After my only son was born my husband had a vasectony. Husbabisjt son from a previous marriage was 11 and our fanilt was complete. Three years ago his son moved out abd we have little contact with so our son who is now 6 is essentially a single child. We have talked off and on about adopting bit always in some broad context. But now I an ready to consider it more seriously. I am looking for advice about agencies cost and a good age range for our family.
From my experience as a foster mother I highly recommend a child that is younger than yours. If you had a biological child your son would be older, so it is only natural to keep this the same. More importantly, most children that you adopt (unless an infant) have some issues. It is much easier to deal with , and potentially safer, if your current children are older.
My daughter is adopted and I would love to adopt another. Anyway you and your husband need to decided on the child you want to adopt. Do you want a baby or an older child? What race you are willing to adopt. Are you willing to adopt a child with physical needs? If you want an older child you will more likely adopt through the state and it may include foster care. If you want an infant private adoption is best. It is hard to get an infant if you have a state adoption. You can visit your a local state agency or look them up online to see what you will need for adopting. If you decide on a private adoption visit a few agencies and ask for references. If they are not willing to give references then you will know to not use them. Good luck with your decision.
You can review:
adoptivefamilies.com
It has all of the links to answer all of your questions, agencies, costs and all, and if you have any thet you don't find, you can e-mail them and they will answer them for you. Check out some local adoptive meetings. Agencies provide them free, but all urban areas have seminars with many agencies represented, and experts in all aspects of adoption (for a reasonable cost, and they usually last a full day or two). They're really fun and informative. You can select the sessions that you want to explore.
Your first decision is whether to adopt domestically or internationally. Believe it or not, they both will cost about the same in the end. Regardless of where the child is adopted from, the US government offers a tax credit of up to $13,170 for qualified expenses paid to adopt each eligible child. This will cover about 25% or more, of the cost, or lots more if you adopt a foster child or special needs child. The next will be the age child. An older child will be more available than a baby. Toddlers are great! One bit of advice is, if possible, adopt a child younger than your son. It is more natural for the family. In any case, it would be a blessing and change the life of that child to have you for parents! Don't wait too long, because if you decide to adopt internationally, most countries have age limits for adoptive parents for normal healthy kids.
I reccommend looking into adopting from your state's foster care system. It's not for everyone, but it ceratinly can be a very rewarding and fulfilling thing. They are typically not infants (although some are!!) but are desparate for a loving and stable family. Good luck
Contact some local agencies for accurate information. You'll need to find out if you're eligible to adopt (age, income, etc.) and then go from there. Good luck.
