Final Blog

One of the most valuable parts of the blogging process was always having the directions and layout of each assignment posted up for us at all times, and also having a calender of future assignments with the due dates on it. The blog was helpful in that we could view attached links to websites and several useful articles that helped us with our research and other assignments.

Using a blog helped me learn in this class this semester because it helped me to better organize my information on essays and assignments, and also the links attached to them allowed me to later refer back to them. The blogging process also allowed us to comment on other blogs as well as receive comments from our teacher and other classmates.

The blog that I am most proud of that I had written this year is my adoption introduction blog because it helped me to start off my midterm essay. My other blogs on adoption were also very helpful in writing my essay because they already summed up the articles that I was using for my essay and also had their websites attached to them.

Blogs like this can be used more effectively in a learning environment by allowing students to reach their teacher and other classmates more effectively than by using email, telephone, etc. For example, if a student is absent and needs to make up the work, he or she could easily get the missed notes or assignments from the blog by leaving a brief message.

Introduction to Adoption Essay

Although, “a national survey showed that four in 10 Americans have considered adoption,” according to the National Adoption Day, with adoption laws becoming more and more strict, it is beginning to get very difficult for prospective parents to adopt new children into their family. Adoption is a very time consuming and complex process to complete. With all of the strict requirements that adoptive parents need to surpass now a day, finding the right adoption agency is very important and a major decision to make when deciding to adopt a child. In order to find the most suitable adoption agency for each adoptive couple or parent, comparing several different agencies to each other, and choosing the best form of adoption is crucial to ensure a happy and successful adoption.

I chose to start my essay with a fact in order to make the introduction more interesting so that the reader would want to continue and read on.

A question that I would like to ask about my introduction is whether or not the opening sentence works well for my essay topic and if some of the sentences in the introduction are too repetitive?

Process of Adoption

The process of adoption is very long and could even take over two years to complete it, but in different situations it can vary. Once the prospective parents have decided to adopt a child, the first step that needs to be taken is finding a suitable adoption agency. From there the potential adopters can meet and talk with a social worker from the agency in which they hope to adopt from.

If the adopters are accepted by the agency, they then will proceed with the application and began a home study assessment. This means that an assigned social worker will make several visits to the adopters’ home, and ask them about their family background, own childhood, and present condition of their everyday lives. The social worker will also talk any children or any other members of the family. The home study assessment alone can take several months to complete and is often very demanding.

The prospective adopters are required to have a medical examination, and then give the adoption a full report with their own and family’s health history. This allows the agency’s medical advisor to determine if there are any know health issues that would make the prospective parents unable to care for an adopted child.

Once the home study report is completed it then gets evaluated by an adoption panel and the agency’s decision maker. The adoption panel is a group of people who help decide whether or not the prospective parents are approved to adopt, and if so which particular child would be right for the adoptive parents. The panel’s recommendation is later reviewed by the agency’s decision maker for the final decision to be made.

Welcoming Adoption Services

Although several adoption agencies have many requirements for the adoptive parents, there are also some that are very open and welcoming to people hoping to adopt and require very little of them.

At Adoption Services, it does not matter whether the people looking to adopt are single or married. The age, income, religion, and number of children are also not very relevant or important for adopting a child at this agency. For this agency, the only requirement is for the person or couple hoping to adopt is to provide a loving home and environment for the adopted child.

The Adoption Services helps orphans find loving parents from all over the world. This agency is open to placing children not only to married couples, but also divorced, single, and newlyweds looking to adopt. They also allow adoptions to parents, who work full- time. Children are not only placed with U.S. citizens, but also with people from other countries as well.

Requirements for a Chinese Adoption Agency

When prospective parents are looking to adopt a child, one of the first decisions that they have to make is whether to adopt a child nationally or internationally and choosing a suitable adoption agency that is right for them. Every adoption agency is different and some may require more expectations of the adoptive parents then others.

For example, at Living Hope Adoption Agency, a Chinese Adoption Agency located near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the requirements for adopting a child are more strict then most agencies and are more limited to the people who they accept.

The first requirement of this adoption agency is that only married couples are eligible to adopt from them. Each person must also be between 30 and 50 years old, and must make a joined income of $30,000 minimum for a family of three, including the adopted child. The couple must be married for at least two years in order to adopt a child, but must be married for at least five years if either has been previously been divorced. Each spouse is also not permitted more then two divorces. The couple must be in good health, and have a body mass index of less than 40. Lastly, at least one of the spouses must be a U.S. resident in order to adopt from this agency.

Requirements and Restrictions of Adoption

When it comes to international adoption there are many requirements that the potential adoptive parents must meet depending on the country from which the child is from. The most common factors that are considered when looking to adopt a child are age, income, amount of children already living in the home, number of years marriage of the hopeful adoptive parents. Also, if the person wanting to adopt is single, gender starts to become another important deciding factor in the process.

According to adoption.com, there are several countries that also have a few more unusual requirements for adopting children. For example, “If you want to adopt from Korea, you cannot weigh more than 30% over the normal weight for your height when you work with certain agencies.” Another odd requirement for adopting a child, “…from Indonesia, a two year in-country residency before an application will be considered, and a belief in God are required.”

With the all of the requirements and restrictions that are involved with adoption, people hoping to adopt internationally need to understand and become aware of the laws and regulations that go along with each individual country, in order to choose the best fit for them during the adoption process.

Adoption Essay

For my midterm research essay I am going to be writing about adoption. In my essay I will be discussing the process of adoption and how it takes place. I will also be discussing the requirements for adopting a child and if the requirements are reasonable and fair or not. I decided to do this topic because it will be interesting to learn more about it and the process and requirements that go along with it.

I chose my topic from the list of Hot Topics and used this link to help me find articles related to adoption. One helpful website that I used for this research essay was adoption.com. This site helped me to better understand the requirements and restrictions of adopting a child. It also was informative in explaining the different types of adoption, such as national and international adoption.

This essay would most likely be aimed at prospective parents hoping to adopt a child and wanting to learn more about the different requirements of adoption to see how eligible they are for adopting a child.