national cases.
             Depending on several factors, a number of options are available if the adoption of infants or toddlers is being considered. International adoption can include agency adoption (both public and private), independent adoption, and identified adoption. Each state has a public agency charged with the care of children in the state. These agencies include the Bureau of Family and Children's Services, the Division if Social Services, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Welfare. A public adoption agency over-sees the provision of services to children, including foster care and adoption, and they are usually found locally in each county (Gilman, 33). Private agencies can be either non-profit or profit organizations. These types of agencies deal with adoptive parents, birth parents, and older children that need adoptive homes. These agencies also deal with international adoption. (Gilman, 35). Identified adoption is when the child knows his or her birth parents, and has a relationship with them. This type is not very common in international adoption. (Gilman, 33-36 and Erichsen 27-29)
             The adoption requirements of many foreign adoption agencies are less stringent than local adoption agencies in the United States. At most United States based international agencies,
             Single persons and couples married one year or more between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-five, with or without children, of all races and religious affiliations, as well as persons who were previously divorced can find adoption programs in countries to accept their applications. Prospective adoptive parents must be in the middle to upper income bracket, able to quicken documents and able to travel abroad if required. They must also meet the requirements of Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (Erichsen 25).
             The INS requires that at least one spouse must be a citizen of the United States. The INS does not approve welfa...