a long way in giving these children a fresh start in a country that can help make all their dreams come true. With this in mind, every year thousands of Americans travel to international countries, spending both time and money, to go through the adoption process.

Adoption law varies from one country to the next, which can make this process extremely challenging. On top of this, international adoptions are not always what they seem. A recent “48 Hours” investigation took a closer look at the world of international adoption, in which some international agencies are caught in a gray area between legal adoptions and child trafficking.

For example, more than 20,000 children from Guatemala have been adopted by American families over the past 10 years. As a result, millions upon millions of dollars were taken in by the country. Unfortunately, a lot of this money ended up in the wrong hands, which led to allegations of human trafficking.

Because of all this, U.S. lawmakers introduced the Universal Accreditation Act, which is set to take effect in July 2014. In short, this law will ensure that U.S. adoption agencies are making all the right decisions by having to meet a strict set of standards to take part in the business of international adoption.

It doesn’t matter if you are one of our Louisiana readers or live in another part of the country, if you have questions about international adoption law, it may be time to consult with an experienced family law attorney.

Source: CBS News, “48 HOURS: TOUGHER LAWS AT HAND FOR INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION” Doug Longhini, Jan. 17, 2014