[HappyMomAnna]

Hi,
Are you asking about the difference between a private adoption and a STATE adoption where you adopt a child who is WAITING?
I am not sure 'public' is the exact word to use.....
If you are asking about adoption from the Foster care system vs. a private adoption there are very big differences. The biggest one to consider is the age of child you are willing to adopt.....State adoptions generally place older children while infants to come up they are usually a part of a sibling group or the wait can be very very long..... It is still possible to adopt a baby from the State, but the wait can actually take years.
We adopted a 5-year old girl and her 1-year old baby brother and have been overjoyed to see the bond between them..... we feel very blessed to have had the chance to complete our family in one step, with a beautiful little girl who walks and talks and also the joy of a baby!
Families who choose to adopt through the State do not have to be Foster parents first although many people do find it possible to be a great foster family and also be open to the idea that if a child does become adoptible they will adopt..... This program is called Foster to Adopt...... There is also the Straight adoption program where a family goes to the state and says, "we want to adopt and we will look at the waiting children." In this direction it is very important to get training and support, understand the many possible issues and problems a child might have and learn about those you are able to accept.....because this kind of adoption would require you to committ to the child before you get to meet them.....
A family who chooses to do Straight Adoption usually needs to be certified as a Foster Home for the time period after the child/children are placed and until the adoption is final. Otherwise you would not be asked to Foster any children you were not approved to adopt.
In the Foster to adopt program you would possibly be asked to Foster children you will not be able to adopt and you might have several children in your home before one was free to be adopted. These decisions have to be made by each family and what they can deal with.....In my case I knew I would have a horrible time falling in love if I fostered a child and it would be too hard for me to deal with, so we went straight adoption.
Through the state the birthmother may or may not have some involvement but, the decisions to place a child through the State is made by caseworkers and other people involved with the child... Our children had two more visits with their birthmother after they were placed with us.... and then the contact was closed.
The other major difference in the private adoptions vs. State adoptions are the costs to the family adopting. With a private agency you pay for most everything and I have heard of these fees being anywhere from $3,000.00 to $15,000.00. and some even highr. With the State in most cases families pay nothing and in many cases the children recieve ongoing subsidies (support money) to help the family pay the costs for any special services you might need. Our daughter needs some special services because she spent the first four years of her life in a shopping cart...she has social and emotional issues that we use the funds to help her with. Dance classes, and activities that get her involved with other children and other people. In many cases the children adopted through the state also have health insurance until they are 18 some 21.
These things are up to each family to consider and decide. There are many issues to learn about if you adopt a state child. There are known and unknown issues.....but, sometimes that is also true with a newborn. I have a friend who adopted a newborn through a private agency and when their child was 2-they learned she was deaf and had been exposed to drugs....so I guess none of us have a prefect guarentee. And even our own birthchildren can be perfect at birth and have an accident that changes their lives..... This happened to me and might be why I had little fear of accepting a child at five who might have a problem?
Our decision to adopt siblings through the state came for one real reason--we knew we could love any child and we decided if our children were not going to be related to us genetically--how nice it would be if they were genetically related to each other! It has been nice and this is what has worked for us..... each of us must decide what is within our ability to do and our love to offer---
Good luck and please keep asking questions.