adoption

**ADOPTION SCAMS **

 * Prove**


 * Causes of Adoption Scams**

Adoption scams are happening frequently all around the world. They are caused by people who primarily want MONEY. Another cause is the demand for children, from people that don’t have kids. (International Adoption) Adoption scams can also be not telling the true history or identity of a child, “This is generally referred to as Wrongful Adoption.) (Ashe) There are many ways to avoid these problems and people. In places like China and Haiti there is a fairly good amount of adoption scams. In Haiti after the earthquake someone tried to take a group of unknown kids out of the border of Haiti to the US. It was said that he or she was basically going to take them to be adopted. Scams. They are because people want the money even out o f the US. Children don’t know they are not getting adopted or that their age was shifted. Adoption Fraud people basically say they are going to sell or let a child be adopted and then they get the money but the adoptive parent does not get the kid. In some places like china where families may be allowed to have one child it increases the reasons for adoption. Some people may actually take children out of peoples homes like trafficking, but they then say they are up for adoption and get the money, or say that their parent’s died or are orphans. They don’t tell their identity. With the increasing demand for children people that adopt have to look for children so there are precautions and things to listen to when doing so. “If the person says I want to bring the child to you then they want you to pay for a ticket so they can come and they run with the money.” (Precious Kids) People may also say I need money for food and needs; there you go they want MONEY. This is happening all over the world and if you just go through an agency and be careful you can avoid adoption Scams.

Families adopt for many reasons. A few reasons could be to give a child a loving family, to help a child in desperate need, or maybe just because they are unable to have a baby themselves. Many families have also been scammed or lied to about throughout their adoption process. It is terribly heart breaking to go through months or years planning for this upcoming baby you wanted to give a life to, and you find out the baby was a lie, a scam. This has happened to many families and it has to be stopped. The main reason this has occurred is for economic reasons. Women will pretend to have a baby that they put up for adoption and run away with thousands of dollars worth of money, and have no baby to give to that family longing for their child. It is extremely sad that some people go through drastic measures just for money. When Monique and Steven Mielke could not have a baby after nine years of trying, they turned to adoption. Through an agency they found out about Stephanie Blume, a tall, blond, unemployed waitress who said she was pregnant and willing to give them her baby. In exchange, the Mielke’s would pay her living expenses until delivery. Five months later, they had no baby and were out nearly $5,000. Blume had faked the pregnancy, deputies said. She wound up facing criminal charges, much like a Riverview woman was accused of by arranging to give her baby to two different couples in exchange for payment. Adoption experts see a troubling trend. (George) "I really think this economy is driving more and more birth mothers to scam," said Jeanne Tate, an adoption attorney for 28 years. Tate sees it firsthand, as owner of Heart of Adoptions, a Tampa-based agency with three offices across the state, including a Naples branch that assisted the Mielke’s. Her company, which arranges about 150 adoptions a year, sometimes winds up going after birth mothers in court. "It's one thing to lose your money," Tate said, "but you lose your heart, your soul." However throughout much of their troubles they hired an adoption consultant who found the couple a baby boy from a 17 year-old mother who needed to focus on school, and wanted to give the baby a better chance at life. The Mielke's search for a child had consumed nearly 20 years and $90,000 and all the hope they could muster. (George) Parents who want to adopt must make a dizzying array of choices. Which agency is reliable? Should they risk working with an unlicensed facilitator? Should they accept a child who may not be as healthy as claimed? And these families are increasingly likely to have their hearts broken and their bank accounts drained by a failed or fraudulent adoption. It was bad enough in 1990 when, insurance statistics show, fully 20 percent of families trying to adopt lost money to a birthparent's change of mind or a con artist. But by 1999 a heartbreaking 28 percent of insured adoptions failed. (Clark & Shute) "The supply of babies is severely limited, and the market is unregulated. But savvy couples manage to succeed despite high costs, bureaucratic roadblocks, and outright scams." (George) Haiti adoption is certainly of interest to those looking to help in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake that has struck the country. Stories of Haitian orphans leapt in to the newspaper headlines almost immediately after the earthquake. Last year, over 330 children were adopted in the U.S. from Haiti. With stories of children losing their parents to the earthquake’s destruction, many are seeking information about how to help and how to adopt from Haiti. (“Haiti”) Many Haiti adoption requests have flooded in to the agencies that have been working in Haiti for years like Dillon International. The urgent need after the terrible earthquake is for donations. And Dillon was quick to offer help. (“Haiti”) With the Haitian infrastructure in shambles, many adoptions that were in process are now in question. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has information on a number of families in the midst of their Haiti adoption. These families have been able to confirm that their children are safe. “And she has urged our government and to help speed the adoptions to get the children to safety.” (“Haiti”) Kenda Cook fell in love over the Internet. Surfing the Northwest Adoption Exchange's online pictures of waiting foster children, one 8-year-old girl's "bright eyes just jumped out of the Internet at me," said the Bonney Lake single mom. Cook eventually adopted Siobhan, now 13, as well as her half-brothers, Curtis, 11, and Kerry, 8. Along with gains, however, come increased privacy concerns and scams. Experts say the adoption process, and increasingly empowered parents, must remain focused on the child's best interests. (Dunnewind) "The biggest change is that 10 years ago, adoption used to all be in the hands of social workers," said Barbara Pearson, director of Seattle's Northwest Adoption Exchange. "Now families are driving a lot of the decisions." Caseworkers still decide which family is the best fit, but parents are "more informed about the process and who the children are, and that's a good thing," Pearson said. Research can be so quick that some adoptive parents get frustrated by delays, which caseworkers say are inherent in most adoptions, especially internationally. The Internet makes information exchange faster, but most experts say the timeline isn't necessarily shorter. (Dunnewind)
 * Effects of Adoption Scams**

