>> 33 Govs Call for Presidential Action on China Adoptions

Read More

Louisville women advocate for international adoptions to resume as children wait for a loving home

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — International adoptions are down, but there are still hundreds of children who need a loving home. The Orrs quickly grew from a family of four to five, and it’s all thanks to Lifeline Children’s Services. Erin and David Orr have three children — Campbell, Declan and…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — International adoptions are down, but there are still hundreds of children who need a loving home.

The Orrs quickly grew from a family of four to five, and it’s all thanks to Lifeline Children’s Services.

Erin and David Orr have three children — Campbell, Declan and Nora.

“We knew that we weren’t going to be a one and done family, that we were going to have more children,” Erin Orr said.

Orr said they adopted Nora from China right after Declan was born. She was 17 months old at the time.

“I hear people say a lot like, ‘Oh, she’s so lucky.’ And I don’t think she’s the lucky one, you know, I think we’re the lucky ones that we get to, we get to know her, we get to love her, we get to raise her, to help her grow up,” she said. “And, you know, it’s just going to be amazing to see what she and my other kids are gonna do with their lives.”

Orr said originally they thought they were adopting a child from Ethiopia, but after two years the country closed international adoptions.

“It’s not always going the way that you envisioned it would,” she said.

But Lifeline Children’s Services helped them connect with China.

“We thought about it and prayed about it and decided that it would, you know, be the good choice for our family,” Orr said.

Since 2021, fewer families have been adopting children internationally. According to the U.S. Department of State, each year since 2021, there have been about 200 plus fewer adoptions.

“Adoption is, it’s a big process, and when you look at it, if you just look at everything on the surface, it feels impossible,” Orr said.

Orr said adopting a child does require a lot of perseverance and flexibility, but it’s worth it.

“It’s hard, the process of paperwork is hard. You know that the integrating a new child into your family is hard. Parenting is hard, but anything that’s ever worth being done is hard,” she said. “If you feel led to adopt, explore your options.”

If you’re feeling called to adopt this holiday season, Orr said many other parents like her are usually willing to share their experience and Lifeline Children’s Services has a Louisville office that can help connect you with them.

Other Louisville families are still waiting to bring their child home.

A bipartisan coalition of governors from 33 states this week urged President Joe Biden to advocate for orphans in China who were matched with waiting families in the United States before the global pandemic, but are still in institutions this Christmas.

Adoptions were delayed years by the pandemic and then left in a state of uncertainty when China abruptly closed its intercountry-adoption program earlier this year.

In November, a congressional letter was sent to Biden by more than 100 members of the House and Senate. Earlier this month, Gov. Andy Beshear signed the letter in support of getting these children home.

 Download PDF

Aimee Welch, a mother of one of the children waiting in China and founder of Hope Leads Home, told WDRB on Friday:

“The holidays remind us that there is no place like home. For too long these 300 children, including my own precious daughter, have waited to be united with the loving families they were promised by the central international adoption authorities of China and the United States. Waiting families like mine thank governors across the country who are joining us in asking for presidential engagement to help, at long last, bring a happy ending to the heartbreak of children who lost their families of origin and now have been told they may lose their hope of adoptive families, too.”

To learn more about the children who wait and the families who love them, please visit HopeLeadsHome.org.

en_USEN