how do i even start on adoption?

Question

i have thought of adoption i know there are so many older kids out there that need a home i know me and my husband would be excellent canidates.i have two of my own but we dont have any together and we are kind of lookin toward adoption but the thing is i dont care if its a baby or not. all kids need a home thank u for any help u can give me

Answer 1

If you want to adopt older children, the best way to get started would be with the local Department of Children and Families, through their process it takes anywhere from 3months to 9months to go through the Model Approach to Parenting Partnerships which is 10 weeks long, the paperwork and the home study. The approval of the homstudy is the longest. After the approval then you can look on your local site of that state or any state and choose a child/children. Through the state there is not that much of a cost, privately that is different.
Which ever way you decide to go, make sure to keep copies of what you submit, and start a journal as to who you talked with and what types of actions were taken.

There are plenty of beautiful children who still want homes and families after the age of 8,. Make sure that you read the child/childrens chart to understand them. There will be somethings that the state will not tell you.

Once you start the process, look for a pre and post adoption support group in your area, it will help greatly. Central Fl has the Community Champions Network - Pre and Post Adoption Support to help you through these processes.

Answer 2

You are so special to even consider adoption. My husband and I are going through the process now. Our homestudy was completed at the end of March; and we're actually in the matching stage now.

To answer you question on how to get started... I can only share with you what we did, but, you may be interested, because we are interested in adopting a female child b/t the age of 2 years and 8 years... an older child.

We found a private adoption agency that works with the DFCS system. So, whatever state you live in, contact your Department of Family and Children Services, ask them if they work with specific adoption agencies, if so, contact that agency. With our agency, we had to take parenting courses as well as have a homestudy done. We started the process (i.e. application until homestudy completion) in October of 2006; and it's been 5 months already...

The stage that we are in now, the matching stage is the longest, because you are matched with children that meet the specifics you say in all of your documentations... it can take up to over a year... some times longer than a pregnancy.

I do hope this information helps you; and God bless and good luck with your adoption.

Also, I would strongly recommend checking several different Yahoo Groups to join some support groups, you really get helpful information... Here's one: [e-mail].

Answer 3

Your question did not imply whether you wanted to do a domestic adoption or an international adoption. If it is domestic, I would suggest like others have suggested, that you contact your local foster parenting agency. They will be able to direct you as to the processes and procedures of your state and county. In one state I lived in and was a foster parent, foster parents also qualified to adopt through DFCS. I moved to a neighboring state and it works totally different. Foster parents are not qualified to adopt. It is easy enough to correct by taking some additional classes but it takes time to complete those classes.

If you are looking to adopt internationally, you should do your research. There are literally hundreds of agencies out there for a variety of countries. You will need to decide on a country first. Your social worker who will write your home study will need to know what regulations that country requires to be included in the home study. Once you decide on the country, select your agency. Each agency also has it's requirements. They might be able to give you recommendations for experienced social workers in your area. Once you have a country and agency and a social worker, they will guide you the rest of the way through the process.

Either way, good luck to you.

Answer 4

I don't mean to be negative re: adoption, but when you married your husband ,your kids became his and if he had any then they too would be yours. The children should be loved by both of you equally.

Answer 5

contact adoption agencies. Most state have adoption services attached to the state children services...

Answer 6

Contact your locale child and youth services and ask for the adoptions/foster department they will be able to help you out.

Answer 7

Massachusetts, 1851-fifty two. it rather is the respected record of whilst baby adoption began in the Western worldwide as a criminal corporation. And, no, in assessment to what prevous posters have stated, adoption isn't the comparable as fostering and did no longer exist as a criminal corporation as all of us comprehend it previously that element. - toddlers have been fostered for eons. - Animals are fostered continuously by different animals. - grownup adoption existed, specifically for a guy to undertake yet another grown guy as his criminal heir. Adults have been observed by fact adopting a baby develop into risky by intense baby mortality costs. in spite of the undeniable fact that, baby adoption with the total criminal severing of filiation with the unique family contributors and circulate of all criminal rights and family contributors relationships began with the 1st baby adoption rules in 1852. It unfold from Massachusetts to different states, then to different Western countries. Governments observed it as a "answer" to the difficulty of the detrimental. undertake toddlers of the detrimental into center and better instructions, and at last there will be not greater detrimental human beings! in the process the Nineteen Fifties whilst unwed motherhood have been given categorized a "neurosis," it develop into then stated to be the "scientific care" for those form of neurotic unwed mothers. The observe used in the previous testomony whilst it got here to the tale of Moses ought to point the two "undertake" or "foster" yet even adoption returned then develop into no longer a "complete adoption" as all of us comprehend it. Moses' delivery information weren't in any respect falsified and sealed. he's not in any respect called the "grandchild of the Pharaoh." And filiation develop into no longer severed and exceeded directly to the "adoptive family contributors." you could "develop a baby as their very very own" and not undertake them.

Answer 8

International Adoption Process

International Adoption Process
This will vary slightly for families living outside of the United States

1. Submit application to Cradle of Hope. Your Cradle of Hope support team of a caseworker and adoption assistant will schedule an orientation meeting.

2. Begin a homestudy, which is a series of meetings with a social worker in your state to learn about issues related to international adoption, to determine your suitability to parent an adopted child, and to help you prepare for the experience. Cradle of Hope provides homestudy services to Maryland and Virginia families.

3. Submit a BCIS I-600A application to your local office. You can download the form online. Processing of your application can take several months, so you should begin this step even if you have not decided on a country from which to adopt, or if your homestudy is not complete. Cradle of Hope will provide a sample completed form for you.