Adopting a baby is a joyous time. Couples wait long periods of time and spend thousands of dollars to be able to call a child their own. The easiest way to find a child is online. Looking for a child online is also the easiest way to become scammed. couples wait for the e-mail or phone call that tells them that they have been chosen to be adoptive parents. Birthmothers will do what ever it takes for the couple to believe that they are adopting this child. Scammers will feed information to the family and will even appear to be pregnant. The problem is that they have no ultrasound pictures or doctor's notes to prove the pregnancy ("Adopting"). When adopting a child, take a few steps to make sure that it is not a scam that will leave you heartbroken. Go through an Adoption Agency ("Adopting"). Women who go through an adoption agency are required to sign paperwork that once they put their child up for adoption, there is no turning back. Also do not give the birthmother money if you are going through an agency ("Johnston 271-311"). The agency should take care of all matter concerning money. Make an agreement with the birthmother hat only after the baby is born and she continues with the adoption, may she obtain any money needed i. e. medical bills... Make sure to have paperwork signed to avoid lawsuit or even loss of the baby after it is born. The birthmother is not entitled to return any money if she decides to keep the baby. Offer an open adoption, for her security. If anything seems wrong, step back and clear your head. Do not become overwhelmed with the prospect of a new baby. Beware of every possibility. Check for legitimate websites ("Adopting"). if there is no building address or phone number to contact a representative, the website is most likely fake. If they contact you via e-mail, the email should end with the website name. The email address should not end in yahoo, gmail, msn, aol, or any other regular service provider. Check to see if there are pages for "Children Waiting" or success stories. The site should have pictures and information of children waiting, although you may have to register with the site to look at the children. Every adoption site should want advertise it's success stories of families and their new additions. Sometimes the family will put up e-mail addresses. Try to find families that used the agency. The families will give you their opinion and a story about their adoption if you ask for it. The scammers will try anything. Ask the birthmother if you could make visits with her ("Adopting"). Offer to accompany her to the doctor's office. A birthmother willing to give up her child should be open to all requests. If she says she is uncomfortable with having others in the room, ask to stay in the waiting room and talk to the doctor or midwife face-to-face. If she insists that you do not accompany her, then she might be scamming you. She may not be going to the doctor and is trying to cover it up. Even if she appears to be pregnant, ask for ultrasound pictures. She could be pulling a stunt. Do not rely on her family for truth either. They will probably all be in on the scam. they want money. Money and nothing else. Also do not assume that because you see ultrasound images will be getting the child. There have been cases where the scammer was really pregnant and had images and bills to prove it, but she never intended to give up her child. Beware of every possibility. Ask the birthmother to see ultrasound images ("Beware"), make sure the website is legitimate( "Adopting"), and never give the birthmother money (" Adopting"). Always go through an agency. Nothing could hurt worse then to be promised a child when that child was never meant to join your family. Trust your instincts. If it seems "too good to be true." then it probably is. Be safe and do not be too trusting.
 * Solutions to Avoid Adoption Scams**

