[sherryk]

I know the feeling of seeing a picture of a child and longing to care for them. In fact, during our process of fost/adopt, my husband and I did this a number of times. Our sw always told us not to fall in love with a picture. It breaks your heart if/when they go to another family.

My advice would be...start the process to adopt one step at a time. Have your friends go to the orientation meeting to find out what fost/adopt is all about. If they have done this already, the next step would be to start filling out the paperwork (and there is mounds of it). There will be training meetings to attend and a list of "to do" requirements (physical, fingerprints, ect).

If the child they are looking at is still available after their homestudy is complete, then they can pursue him. This is a process for all involved.

Our family went through a non-profit agency that places children in homes from the foster care system. Our homestudy fee was reasonable (in fact, we received it back once a child was placed in our home) and the agency was very personable. We received a child within nine months of starting the process. Our daughter is exactly what we dreamed about!

Warm regards,
sherryk
moderator