Why are they in a hospital bed? (Adoption related)

I don't think either system is ideal, and I think both fail vulnerable children. Because vulnerable children and families are complicated, and it is difficult to make the right decision about where to draw the line correctly at where parental rights end and children's rights begin. But I don't think it's entirely one sided which system works better.

It sounds as if a lot of vulnerable children are falling through the cracks and huge cuts in the care system. It seems that a lot of children are at home with dysfunctional parents who are not capable of caring for them in the simplest ways, such as getting them to school and the system is taking up to a year even to get them into the care system when they need it. I am definitely all for parents' rights and hate state interference, but the reason for non-intervention in this case sounds like budget cuts, not an actual policy.

The UK carer system does seem a bit overwhelmed...www.theguardian.com/society/2021/aug/11/revealed-englands-pandemic-crisis-of-child-abuse-neglect-and-poverty

Close your eyes I was thinking of the issue with young people leaving care mainly. I've read about a lot of problems over the last few years re where they are put to live, sexual exploitation.

@MNHQ why was my post deleted? Genuinely don’t know what I said that could possibly merit a deletion?

International adoption starts from around $15,000, thats a huge difference. Interracial adoption is also much more common in the US, where as its generally avoided in the UK, so in the US it is far more usual to see children who don’t share an ethnicity with their parent/s.

@NiceGerbil in fairness it has been reiterated by several posters now that the cultural difference in terms of the cost of medical care, lack of insurance, lack of availability of abortions, no social safety net, stigma surroundings abortion and single motherhood are all plentiful reasons why it is likely that adoption is a bigger “thing” in the US than the UK

Well who knows.

The numbers feel very high.

Googling earlier I found out USA is by far and away the main country for international adoption.

Is adoption much more a thing there for some reason? I have no idea.

I have a feeling there's some cultural/ historical thing going on here.

It's a massive and complicated topic though.

‘1 in 25 people in USA adopted.
3 in every 100 in Indiana’

This is really shocking.
Is this because there isn’t good financial and social support for pregnant women and new mothers?

The whole situation with children in care is awful.

You can't force people to adopt certain children though.

Improving the care system massively in the UK is a must with the amount of abuse that goes on.

I'm saying that it is probably better, if possible, for a young person who is in foster care and who is never going to be able to return to his or her family because it is too dysfunctional, to be adopted than to linger in foster care. Older children often have difficulty with adoption--that is why people want the babies. But a lot of these kids really need love, stability, and a second shot at family life.

I think this is all pretty apples and oranges.

The fact is that children in care in the UK tend to have a difficult/terrible time.

There is more of a sense that unless things are really bad a baby/ child is better off with a parent or other family member.

I don't know what outcomes the care system in USA has. Or what the threshold of removal is.

I don't think without a lot of really good info on both here and there it's not right to decide.

The number of posters convinced that the USA stats situation etc is definitely better is strange to me.

Gonna look at Europe to see what some other countries are like.

[quote PrincessNutella]It is possible that in the UK, it is actually too hard to adopt children, and that there may be many suffering because they can't get permanent homes. www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/10/adoption-numbers-falling-children-need-care-system[/quote]
Actually there are more approved adopters than children available to be adopted.
Older children are not usually suitable to be adopted. Adoptive placements do not work well with children who have strong memories of their families and understand their life story better.

[quote PrincessNutella]It is possible that in the UK, it is actually too hard to adopt children, and that there may be many suffering because they can't get permanent homes. www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/10/adoption-numbers-falling-children-need-care-system[/quote]
The threshold for care is far too high in the UK, in many cases birth parents are given too many chances and contact being maintained isn’t always appropriate. We can’t undo trauma, but we could be reducing the amount of trauma a child suffers.

A friend in Tennessee has three foster children, in that area when a child/ren are removed the birth parents are supported to make changes for six months, if they fail to do so or progress is minimal the children then generally don’t return to their care. It is still a very long process, their foster children have been with them for over two years and they still don’t have a date for their final hearing.

I mean sure our system isn't perfect not saying it is.

Just that the numbers are crikey. And so needs more looking and thinking for me.

Given the laws on surrogacy abortion etc I suspect it's all rather complicated and there's some big cultural differences. Variations between States would be interesting as well.

The numbers in USA are so massive though.

It's worth looking into rather than assuming they have it right and UK does not.

1 in 25 people in USA adopted.
3 in every 100 in Indiana

Those are huge numbers.
It's a massively different society with differences around so many things.

I personally want to know more before deciding what I think.

It is possible that in the UK, it is actually too hard to adopt children, and that there may be many suffering because they can't get permanent homes. www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/10/adoption-numbers-falling-children-need-care-system

I think adoption is a superior solution to children lingering in the foster care system, which is a problem both in the US and the UK. www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/05/england-adoption-rates-fall-as-numbers-of-children-in-care-rise

I think it's great that they are adopting two babies. It gives them the chance to parent and the women the chance to live her life how she sees fit. Who cares what they are sat on? They've just become parents and wanted a nice picture.

I don't like how the OP has framed this at all.

One reason for all the adoption agencies is because many state governments have privatised doing home studies and managing foster and adoptive homes (I don’t like this, I think it leads to less oversight and also allows religious agencies).

The number of children adopted also includes children who are adopted by a kinship placement. These children are usually still with biological family.

The way to decrease adoptions, both through the state and privately, is to increase the social safety net. Better support for mothers, especially through childcare.

That's very reassuring thank you.

I think I need some more looking into the whole thing. It still leaves the question of the large % of children adopted. And the reason for all the adoption agencies and find your parent agencies.

I've relaxed a bit thank you still something interesting I've found out and will continue looking for info on due to all the above.