4. Collect the documents (dossier) required by the country from which you are adopting, such as your birth certificates, marriage certificate, employment letters, references, and medical clearances. Many of these documents will also be required for completion of your homestudy, and must be notarized, authenticated, translated, and approved by the embassy of the country from which you plan to adopt. Cradle of Hope will provide you with step-by-step instructions about dossier preparation.

5. Consider a child referral made by Cradle of Hope. Consult medical experts. Accept referral.

6. Prepare for travel and your stay abroad with assistance from your Cradle support team. While waiting to travel, collect donations to take to the orphanage for the children who will remain behind.

7. Travel to your child's country to meet him/her and finalize the adoption. Most families' trips will be a few days to several weeks, depending on the country. In some programs, two trips are required, only one parent must travel, or the child can be escorted. Bilingual coordinators guide you through the process overseas. Your Cradle of Hope social worker will be in regular phone contact with you throughout your trip, and with your family back home.

8. Obtain an immigrant visa for your child from U.S. Embassy. Return home with your child!!

9. Participate in post-placement supervision with your homestudy agency, which includes several visits over a timeframe specified by your child's birth country (usually 1 to 3 years) to make sure that the placement is going well, and to offer support and assistance in the event that outside services are needed. Reports of these post-placement visits and photos of your child are forwarded to adoption officials in your child's birth country so that they can know the child is loved and doing well.

10. Readopt your child in your state court, in order to obtain a U.S. birth certificate and adoption decree. If only one parent travels abroad or the child was escorted to the U.S., re-adoption is required.



INFORMATION FOR CITIZENS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM (updated 9/7/05)

This information serves as a supplement to our general information packet with specifics about the process for citizens of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). Please note that our China program is not available to U.K. citizens. U.K. adoptive families will work directly with Cradle of Hope�s Maryland office.

HOMESTUDY

You will have your homestudy conducted by your local authority social services department. In some cases, the local authority may delegate responsibility for performing the homestudy to a licensed adoption society. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) does not permit prospective adoptive families to commission a homestudy with a private social worker. Families seeking a homestudy often face a waiting list of several months, and then the process itself can encompass up to six months or longer. You must decide on the country from which you wish to adopt during the homestudy process.

If the homestudy social worker issues a favorable report, it must then be reviewed and approved by the social services panel and signed off by the social services decision maker. The report then goes to the DfES for endorsement. Before the DfES, the report must also be approved by the Scottish Office, the Welsh Office, or the Northern Irish Health and Social Services Executive if you live in one of those countries.

We generally recommend that families wait until they have cleared panel before applying to Cradle of Hope.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

You will need to provide a �dossier� of additional documentation to support your homestudy. Some of these items will be provided directly to the DfES by the local authority, while some will need to be collected by you. Cradle of Hope will give you full details and assistance regarding these documents after you have registered with us.

All documents will need to be individually notarized and then legalized by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and, in some programs, by the Embassy of the country from which you are adopting.

Your dossier will be sent by the DfES directly to our U.S. offices. It is at this point that we will begin the process of identifying a child referral for you.

IMMIGRATION PROCEDURES

Once you have traveled to your child�s country and finalized the adoption there, you will need to petition the British Embassy for your child�s entry clearance (visa) to the United Kingdom. This is accomplished by submitting various documents to the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) at the British Embassy. Cradle of Hope will supply you with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate�s publication, Intercountry Adoption, which will list the documents required for your child�s visa. Most of these documents will be generated as part of the adoption finalization process in your child�s country, and Cradle will ensure you have all necessary documents in hand, with English translations when applicable.

Once the ECO has all required documentation, he will consult with the DfES, who will advise if a U.K. adoption order would likely be granted (as the U.K. will not recognize the foreign adoption decree). The ECO will then adjudicate the entry clearance application and issue an entry visa for the child. Though this process can take up to two weeks, it is typically completed within five business days.

ONCE YOU ARE HOME

Our programs which are available to U.K. citizens are in countries that are deemed �non-designated� under the British Adoption Order of 1973. This means that the U.K. does not recognize adoption orders issued by authorities in these countries. As such, you will need to re-adopt your child in a U.K. court to obtain a U.K. adoption order. This leads to automatic U.K citizenship for the adopted child. An adoption order cannot be granted before your child has resided with you for six months. During this time, your local authority social services department will conduct post-placement supervision, culminating in a Schedule 2 report for the U.K. court proceedings. All post-placement reports must also be provided to Cradle of Hope for presentation to adoption officials in the country from which you adopted. Once a U.K. adoption order has been granted, post-placement supervision will cease, though Cradle of Hope may continue to ask you to supply self-reports if the country from which you adopted requires long term reporting.

The U.K. has a law which forbids parental relinquishment and consent to adoption of a child prior to six weeks of age. Though this law was intended to address domestic adoption scenarios, it is also applied to intercountry adoptions. In our Russia program, the vast majority of available children are relinquished at or shortly after birth. Should you adopt a child whose birthmother relinquished and gave consent to adoption before six weeks of age, you will need to petition the U.K. court to dispense with consent during your re-adoption. This may add some extra time and cost to your proceedings in court to attain a U.K. adoption order. That said, most U.K. families choose to have us identify child referrals without regard to when the child was relinquished. We can recommend solicitors who are very experienced in handling such cases. This is not an issue in Guatemala, as the birthmother goes to the British Embassy and signs a relinquishment and consent to adoption there, always after the child is six weeks old.