Adoption.....Foreign or Domestic?

I was wondering the other day after reading that Madonna's adoption of the little South African boy had hit an road-block ...... Are there still Orphanages in the United States? You'd think hearing about our celebrities running overseas to adopt that all the U.S. Orphanages have been shut down!

....... what do American orphans think when they hear about Americans going all over the world adopting kids - when there have to be thousands & thousands of orphans here in the States that have all the love anyone would ever need?? What do they think??? ........

Not too far removed from the same spotlight as Madonna are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Two adoptions from overseas for "the Pitts" - as of this writing. Things could change now that summer travel season is in full swing!

I'm sure I'll be thought of as crass by some folks for "comparing orphans." But are parentless kids from South Africa, China, Thailand, or Honduras more lonely and deserving of love than an orphaned kid from Pittsburgh, PA, Hackettstown, NJ, L.A., El Paso, or Billings, Montana?

I suppose an orphan in one country is just as lonesome as an orphan from another country ....... but there are so many here in the United States. Are they any less worthy just because they're orphaned here in America? What do they think about at night when they're alone?

Do celebrities seeking to adopt - no strike that - Do adoptive parents in America even consider orphans from here? Are they even told about the number of parentless children in their area? Are they even given access to them? I just spent 40 minutes trying to get an approximate number for American orphans, without success. Dave Thomas's organization (below) was a little better with stats indicating that there are 114,000 children "waiting in foster care" in the U.S. and 30,000 in Canada. But that doesn't include children and young adults waiting in orphanages - so those numbers seem very low.

All too high - but still very low.