[SavannahGirl]

I am in the process of trying to adopt through the foster care system. I live in the same state as Sleeplvr but in a different county. She's right that experiences vary based on where you are. Currently our state DFCS has a big push for reunification. My county is also really big on reunification. They say that they have a high success rate on placing little ones with family members, which is a good thing. Because of this, I opted to go through a private foster care agency. I spent about nine months with one agency. I'm currently with a second agency. A year and a half after finishing my homestudy, I'm still waiting. I know that the wait is because I'm straight adoption 0-3. My four year old attaches easily and has been asking for a sibling. So straight adoption is my only option. My agency currently has only foster and adoption programs, no foster-adopt. The foster-adopt program, which existed when I first signed up, has been eliminated because of the number of reunifications that they were experiencing. While most foster children in this age range are adopted by their foster parents, I know that have to be some that are not. It's been a long and frustrating road for me.

My advice would be to meet with multiple agencies to get a feel for the agency and their policies to find out which one that best fits the needs of your family.

Good luck.