With so many children available for adoption, why do the state and agencies make it so difficult to do so?

What you need to go through, the assesments, home inspections, parenting classes etc...seem to be a bit overbearing. It's like there is a guideline or certain criteria you must meet to become a parent. If they are going to inflict it on a person willing to adopt, they should also do it to a person of childbearing age. Irrational, I know. Maybe so many children wouldn't be caught in the system if they did. Life has no guarantees no matter who you are.

Because there are pieces of crap out there that dont deserve to be parents.

Hun I have asked this question countless times and agree with 100%!! I have found it's easier to become a foster parents first, but you still have to go through all the above but its less time work them straight state adoption.

the only Guarenteed thing is any two drunken fools can make a child.. but your credit record determines if you can adopt

They want to make sure they are in a safe place...what I want to know is why is it so expensive!

I agree-lots of children out there need good homes and there are a lot of parents who would love to give them one, but feel it's easier to adopt overseas. I know there's abusive people out there and there's a need to do a thorough screening, but they make it almost impossible to adopt...which hurts more kids than they are actually helping with their processes.

I think it would be better if natural parents had to go through the same thing before having sex. Yes, the process is probably too long, but better that than place a child in an unsafe environment.

As the Madonna case proved, money resolves such issues. Move to Guatemala (or another country), adopt a chilld and spend six months there, and that country will become your "habitual residence" and your old country and state will lose jurisdiction.

There is no point arguing with the law: follow it, or evade it by moving elsewhere. Or get it changed.

The state needs to prove that they found a home that will be better for the child than the home that they were born into. In order to prove that, they do all of these things. Not only that, but they need to make sure that if you take a child with special needs, that you will be able to cope with their needs and have the love and support of people around you in doing so.