Katrina and Tom Rusin waited over two years to finalize their adoption of a little girl from China. Stricter adoption regulations and bureaucracy in foreign governments has consistently increased the amount of time necessary to complete international adoptions.

"The world of international adoption is evolving, said Mary Kate Schneider, director of adoption for the Family and Children's Agency in Norwalk [Connecticut]. 'We try and tell families from Day 1 and on that... time frames can change,' Schneider said. 'I think in the end, each country is trying to have these regulations in place so we can secure the best possible adoption for their children.'"

Potential adoptive parents may be required to travel more than once to the country from which they want to adopt, adding to the overall expense of the adoption. Despite the costs and the long wait, adoptive parents say it's worth it.

Read more at NorwalkAdvocate.com.

Labels: adoption costs, adoption_procedures, international