Over 81 million American families have considered adoption in some way, and there are currently over 107,000 children in the foster care system that are waiting to be adopted. Children are usually placed in the foster care system after birth when their guardian cannot or does not want to take care of them anymore. Only 4 percent of women, with unwanted pregnancies place their child through adoption. That leaves for up to 1.3 million abortions every year in the United States. The women that do end up having a baby, either keep their child or place them in a foster care system so eventually they can be considered for adoption. 

In the United States, there are about 135,000 children adopted each year, and about 7,000 of those adoptions are foreign.  40 percent of all domestic adoptions are from the foster care system, and 29 percent of those foster children spend at least three years in the system. Around 41 percent of adopted children are adopted by their own relatives, and 40 percent of adopted children are a separate race or ethnicity from their adoptive family.  

There is a list of foster parent qualifications specific to the state of Pennsylvania that you must follow: you must be 21-years-old, pass a state medical exam, pass criminal background checks, meet child safety standards, and understand child discipline regulations. There are also a few resident requirements that you have to meet. These include: one flushing toilet, a sink, a bathtub/shower with hot and cold water, a functional heating system, a telephone, a clean mattress, a pillow, a sheet, and blanket for each child you foster. Someone will come to the house you plan to take care of your child in, and they will perform a full home study. Chuck and Trish Kratz have an active foster care license. They have adopted two kids and are currently fostering a two-month old baby. They were asked about their inspiration for adopting the children they foster and Trish said, “When you have them from birth to two, how do you say no.” The only other option was to put them back into the system, which was really not an option they considered using. 

When fostering and/or adopting a child, it comes with a lot of payments you will eventually have to make. Adoptive families can expect to pay up to 40,000 dollars in hospital bills, travel costs, and agency fees when adopting a child. There will also be expenses for personal needs, such as clothes, blankets, and more food, since you have a larger family. Adopting a child is very important to many families and they put a lot of time and effort into it. Brent Moyer, adoptive father of two children, said, “Children are a blessing, and we have been blessed with two adopted kids that we love, and care for, and adore.” They adopted a boy, Cory, when he was four-years-old and a girl, Lauren, when she was seven-years-old.  

The United States is known to have the most adoption agencies and is known to adopt the most children globally. Americans alone adopt more kids than all of the other countries combined. Adoption comes with a ton of commitment, and you have to put forward so much effort and love so the children you adopt can live a great life, full of opportunities.