I have one more article I wanted to share before I jump back into finishing my Transracial Adoption ABCs.

If you are involved at all in the Ethiopian adoption community, you have likely heard some of the discussions regarding the much-anticipated New York Times article on Ethiopian adoptions. There has been a lot of speculation by adoptive parents and agencies on yahoo groups and adoption forums, in regards to what the article would cover and how it would portray Ethiopian adoptions.

The article printed yesterday, June 4, and you can find it on the New York Times website. It is titled “Surge in Adoptions Raises Concern in Ethiopia”.

For one, I think it is very difficult to completely cover the topic of an entire adoption program in one, two-page article. There are bound to be “holes” and omissions, but at the same time there is a lot of good stuff in there too.

The article discusses some of the reasons that the Ethiopia adoption program is an attractive one to many adoptive parents. Those reasons include relatively low fees, comparatively low wait times (although they seem to be increasing steadily for those wanting an infant), the opportunity for adoptive parents to meet birth parents in some situations, the exceptional care that the children receive and the current minimal requirements for adoptive parents (although there are rumors that changes are coming, especially for single parents and larger families.)

In the article, the drastic increase in adoptions from Ethiopia by Americans over the past few years is discussed, and the growth is attributed to the benefits of the program, as well as the tightening requirements of other popular adoption programs such as China and Russia.

While the article shares some happy endings for families who have adopted from Ethiopia, it also addresses the concerns that many have with the rapid growth in the program. Officials worry about being able to monitor closely enough the ever-increasing numbers of adoption agencies working in Ethiopia, and express their desires to keep the adoptions ethical.

I think it is a good thing (a great thing) that officials and agencies are worrying about ethics before there are big problems with the program. As the mother of two Ethiopian children, who has seen first hand the quality of the adoption program and the overwhelming need for families for Ethiopian children, I sincerely hope and pray that adoptions will continue and the quality of the program will be upheld.

I do think that there were some key elements missing to the article. Only one adoption agency is mentioned in detail, and there are several other very reputable agencies with long-standing, successful adoption programs in Ethiopia that should have also gotten some credit and attention.

There was no mention at all of the many programs adoption agencies and adoptive parents have created to help give back and aid the children and families who are left behind in Ethiopia. There was also no mention of the fact that HIV+ children are being adopted from Ethiopia in increasing numbers.

On the Ethiopia Adoption Yahoo group, it was recently pointed out that the estimated 5-6 million orphans currently living in Ethiopia right now would be the equivalent of taking every child in the state of New York and in the state of Massachusetts, and taking away their parents. That number of children is impossible to imagine for most people. As long as that many children are parent-less in a country with little to no resources for caring for them, international adoption should continue to be a tiny piece of the puzzle of how to improve the conditions and quality of life in Ethiopia.

For lots of great posts and information on adoption from Ethiopia, check out Mary's Ethiopia Adoption Blog.