Those arguing against international adoption often say that children should stay in their home country with relatives if at all possible. Many believe that instead of adopting, people in the U.S. should invest in keeping families together (I suppose this applies to U.S. children too).
This article from NPR concerns a U.S. woman living in Uganda who is the legal guardian to 13 Ugandan girls ranging in age from two to 15. I thought this was a very interesting spin on the “Americans adopting internationally” topic. In this case, the girls are being cared for by an American, but in their own country. Does this situation change the argument at all? Is it more acceptable? Should more people consider this kind of arrangement, or is it no different than the current custom of relocating the child? Would you ever consider something like this?
I’d love to hear what some other people think about this.
Shannon Mackie 
We’ve pondered this issue, as we wait to adopt from El Salvador. I DO think there’s a point at which it’s an awfully hard thing to ask of a child to both accept a new family AND acclimate to a new culture. When they’ve become fully ________ (fill in the blank for their native culture).
Our conversations have turned toward the “at what age of the child would we choose to live in his/her native country for the first year or two of the adoption placement before asking him/her to adjust to life here in the U.S.?”
That would be an interesting conversation. What have you concluded so far?