I'll answer the question about what happens once somebody identifies an interest.
We have an extensive screening process and an education process that families go through to ensure that they are ready to adopt. It ensures that they have a full understanding of the complexities and challenges of adopting older children and that they recognize the importance of respecting the child's history and where they have come from. It's an extensive training program as well as a screening program. All the appropriate checks and balances are in place in terms of safety and security issues, records checks, interviews, and resumés. It is a very challenging process.
The second piece is a really important piece. You can have people who are available and interested in being parents, but the most important piece is making sure that this parent matches that child and will be appropriately supportive in the development of the child, based on the needs and wants of that individual child. It's not just about having people come in the front door. There is extensive screening to make sure they are able to parent. Then there's another round of decisions about who they would best parent. Then there is the process of introducing them to the children and the children deciding whether these people are appropriate.
Compared to an international adoption, this is a much more intrusive process, here in Canada, that has a number of checks and balances in place.