Frequently Asked Questions

Americans Adopting Orphans is a licensed, not-for-profit adoption agency that helps families like yours adopt children from around the world, and is dedicated to providing choice and freedom in your adoption. We offer a very flexible program that allows you to decide which of our services you need, and which aspects of your adoption you would like to do for yourself. Our services range from completing full adoptions to coordinating and assisting parent initiated, agency approved adoptions.

Our names are Dave and Cindy Ptasnik, and we founded Americans Adopting Orphans in March of 1994. We are the adoptive parents of two children from China, Katie Li and Joseph. For more information about us and our agency and a complete description of how you can design your own adoption program, please ask for a copy of our Introduction to Americans Adopting Orphans and Description of Services.

In order to help you determine if international adoption and our program is right for you, we have put together this list of commonly asked questions, and their answers. If you still have questions after reading it, or would just like to talk to us more about adoption, please give us a call. If you live close to Seattle or St. Louis, or will be visiting either area, you are invited to come meet with us. You can meet our staff and talk with other families who are adopting internationally. We have a monthly information meeting, a monthly support group meeting for parents who are in the process of adopting, and an e-mail chat group for any of our current or past clients that includes regular updates about adoption. Afternoon, evening, and weekend appointments are available so that you may receive personal attention at your convenience. If you are not in the Seattle or St. Louis areas, you may correspond with us by telephone, fax, surface mail, electronic mail, or even video and audio Instant Messaging. Our normal business hours are 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday, and evenings and weekends by appointment. These are the times when we normally set in person and telephone appointments, are most likely to be available to answer calls, and when we normally return phone calls.

This is a copyrighted document, but it may be copied and distributed freely as long as it is copied in its entirety, including this notice.

Table of Contents

1. Making Basic Adoption Decisions
1. Should we adopt internationally or domestically?
2. Is it hard to adopt internationally?
3. Is it expensive to adopt internationally?
4. How long does it take to adopt internationally?
5. What does an adoption agency do for me?
6. Do we have to use an adoption agency?
7. How do we choose an adoption agency?
8. Why choose Americans Adopting Orphans?
9. How can the Americans Adopting Orphans program work for my family?
2. Questions About the Adoption Process
1. How do we qualify to be adoptive parents?
2. Can single people adopt internationally?
3. Can we choose to adopt a boy or a girl?
4. What are the differences between adopting infants and older children?
5. What are some examples of children with "special needs"?
6. Can we adopt two or more children at the same time?
7. Can we count on being able to adopt a child?
3. Questions About Beginning Your Adoption
1. Where do we start?
2. So what is a home study?
3. Where should we go to get a home study?
4. What do we do next?
4. Questions about Adoption from China

Note - Additional information about adoption from China may be found in a separate publication for our China Waiting Child Program
1. Why are there so many children in orphanages in China?
2. Why are so many girls abandoned?
3. May we adopt a boy?
4. What are conditions like in the orphanages?
5. What are the advantages to adopting from China?
6. How long does it take to complete an adoption from China?
7. What happens once we have sent our dossier to China?
8. When do we learn about our child?
9. Do we travel to China, or is our child brought to us?
10. What is the trip to China like?
11. Do we travel in a group?
12. Can we visit the orphanage?
13. How do the Asian people react to Americans adopting their orphans?
14. When is our adoption final?
15. Where do we go after we have adopted our child?
16. What happens when we arrive in the United States?
17. How much does it cost to adopt from China?
18. Why does it cost so much?
19. Do we have to take a lot of cash with us to China?
20. Will our child be able to search for her or his birth parents?
5. Questions about Adoption from Ukraine
1. Why are Ukrainian children available for adoption?
2. What are the advantages to adopting from Ukraine?
3. How long does it take to complete an adoption from Ukraine?
4. What happens once our dossier has been sent to Ukraine?
5. Do we travel to Ukraine, or is our child brought to us?
6. When do we learn about our child?
7. Why are more boys available to be adopted?
8. May we adopt a girl or a sibling group?
9. What are conditions like in the orphanages?
10. What is the trip to Ukraine like?
11. Do we travel in a group?
12. Where do we go after we have completed the process in our child(ren)'s home town?
13. When is our adoption final?
14. What happens when we arrive in the United States?
15. How much does it cost to adopt from Ukraine?
16. Why does it cost so much?
17. Do we need to take a lot of cash with us to Ukraine?
18. Will our child be able to search for her or his birth parents?
6. Questions About What Happens After Your Adoption
1. Do we have to re-adopt our child in the United States?
2. When will our child become a citizen and no longer need a green card?
3. What if we have concerns soon after we return to the United States?
4. Do we have any responsibilities to our child’s country of origin?
7. Health Concerns in International Adoption
1. How healthy are the children available from other countries?
2. What diseases and conditions should we worry about?
3. What kind of an impact does living in an orphanage have on a child?
4. How are children impacted by their birth family?
5. How does the health of internationally adopted children compare to other children?
8. Ethics and International Adoption
1. Are we doing the right thing by adopting internationally?
2. How can we avoid unethical adoption practices?
3. What happens in countries that allow private parties to place children with families?
4. How are countries with centralized adoption processing different?
5. Are there other potential areas of concern?
6. What about the ethics of licensed adoption agencies?
7. Are there any warning signs to watch for?
8. How can I protect my family from unethical practices?
9. Other Questions
1. Can we really do this?
2. What can we do to help the children in the orphanages?
3. What other services are offered by Americans Adopting Orphans?
4. Is Financial Aid available from Americans Adopting Orphans?
5. How can we start working with Americans Adopting Orphans?