Small Miracles Children Find American Homes

The Daily Oklahoman

Author: Stacy D. Johnson

MIDWEST CITY - The success stories are evident in the faces of smiling children in photographs that cover a wall in the

International office.

The non-profit licensed child placement agency has been responsible for placing more than 150 American and foreign children with new families, agency director Margaret Orr said.

Orr said the organization was licensed in October 1985 after a small group of Midwest City residents joined forces to find homes for unwanted children.

"A majority of us had adopted children and had been involved in the field of adoption for many, many years. We knew the plight of children, particularly in foreign countries, who stood very little chance of finding an adoptive home in their country of birth and whose only hope was really through placement with an adoptive agency outside their country of origin," Orr said.

She said she and her husband have adopted children from Vietnam, Korea and other countries.

During the past four years, Oklahoma City residents Chris and Bill Barnes have adopted five children through Small Miracles.

The children, ages 7 months to 12 years, came from Korea, Guatemala, Haiti and Oklahoma, Chris Barnes said. The couple also has a 14-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old daughter, she said.

She and her husband decided to adopt after their two girls began growing up, Barnes said.

"I just thought at the time two children would be enough. It wasn't. We started with one (adopted child), Lucas, when he was almost 9. Each one of them was such a good experience we just kept going," she said.

They probably will consider adopting more children, she said.

Barnes volunteers two days a week at the adoptive agency, answering telephone calls and helping applicants fill out paperwork.

Orr said prospective parents pay fees ranging from $2,900 to $12,000, which go toward maternity care, hospital bills, foster care and lengthy legal procedures in some countries.

The agency also is funded through a portion of the adoptive fee, she said.

A single individual or married couple are put through an extensive application process including interviews, home studies and completion of immigration papers before being approved to adopt a child, Orr said.

The agency looks for individuals who can manage financially and are flexible, warm and "stable enough to keep with it," she said.

Orr said the parent or parents also may be required to travel to the child's native country to provide legal documentation.

Once the child has reached the United States, the family goes through six months of supervision. The adoptive family also is expected to learn about the culture of the child's native land, Orr said.

To be considered for adoption, a child must meet standards of an orphan as defined by U.S. immigration and naturalization laws, she said.

Orr said the child must have no surviving parents or have a parent who is incapable of caring for the child and has relinquished any custodial rights.

Unstable foreign governments have caused a few problems, but for the most part, the agency has had few failures in placing children, she said.

Orr said two-thirds of the children come from foreign countries. Most are healthy, she said.

Many of the children adopted from other states are classified "special needs" due to disability, age, race, ethnic background or medical condition, she said.

Orr said one of the fastest growing adoption programs has centered around Romania, due to growing publicity on the increasing number of children in orphanages.

The term "brokerage" does not accurately describe the agency because it is geared toward human services, not business.