For the older children, they also have to face the possibility of aging out of the system and never getting adopted. “The dilemma, in fact, now, of older adoption is only American [families] [are] open to older adoption, no one else among the partner foreign agencies.”Graff echoed the sentiments of Fowler, saying families who are accepting of older children are usually Americans. “For older children, really, right now, all we have that’s really accepting older children and sibling groups are Americans.”In Virlanie Foundation, 71 children have been adopted since 2005, but only 2 (one in 2016 and another in 2017) were domestic adoptions. It’s like a halfway home.”Gentle Hands, meanwhile, is not looking into independent living or transfer for its older children. “We are lucky enough to have two special children who were adopted, but they were younger.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 25, 2019 00:22 UTC