Answer: Two countries which place mostly girls, infant and older, are China and India. Other countries, such as the Ukraine, Latin and South American countries, place an equal number of boys & girls. Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand will refer a boy faster then a girl.

Question: We definitely want a boy.  Which programs or countries would  work best for us?
Answer: If you want an infant boy, the best countries for you would be Colombia, Nepal, the Philippines, or Ukraine. If you are open to a child older than six, most countries are possible. If you request a school-age child, you can state a preference for a boy or a girl.countries which place mostly girls, infant and older, are China and India. Other countries, such as the Ukraine, Latin and South American countries, place an equal number of boys & girls. Nepal and the Philippines will refer a boy faster than a girl.

Question: I'm pregnant and I know I'm going to need adoptive parents for my baby. Can you explain the differences in open or closed adoptions, and whatever there is in between those two choices?
Answer: Birth parents are encouraged to review profiles of adoptive families and choose one family. Adoptive families are presented by first names with no addresses listed. Birth parents can choose to meet the adoptive family before the birth of the child. Birth parents can choose to have the adoptive family at the hospital at the time of birth. Birth parents can choose, depending upon the state in which they live, to have the child go from the hospital home with the adoptive parents. Before the child is placed, birth parents and adoptive parents agree on the amount of contact they will have in the future.

Some birth parents want to exchange pictures and letters once to several times a year with no face-to-face meetings. This would be considered a semi-open adoption. In this case, the contact occurs through the agency or an identified party agreeable to both adoptive and birth parents and the birth and adoptive parents usually do not know the last names or address of the other party. Some birth parents choose a few face-to-face meetings during the first 1-2 years of the child's life and then exchange letters and pictures. Birth parents and adoptive parents who choose to share each others names, addresses, and telephone numbers and can workout a comfortable timetable of get-togethers without agency involvement have an open adoption. Birth parents who chose the adoptive family or allow the agency to choose the adoptive family and then have no future contact once the child is placed, would have what is considered to be a closed adoption.

Question: What is a home study?  
Answer: A home study and an adoption study are one and the same thing. It was someone's idea that the document that describes how a family lives, where they live, how they work and play and manage their money is more than a study of the family's home. Although adoption study is the preferred verbiage in the field of social work, everyone commonly calls this document a home study. Each agency has a protocol for gathering the information that is found in an adoption study. At Crossroads, our families receive a list of questions to answer. Those answers become the basis of the adoption study. Crossroads families receive a draft of their adoption study so that they can be assured that it accurately describes them. The adoption study is then ready for use with the child source. A child study can be very detailed with information about the child's extended family and can be as limited as the child's date of birth, height and weight. This depends upon the child's country of birth.

Question: Can you do a home study for Wisconsin residents?
Answer: Crossroads has been licensed by the State of Wisconsin since March, 2000. Our office is located in the family-friendly city library building at 911 Fourth Street in Hudson, Wisconsin. Crossroads serves the 19 Western Counties of Wisconsin as well as the area surrounding Eau Claire.

Question: If we adopt from China, how do we teach our children about their heritage.  It looks like adopting a child from China will work out best for us, but we don' t know anything about that country, people or their culture. How are we supposed to teach our child about her heritage?
Answer: Adoptive parents who have already adopted children from a particular country gather on a routine basis, either with or without agency assistance. Many families also reach out to families of like heritage who are living in their community and establish friendships. There is a wealth of information in major cities, libraries, on television, and on the Internet which will you assist in aiding your child to gain knowledge and pride in his/her heritage.

Question: We don't live in Minnesota and we know that means we have to have our home study done in our home state, but we really want to work with Crossroads for our international agency. How is it determined whether or not you can work with us?
Answer: Under U.S. law and various state laws, Crossroads can legally assist all families with a valid adoption study who live in other states. If the country which has approved Crossroads allows this assistance we can assist families in other states.

Question: Can a single person adopt?  I'm a single man. I've heard that only single women are allowed to adopt. Do I have any chance or is what I've heard correct?
Answer: Many countries will only accepted married couples. The countries that allow single persons to adopt usually have a bias for single women. In the past we have successfully assisted single men with adoptions from the U.S., the Ukraine, and India. At the current time, we have few options for single men. Single men who wish to adopt waiting Minnesota/U.S. children have been accepted.

Question:  Why do I have to answer questions that don't seem to have to do anything with my ability to parent?
Answer: The questions usually are based on the parenting issues how were you raised, how will you raise your child, safety issues--do you have a criminal/abuse history--are you in generally good health, and financial--can you afford to raise a child or will the child end up on public assistance. Questions are driven by what information is expected in an adoption study. In Minnesota, state law specifies some of these things. Other things are required by the Department of Homeland Security/Citizen and Immigration Services. International agencies and governments also have requirements. All of the adults involved are charged with looking out for the best interest of the child. Having these questions answered provides the information needed to be sure that everything is being done to secure a loving, caring, nurturing, positive environment for each child. Many adoptive parents have felt the way you do now, but it becomes understandable if you look at it this way: If you were responsible for selecting the home for a child, wouldn't you want as much information as possible to make sure you could make a good choice?

Question: Why does international adoption cost so much?
Answer: There are many steps in an international adoption. The first step focuses on the child. Orphaned children need care 24-hours a day. Most countries have a small daily stipend per child which is given to the child facility. But, as in the United States, the stipend is small. Contrast the cost of maintaining a child in Minnesota who is in out-of-home care in a foster home versus the cost for that same child in a child facility. The majority of countries do not have a foster care system but rather have state-run orphanages, or orphanages managed by groups of caring individuals. One of the ways to insure the well-being, health of all the children independently of whether the plans include adoption is to help to support the facility. Another step is the adoption study. The adoption study, usually referred to as the home study, is required to document the parents emotional and financial readiness to provide for a child. Each state, the US Immigration Service and each country have created laws and rules which provide a framework for the adoption study. The adoption agency, or in some states the adoption worker, is the entity which is given the authority to provide the adoption study and child-to-family linking process. The state governments in the U.S. require that the adoption agency or adoption worker submit prescribed documentation to verify that the guidelines for licensure have been met. Some licensed agencies, such as Crossroads, are referred to as "international agencies." International agencies have met the agency guidelines in their home state as well as meeting the guidelines in various other countries. The majority of international adoptions are from countries whose laws mandate that their children are referred only to those agencies who are on their approved list. Agencies who wish to be on a country's approved list must provide the country with required documentation. Once an agency is on the approved list, it is up to the agency to network with the child facilities to establish a working relationship. A working relationship is most often established by visiting the facility on a regular basis. Each country has rules regarding documentation and supervision of the family after placement. The "international agency" is held accountable by the country to abide by the rules and regulations. Some agencies are "home study" agencies only. These agencies prepare the pre-adoptive parents for adoption, prepare the home study, link the family to an international agency and provide supervision after the placement. A third step is travel. Airfare, food, and housing will be the same whether your child is escorted or whether one parent travels.

Question: What does the term "referral" mean?
Answer: The referral is the information which first introduces a family to a particular child. Typically, this is a small picture and basic information such a length, weight, head circumference, and date of birth. There is usually some medical information establishing negative results for HIV and Hepatitis.