You're Ready to foster Adopt? | Baby care | Women's health | Beauty

Domestic, international, foster adopt, open, closed, transracial. Before stepping into the adoption world, I had no idea there would be so many choices. One of your first steps will be to decide upon an adoption agency to help you along your way.

You should attend informational sessions on both domestic and international adoption and learn everything you can about the process, the cost, the time frame, and available children in each type of program. Talk with people who have gone through both domestic and international adoptions, and start reading books and familiarizing yourself with agency personnel.

Once you feel thoroughly overwhelmed but armed with facts, it will be decision time. This is a highly personal decision. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Each option has its own set of benefits and challenges, and you have to choose what works best for your family.

Domestic

Domestic adoption takes place within your own country. It may happen locally or across state lines. Either way, the birth mother typically chooses the adoptive family.

After attending an orientation session and filling out paperwork, the adoptive parents schedule their home study. Once approved, they begin to compile their family profile.

In the most traditional case, adoptive parents create a scrapbook or website to introduce themselves and their family to potential birthmothers. This will include a letter to her, photos of themselves and their home, biographical information about themselves, their plans to care for the child, and even letters from their family or friends about their ability to parent.

Birth mothers are matched by agency staff with potential adoptive parents, and they then review the family information provided in the scrapbooks. Once a birth mother selects a family she wants to meet, a facilitated phone conversation takes place for her to talk with the potential adoptive parents.

If both parties are comfortable with the match, they meet in person prior to delivery of the child. At this point it is their collective decision as to how much time to spend together and how involved they will be with one another until the adoption takes place.

Once the baby is born, the birth mother and father must wait 48 hours to sign the forms setting the adoption into motion. If the birth father is out of the picture, another 31 days must pass before his parental rights are relinquished. If this is the case, the baby will reside in a transitional care home pending the termination of paternal rights. At six months post-placement, the adoptive family appears in court for a legal proceeding to finalize the adoption.

You can anticipate a wait time of at least a year after approval to have a baby in your arms, but the wait time varies widely based on a number of factors. For example, if there are only a handful of birth mothers in the program while you are, there will be fewer babies available. Expect to spend at least $25,000 to complete your domestic adoption.

There is no shortage of children in the foster care system in the United States. These children have either been abandoned or removed from their homes.

Couples go through rigorous screening and training to receive approval to become foster parents. When a child is initially placed into foster care, parental rights are still in place and efforts at family reunification may still be underway. However, once parental rights are severed, the child becomes available for adoption.

Foster adopt

If dual approval to foster and adopt is available in your state, it is the quickest route to being able to finalize an adoption. It will include paperwork, formalized training, CPR certification, a safety screening of your home and a home study.

Once parental rights are severed, the adoption can be approved in court. The time frame varies widely depending on the birth family scenario. Costs of foster adoption are low, compared to other types, and may actually be free.

International

There are numerous options for an international adoption. Many agencies operate in Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Honduras, Russia and Taiwan. However, the international climate changes frequently and adoption is a hot political topic, so it will be important to keep yourself well-informed as you decide which program to enter.

Regardless of the country you choose, the process will include an orientation to the program and a ton of paperwork. Each country?s program has its own requirements, which will entail paperwork for your agency, the United States and the foreign government you will be dealing with.

Once your paperwork is complete, the wait for a referral of a child begins. The referral process is unique in each country program. In some programs, you will receive referral information on a child prior to traveling to meet the child in person, while other programs require you to travel to the country to obtain the referral information before meeting the child in person. The amount and quality of information you receive at the time of referral varies by country.

Once you decide to adopt the child, legal proceedings will occur in the foreign country to finalize the adoption (in most cases). The length of time to complete this process varies by country and multiple trips to the country may be necessary.

Once the child has been adopted and brought home to the United States, it is in the best interest of the family to reaffirm the adoption in an American court. This is a fairly straightforward proceeding, without the mountains of paperwork and home study.

Post-placement visits are required for an amount of time, depending on the country of origin. They consist of a home visit by a social worker who will write a report to be filed with your agency and sent to the foreign agency as well.

The wait time for an international adoption ranges widely, depending on the program you choose. Kenneth and I waited two years for our first adoption and 18 months for our second one. I have known others, though, who have waited both shorter and longer timeframes. Most children available for international adoption are at least 12 months old and can be adopted into their teens. The likelihood of bringing an infant home is becoming less and less common.

Costs per country vary as well. Expect to spend at least $20,000.

Bringing Home Baby

However you choose to grow your family, the day you bring your child home will be one of the most joyful days of your life.

Andrea Harrington is an adoptive mom of two and a passionate adoption advocate. Through her company, Wool Sock Media, she provides a dynamic voice for adoptive families, couples dealing with infertility, and those who parent special needs children. Her mission is to provide hope to those who feel hopeless and to serve as living proof that perseverance pays off.

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