Abstract
Just as the courts must consider the trade-off between the best interest of the child and parental rights in
involuntary termination of parental rights, policy on international adoption must consider the trade-offs between
the best interest of the child and the long-term interests of the nation. We argue that countries that suspend
international adoptions do not maximize social welfare. A consistent national policy to maximize the well-being
of the children and society at large would be to devote resources today to the oversight of international adoption
in accord with child protections under the Hague Convention, while at the same time developing a domestic
system of care that provides for the physical and developmental needs of orphaned children in the context of
permanent families.