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Originally Posted by carlyincali
I posted this on another board before I saw this California board.
If we go with some foster-to-adopt organizations like the Dave Thomas one or Olive Crest, I believe, (but am not certain,) that the process will be more indepth and we will be scrutinized very closely because we are homeschoolers.
But what if we were to go through a private agency. ...
Honestly, I'm not even sure if I have the energy for all of this. I am tired of paperwork... homestudies, dossiers, etc. I want a child, but I don't want to do all the preparation again. I feel like I just did it all.
TIA
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Hello. Don't apologize for ranting. Sometimes this board is like therapy.
The agencies you mentioned are "private" I think. Anyway, the county fost/adopt programs are much different than foriegn.
We were a referral acceptance away from a foriegn adoption but got cold feet at the limited info, uncertain travel time, and mounting expenses. The paperwork, scunity and expenses were hell. Conversely, the county's paperwork was made easy, cheap and not as indepth. However, the county did take longer because of the pride classes and state certification. Now, if you go with a private agencey that works with the county, you can usually skip the 13 pride classes. However, private agencies deal with
the overflow of foster kids. If you want to adopt a young child (under 2), you are better off getting certified with the county because the county places with their certified homes first. For an older child (5+) like you were getting before, it might not matter since there are more older children needing fost/adopt parents.
The worst part of the certification process is driving to the weekly Pride classse. Yet, the classes were not that bad. They balanced it with video. lecture, group discussion and potluck dinner. We made some friends through the process and learned a lot about what these kids go through. Teaching how to parent is only a very small part of it. They also help you with your paperwork; they also help you create a family tree; they teach you about what foster kids endure; they have you and your hubby discuss situations like what would you do if . . . your child wanted an icecream at rite aid, but you knew you were going to eat dinner at home in an hour; what if your child wanted to pierce his nose; what if your child annouced he is gay, etc. They don't judge your answers. Moreover, they have you take surveys and share the result in a group setting to prompt discussion. The surveys aren't collected.
By the way, I am so sorry for your loss. That's horrific.
Back to the idea of scrutiny, I felt that my county did not scrunitize us. They were mostly concerned with safety. We had to do more safety proofing than with foriegn. But, we did not need a psych eval., we did not need two years of tax returns and some of the other docs that foriegn companies asked for. Plus, we did not have to worry about expiring documents or apostilling.
I am so glad someone told me about county adoption and that I switched. Now, I can't imagine being in a foriegn county paying high dollar for a little one in need when my county has an abumdant amount of needy children right here. Plus, the county will offer some services if your kid turns out to have special needs whereas in a foriegn adoption, you are pretty much on your own and don't get as much background information.
Best of luck. Keep us posted on your progress.