Adoption

[miracle baby]

Well I was wondering for those of you who have adopted or are in the progess of adoption how long did it take the whole progress.And I also heard that its easier to adopt from another country is that true.:)

[dawn]

The whole process can take from 12-18 months. Each country has its own requirements, and the domestic adoption program is different in each state. Ease of adoption is relative...you need to find your own comfort level. The majority of adoptions that take place in the states are "open". There are varying degrees of open. If you choose a foreign country, there is little or no medical background on most kids. There is also little chance of ever meeting the birth relatives, they are often not known. On the other hand, I'm meeting my son's birth relatives in Ethiopia next week. Each country is different.

If you go through your state program, there may be children available for adoption, and it would likely be much less expensive. The children available tend to be those that have been removed from a home for some reason, and you need to provide foster care for some time before they are available for permanent placement.

The most important part is to find a reputable agency with lots of options for you. One that's been in the business for many years.

I've found the process to be evolutionary, and if you'd told me one year ago that I'd be adopting a 3 year old from Ethiopia, I'd NEVER have believed you. ;)

good luck, let me know if you have other questions.

[carrob]

Hi Karen,

Well, I've started a folder ! :rolleyes: And, Robert has agreed to go to a couple of the informational seminars that are in our area. We did speak to our family attorney and he also recommended checking out the agency very thoroughly through the BBB, etc. And, make sure they're reputable.

Most of the agencies I've spoken to about "open" domestic say 1 yr - 18 months for the process. I have located an agency that will do "closed" domestic adoptions, but they say it takes "forever"! When I asked if that was like a couple of years or so, the lady just replied "it really takes forever"!

So, we're on the road, just not traveling very fast.......our wounds are still very fresh right now. I've almost given up the idea, as it seems so unfair to have to go thru all of this red tape. But, NOW, Robert is wanting more information before we put it to rest......

Good luck !!!! And, I'll be glad to share more as we go along.

[momofthree]

I concur with previous posting on this. We adopted from Japan while living there. We put in our application and had our son within 2 months. Sometimes people wait a long time because they are so specific about what type of child. We totally believed God knew the child for us so we put no limitations and they called with a boy. :) Our friends waited years for a girl.

Japan will let you "foster" while you go through the process. I don't know if that is something you can do here or not but I think it is the way to go. Sounds like you are well on your way. Good for you and your DH.

I will try to help. We had to go by VA state laws to finalize here. With foreign adoptions, immigration takes an additional amount of time. So just know that it may take longer but so what, right? It is worth it. We are still going through immigration.

Japan is just now learning about adoption since their culture is so restrictive in such areas. But, they were great to us and very interested in us because we wanted to adopt.

So happy for you. Alison