[jenmart]

Hello, my husband and I were just about to get our HS started for a child in China. But, something made me check into the foster to adopt program here in AZ. Our social worker recommended an agency out here. We are looking to fostr/adopt a 2-4 yr old girl..we have 2 boys at home..almost 5 and 7. Just wondering what the chances are or how long families usually wait for a girl in this age range. My husband is bi-racial so we would love to adopt a child of the same mixed race. Thanks so much! I am going to an orientation on Thursday so Im sure we will find out more!

[hp2adopt]

Hello! It is so interesting to hear your story! Just a couple of months ago, my husband and I were also initially contacting a HS/adoption agency with the intention of adopting from China. We had already done considerable research with the int'l adoption agency, but were starting the process of doing the HS.
The director at the HS agency actually asked us if we knew about the fost-adopt program here in CA. At the time, we did not, but decided to check it out. We had actually wanted to something like this as well, but did not know much about it.
Now, three months later, we have become certified as foster parents with the intention to adopt, and are ready to accept a placement. Once we expressed interest, the process actually happened rather quickly. We are now just hoping that the placement will not take too long to complete. We are requesting age 0-4, either gender OK, and we are open to several races.

I wish you all the best, and this is my first time posting at this forum (I just found this forum yesterday, and registered today), so I hope to learn much more also. So far, I can see that there is some great info available!

By the way, I forgot to mention that the SW indicated that we would likely wait 2-4 months, depending on our flexibility, etc. Since we are not necessarily seeking sibling groups, it may take longer if there are many sibling plcements available. However, in general, the SW indicated that there are many placements available, and not always enough families available for placements. I hope that is good news! This just gives a guideline of what you may expect.