Hi moms. I was wondering if anyone knows what all you have to go through and do do be able to adopt. I have 2 boys, but i am not able to have anymore kids, and we were wanting a baby girl, it wont be for a while, if we are able, but i was just wondering.
That depends on what state you are in.
I have been trying to adopt my grandson for 2 and a half years.
We had to have a home study done, background checks, alot of paperwork to fill out, training to attend, home safety inspection etc.
A friend of mine adopted all 3 of her boys. If you go to www.myspace.com/pumpkinlove27 you can leave her a message. Im sure she will have some good info for you. :)
You need to check with your local state agency, they can tell you or give you a list of places to contact. There will be paperwork, background checks, medical (by this I mean a physical) financial checks and a home study (they come out and visit your home to see how many rooms, pets, surroundings and such. When we adopted many years back the fee was on a sliding scale. Sometimes a portion of the fee goes to the mother to pay for any outstanding medical bills. The agency you go through will advise you.
When the agency did a home study, the woman kept mentioning a baby boy. The baby was a boy and we took him home at 5 weeks old he is now 34. Good luck. Oh!! The wait can be a year or so or it can be a few months it depends on the agency, mothers giving birth as a few factors. S.
Both of our children(1 boy/1 girl) are adopted (domestic adoptions) and we used 2 different agencies. First of all, you may want to read some books about adoption. There are different types. Both of ours are open, but we really only have contact with our daughter's birth family. Our son's birthmother is not wanting to meet. For the most part you will need to fill out a lot of paperwork about yourselves, your family and provide financial information (like tax returns, income info). There are education requirements to be fulfilled. With both of our adoptions this was done through our agency or online. You will also need to have a homestudy (this is not as bad as it sounds--just really makes you think) If you definitely want a girl you should probably look into adopting in China. For domestic adoptions, the more you specify what you want the longer it can take. And, just like in a regular pregnancy you are not promised anything.
I would suggest looking into some agencies or Child Protective Services. We used Hope Cottage in Dallas and Inheritance Adoptions in Wichita Falls. Each agency has its own requirements (state sets standards) and costs. The cost of adoption varies from a fixed cost to sliding scales based on income and lots of other factors. Good friends of mine have used Great Wall of China for both of their daughters and another friend of mine is using Methodist Mission Home in San Antonio. Another friend of mine used an agency in Tyler for both of her adoptions, but I cannot remember the name right now (and she belongs to Mamasource so she may also respond to your post).
Feel free to email me with any more questions about adoption or the agencies we used. My email is ____@____.com
Good luck with your decision. I know for us we would not wanted our family to have grown in any other way.
J.
We adpoted our son, now 4 years old,from Christian Homes in Abiliene, TX. I read a blog another mom did too. This is really a great organization. It took a while for us to get everything going but once it did and a birth mom chose us it was just a matter of our son being born. We were invited to be in the room when the birth happen so I was the first to hold him and it was a wonderful experience.
As someone mentioned price varies depending on your income and there is a TON of paper work that has to be done in advance plus post follow ups just to make sure all is running smoothly. Ours was an open adoption meaning we met both birth parents and they knew where we lived etc. The birth mother stayed in touch on birthdays for the first couple of years but now we do not hear from her.
Best of Luck to you! T.
J.,
Our son (now 4 years old) is adopted. We did a ton of paperwork and had our standard home studies. The paperwork is a bit overwhelming, but it was all worth it, of course! We went through a place in Abilene, Texas called Christian Homes. www.christianhomes.com It was a wonderful experience. Check out their website and see if that will give you a little insight into the process. If you and your husband get really serious about it, you can even attend a weekend orientation in Abilene without any sort of commitment to going through them - but it sure gives you some good insight into everything.
Best wishes on your adventure! If I can ever answer any questions about my own experience, do not hesitate to contact me. ____@____.com I LOVE to talk about how adoption was so perfect for our family!
I adopted a baby girl from China 5 years ago. If you want any information on international adoptions let me know.
C. at ____@____.com