Adoption scams are not as publicized as often as murders are. These types of scams are complex and tend to deal with the emotions of the adopters and the child being adopted. It is easy for couples who are trying to adopt, get caught up in the emotional attachment to a child which leaves them venerable to the cruelest cons and scam artists. The outcome of the future of adoption scams looks bleak. There are quite a few tale tell signs that you could be involved in an adoption fraud. An example would be, if “they immediately ask for money” (“Ryan”) “before setting up a face-to-face meeting with potential adoptive parents” (“Ryan”). Future adoptive parents should be rather cautious when faced with this situation. They never know if they are dealing with a legit agency or a scam artist, so they have to be aware of all the details. If adoption scams keep going like they are, that could lead to more trouble for legit adoption agencies. The “parents” are not careful about how they adopt, and who they adopt from which makes them easy prey for scam artists. One way that the scam artists try to make money are by claiming that they are the birth parents of the child in question. They tend to say that they need money to either get the child to the parents or need it for medical bills and sometimes lawyer fees. “ The lawsuit of Judith Leekin, who is now in prison, was able to carry out her adoption scam for a long while because the city's child welfare authorities did not adequately investigate her fitness as a mother or monitor the children's care in her home. Ms. Leekin, who adopted 11 children using four aliases, later moved to Florida, and collected $1.68 million in subsidies before her fraud was discovered in 2007, a federal indictment showed” (“Weiser”). However, if the adopters do not find it believable they can ask for a hospital name or a lawyers name to find if it is legit. Most scam artists tend to disclose information from the possible adopters and the adopters might overlook this red flag in order to speed up the process of adoption. Whereas in legit agencies, will always gladly make the information accessible to any future adults willing to adopt. In not so many words, the criminals are just trying to make a fast buck in whatever means possible. They do not have the best interest in the children that are involved in the scam itself, nor do they concern themselves with the lives of the adults involved. To the scam artists, it is just about how can they make money and how quick can they do it. It is not beneath them to lie or steal information to make their case more believable. They swindle money out of hundreds of caring individuals and hardly leave a paper trail to tie them to the crime. The police are then left with a cold trail to follow in order to help the innocent victims of this heinous criminal act. In conclusion there are many signs that hopeful parents should try to recognize in order to not fall victim to this scam. Such as asking for money up front, or refusing to come forth with information about the child’s well being. If you believe that you have become a victim of this crime you should contact your local police force and have them help you.
 * Future of Adoption Scams**



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 * Works Cited**

"Adopting A Baby? Avoid Adoption Scams!." //Associated Content//. 08.04.2008. Associated Content, Web. 18 Jan 2010. .

"Beware of Adoption Scams." //ABC Adoptions//. Attorney General Offices, Web. 22 Jan 2010. .

Clark, Kim & Shute, Nancy. "The Adoption Maze." __U.S. News & World Report__ 12 Mar 2001: 60+. //SIRS Researcher.// Web. 24 January 2010. 11 January 2010.

Dunnewind, Stephanie. "Transforming Adoption." __The Seattle Times__ (Seattle, WA) Jan. 21 2006: C1-C2. //SIRS Researcher.// Web. 24 January 2010. 11 January 2010.

George, Justin. "ADOPTION SCAMS AND BROKEN HEARTS; Experts worry the economy is driving more birth mothers, or fakers, to fraud." __The St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, FL)__ (Sept 12, 2009) NATIONAL: 1A. __Global Issues In Context__. Gale. Tallwood High School. 11 Jan. 2010.

"Haiti Adoption: Earthquake Update." //International Adoption Stories//. Web. 9 Feb 2010. [].

Johnston, Pat. //Adopting : Sound Choice, Strong Families//. Indianapolis, IN: Perspectives Press, 2008. 271-311. Print.

Ryan, Matt. "Avoiding Adoption Scam Artists". adoption. February 10, 2010 . Weiser, Benjamin. "Suit Contends City Failed To Prevent Adoption Fraud". New York Times. February 10, 2010 .