[KellyStacy]

We live in the state of Maryland.We do not have a homestudy as of yet.We would love to adopt and have looked at different websites on the internet.The states of Oregon and Ohio seem to have children under the age of 5.I was just wondering what are the chances of us being able to adopt a child under the age of three in these particular states.How long would the wait be? Or can someone tell us a state which there is not a long wait for a child under the age of 3.Please any and all information would be greatly appreciated.thank you

[krisv]

Hi! I am the trainer for all the public adoption workers in Oregon and also sit on adoption committee. 70% of our children remain in the foster or relative home they are in. We are very open to out of state adoptions and basically you submit your study through your agency via Northwest Adoption Exchange and you are represented by an adoption professional who is contracted to present your study. We use a committee system which is fairly neutral but your study or course goes to the individual worker first. So if you see a child you are interested in have your worker call and get more info from the child worker and then if you both see it as a fit you submit your study via the exchange is my understanding. I don't really have statistics about the 3 yr old thing but we do place young children often although more of those children may stay in the original home. A good contact person would be the Boy's and Girl's Adoption Society in Portland and the manager there is Kellie Herrold. You could contact her via kherold@boysandgirlsaid.org. Good luck, Kris Villanueva, Child Welfare Partnership