Christianity Today carries a solid article on Christians and adoption, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities presented with the increasing constrictions on inter-country adoption. The article’s title declares, “Adoptable Kids in Short Supply: But demand is high as evangelicals adopt wider variety of children than ever.”
It begins, “Tighter government restrictions have reduced the number of children adopted from overseas to a 15-year low. In response, evangelicals—more willing than ever to adopt—are broadening the type of children they are willing to take in. More families, for example, are taking special-needs children, older kids, and those in foster care. Meanwhile, agencies are developing childcare subsidies and other programs to facilitate in-country adoptions…”
Read the full article HERE.
*One important side note. I do wish the story’s title had been chosen more carefully. During an initial interview (via email) with the author, I expressed that I felt that using the terms “supply and demand” in regard to adoption was largely unhelpful. Although I understand why people sometimes innocently apply those terms to children in need of adoption (“supply”) and those willing to adopt (“demand”), this cold economic analysis really misses the essence of what happens in adoption. As I wrote to the article’s author, I “tend to think those terms distort as much as they clarify. It’d be like talking about marriage in terms of the ‘supply’ of potential brides and ‘demand’ of potential grooms. It’s accurate in a certain sense, but misses the heart of what marriage is all about.”