<p>
	Irish people who want to adopt overseas are being advised that children who are now available to them are increasingly older and can have special needs.</p>
<p>
	It is now much more difficult to find an infant child to adopt, the report, which looked at trends over two years, revealed.</p>
<p>
	The study by scholars at Tufts University and Donaldson Adoption Institute in the United States will be of particular interest in Ireland, a country which used to have a very high rate of foreign adoption.</p>
<p>
	The number of children adopted here from abroad reached a high of 397 in 2008 but it has been falling since then, mostly due to the ratification of the Hague Convention in 2010 which excluded several countries popular with Irish people who were adopting abroad.</p>
<p>
	The new report said there were 101 inter-country adoptions in Ireland in 2012 &ndash; 36 from Hague countries and 65 from non-Hague nations.</p>
<p>
	Since 2004 the number of inter-country adoptions globally have fallen from 45,000 to just over 23,000 at the end of last year.</p>
<p>
	Most children are adopted from an institution and they have additional needs while the number of special needs adoptions &quot;is high and increasing&quot;.</p>
<p>
	It pointed out that there are only &quot;a minute number&quot; of children available for adoption domestically each year, for which there are waiting lists &ndash; annually fewer than 10 babies are placed domestically and about 40 foster children are adopted.</p>
<p>
	The report involved surveys of 1,500 adoptive parents and adoption professionals in &quot;receiving&quot; countries and countries of origin, as well as interviews with senior policymakers in 19 nations, including Ireland.</p>
<p>
	It found a number of key trends:</p>
<p>
	* The effects of the Hague Convention had led to an increase in legal, safe and appropriate adoptions.</p>
<p>
	* The process of adoption is more consistent in different countries, while there is an increased emphasis on the best interests of the child.</p>
<p>
	* More children are remaining in institutionalised care for longer which leaves them at risk of developmental problems, reducing their chances of being permanently adopted.</p>
<p>
	* Countries like China are increasingly allowing inter-country adoption &ndash; primarily or exclusively of children who have special needs.</p>
<p>
	* There is a growing trend in open adoptions, where the adoptive and birth families keep in contact.</p>
<p>
	The report made a number of recommendations including calling for authorities in the country where the child is born to give more complete and accurate diagnoses/ records about medical and mental health issues.</p>
<p>
	Countries where there are a significant number of adoptive parents should offer more training and resources to the child&#39;s country of origin to improve their child welfare and adoption systems. This would improve their chances of finding a family at home.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/challenges-for-parents-seeking-to-adopt-overseas-29780582.html">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/challenges-for-parents-seeking-to-adopt-overseas-29780582.html</a></p>
