Pound Pup Legacy

It looks like a promo video for Mirah Riben's book The Stork Market and isn't really a quiz, but let's see what I can do with the questions:

Are adopted children equal to non-adopted children?

This question can be addressed from different angles, but I guess it is intended from a legal perspective. In any case the answer is no.

On a federal level, international adoptees are considered imigrants and prior to 2000 didn't automatically received citizenship, As a result several adoptees face deportation or have already been deported to their country of origin.

International adoptees are not considered natural born citizens and therefore cannot run for the highest office in the USA.

Adoptees in many states don't have access to their orginal birth certificates and in some states natural parents can file a contact veto, which more or less equates a restraining order, making it illegal for adoptees to contact their natural parents.

How can I avoid being scammed?

There is no singular answer to that. It takes an entire book (hence the promotion) to address only a few aspects of that.

What department licences and regulates adoption agencies and facilitators?

There is no single department that regulates that. Licencing is a state matter and each state has a different set-up of departments. Sometimes its called Department for Children and Familiies, in others it's called Department for Children and Protective Services, Department of Human Services, Department of Social Services etc.

Not all states allow adoption facilitators and some states allow them and don't even require licencing.

Adoption from and to Hague countries is regulated through accrediation and is the responsibility of the cental authority, which in the US is The State Department. The accreditation itself is performed either by te Council of Accrediation or the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Adoption from non-Hague countries is either not regulated or regulated by organizations in the sending countries.

If I choose open adoption, are all parties legally bound to uphold the contact agreement?

No in fact both parties can get away with not honoring the agreement.

Do tax benefits favor those that adopt from foster care or can any adoption qualify?

The amount of tax credit is the same, but the procedures differ.

How much money should I expect to pay for an adoption?

Again an entire book can be written about this, which is obviously the aim of the question. Adoption from foster care can be done without having to pay much. International adoption usually costs between $15,000 and $35,000 and domestic infant adoption can range from $10,000 to $100,000.

How can I distinguish a reputable, ethical adoption agency from an unscrupulous baby broker?

Unscrupulous baby brokers usually have a crooked nose and a wart on their chin. Reputable, ethical adoption agency workers all have blonde hair, blue eyes are between 5'4 and 5'6, are married, have 3.2 children and are church going and law-obiding citizens. 

Is it quicker and cheaper to adopt internationally?

International adoption is usually quicker and sometimes cheaper than domestic infant adoption. Adoption from foster care can be quicker and is certainly cheaper than either.

What qualifications, eductation, training and certification are necessary to facilitate or arrange adoptions?

None, facilitators are like match makers. The field is totally unregulated. To run an adoption agencies some requirements need to be met, which again is dependant on the state the agency is licenced.

What country both imports and exports children for adoption?

Most countries do to a degree, but most often it involves family members. The US is one of the few countries that both import and export without there being a family relation between the child and the adopters.

What government agency oversees, and regulates adoptions in the US?

None, only adoptions from Hague countries are regulated by the central auhority (State Department) all other adoptions are state regulated. At the time Mirah Riben's book came out the US had not ratified the Hague treaty and none of the adoptions had any federal regulation.

Under what circumstances are birth certificates falsified by vital statistics, changing the name of the child, the parents the child was born to, the place of birth and/or the date of birth.

In all domestic adoption where the state seals adoption record, which is still common practice in most US states.

How many children in orphanages worldwide are orphans?

It depends on the definition of the word orphan. Using the legal definition used in the US, most of the children in orphanages are orphans, because parents haven't claimed their children over a period of more than 6 months. Using the dictionary definition of orphan, a child whose parents have both died, only 4% of the children in orphanages are true orphans.

How has the Hague Convention effected adoptions?

Whew, yet another book to write. In essence it has streamlined the international adoption protocols, instituted a central authority responsible for all international adoptions to and from other Hague countries and it has set up a system of accreditation for adoption agencies. So it has effected adoptions mostly on a bureaucratic level. The effect in the US have yet to be seen since the country only ratified the convention last April. Already many non-accredited agencies umbrella under an accredited agency to maintain business as usual.  

What is post adoption depression syndrome?

Just another catch phrase by which some therapsist can make a buck, I guess.