[angelar]

My husband and I want to adopt a child from newborn to 5 years old. We would like the child to be from the United States.We live in Wisconsin and really don't know where to start

Please help!

[BuckarooBanzai]

Well you are off to a go start. You are reading this message board. There is a wealth of information here.

First thing you need to do is identify Agencies in your area. Go to thier information sessions and then interview them. The thing to remember, you are interviewing them. If you are not comfortable with an Agency, move on. This is a stressful enough process to not have a uneasiness from the start.

Look at the number of placements. The type of placements. Fee structure. Ratio of caseworkers to prospective parents. How adoptable children become available to them. What is the current wait time.

Secondly, dig in and understand the laws of adoption within your state. These vary by state. In Arizona, we have good laws for the termination of a father's rights when he is unknown or unresponsive. Also, understand the time table for each process as defined by your State. In Arizona, petitions for Adoption Certification will take no less than 90 days can it be approved. Knowing time tables help you regulate expectations.

Good luck with your journey.

[dianamom4]

There are alot of good books on the subject. Get on Amazon or go to your local Barnes and Noble and you should be able to find several. Read them before you decide how you want to go about adoption. I found "The Idiot's Guide to Adoption" to be a really good basic book. This site is great also. Unfortunately, I didn't discover it until after our journey was complete. Your next step will then be deciding what type of adoption you are interested in. Read up, then look for a reputable agency that handles all of the types of adoption you are interested in. If you decide to adopt through the state, contact your local Child Protective Services or Health and Human Services Department to get started. Some private agencies also do adoptions of children that are wards of the state. This is what we did (in TX), not sure If this is the case in WI. We started trying to adopt directly through the state, but it seemed like social services really did not have time to deal with us, so we wound up adopting through a private nonprofit. Our children were wards of TX CPS,and we did receive all of the benefits that we would have gotten for them if we had adopted directly through CPS (all fees paid, adoption subsidy, medicaid, etc.), but without the hassle of dealing directly with social services. In some states this is not an option and you have to go directly through social srevices. Hope this helps and good luck!

-Diana
Amom of four beautiful kids as of 10/12/05!!!!!