Adoption

“FREE TO A WILLING HOME: 13 yo m with BPD” – How Unwanted Adopted Children with Mental Illness Become Victims of an Underground Internet Child Exchange

“FREE TO A WILLING HOME: 13 yo m with BPD” –  How Unwanted Adopted Children with Mental Illness Become Victims of an Underground Internet Child Exchange

The heightened mental health concerns associated with adopted children unfortunately lead to many failed adoptions, often referred to as “disrupted.” Failed adoptions drive a disturbing underground phenomenon—the “private re-homing” of children, arranged online and with little to no government regulation. Adoptive parents, finding themselves overwhelmed and unequipped to deal with behavioral issues stemming from their adopted children’s mental health conditions, take to the internet—forums on Facebook or message boards on Yahoo, for example—to find a new home for the child, much like you would see for a family pet. The practice has become an underground lawless market for unwanted adopted children.