[BeckyS]

Any others out there?

[jstone]

Hello,
I was out surfing the net and found this forum. My wife and I are just starting this whole process of adoption and are feeling a little overwelemed at this time. So any info. or suggestions, advice, Etc. would be great.

[BeckyS]

Hi there & Congratulations .... are you doing an agency or private or thru health & welfare? Where are you in the process?

[jstone]

We are looking at going through a agency (havent choosen one yet) and we are at the very begginning, getting ready to do a Home study, but the study might depend on the agency we are using (looking at some christian agencys) We have about $6,000 to get us started in the process.

[BeckyS]

again, Congratulations...The only general info I can offer is to read, research, listen and share your story with others....Best of luck to you Hopefully you'll get some good info off the boards

[pattybeagley]

Hi Becky S
There are people out here and I'm one of them. It looks like we are all pioneers to this web posting since isn't much information being circulated. I went to the idaho.adoption site started by NATHAN at the beginning of this site and I was amazed at how there wasn't anything going on. No situations posted-no helpful resources(at least to me). We are just starting to begin the process for adopting a third child for our family. The first two adoptions were wonderful thru our church LDS Family Services in Boise but now we need to go to another agency for any more children to add to our little family. I think the two child max. is because there are so many more adoptive parents wanting their first child. So we have done our homework and are looking at CASI in Boise and/or Idaho Youth Ranch. They both seem to know what they are doing and seem really good to work with. I have talked with numerous adoptive families and they have always said good things about these agencies. I have also looked at alot of agencies outside of Idaho just for comparison and looking for low cost adoptions and there is alot to chose from out there but prefer using an agency that is close to home and more convenient. Does any one out there have any helpful information with regards to successful placements, agencies that they have worked with, etc. Let's get this ball rolling and help each other out in building our families. Let's show that in Idaho - we know how to support and help each other. Thanks Becky S!
Patty in Idaho

[BeckyS]

Hey Patty, it is pretty quiet in here....I went thru CASI & will be again...I have friends who have gone with them & with IYR - I have also heard a lot of good things said about both...we just felt a connection with CASI - mainly because of a speaker that we loved at one of the seminars. I think it's nice too, to have the local support...Lots of luck on your 3rd

[jstone]

Patty,

Hello We are looking to do our first adoption and just received our information packet from CASI. We had some friends that used the Youth Ranch and did not have the best experience. They are looking to adopt again and are goining to use CASI this time. I think if we use a agency here in Idaho it will be CASI. But as I said we are just starting to look in to adoption and are going to do our Home study thru CASI. I know that this is not a lot of info but I thought that I would share with you what I know. Good luck and keep us posted on how the process is going for you.

J

[pattybeagley]

thanks Becky S and jstone! Now there are at least three of us talking...We have some friends who recently adopted an infant baby boy from CASI and it was their second child. They had been on their waiting list for almost three years and basically forgot they were still on the list. They had had several failed adoptions thru other sources so this was such a wonderful surprise and now they feel like their little family is complete with a little girl and now a little boy. They said it came to around $12-13thou and he is same race as them (cauc). They said that thru people they know that CASI had been placing quite a few thru their domestic adoptions but that doesn't mean much since you never know who is signed up with them on the other end (birthmom's). When we checked with IYR, they said that basically we would only qualify for their AA adoptions since we already had two children. I thought that was ok until I thought about it. I know that it is harder to place AA or biracal children but I don't like the idea of someone making that decision for me. We never specified race or gender with either one of our sons and one is cauc and one is samoan, but the idea of an agency saying "ok now that you have two, you only qualify for...." We have looked into adopting AA babies just because you can adopt ususally faster and in alot of cases the adoptions costs ARE lower. We decided that we might try to look for a baby of Polynesian heritage just because we already have that in our family but if we do domestic with CASI then we will just be on the list and see if we are chosen for anything Some other friends of mine have adopted AA babies using TLC and an ACT of LOVE both out of UTAH and liked using them. In these cases, they both used IYR for just homestudies and said that they really liked using them and I think it was only about $300? and was done very quickly. I just received some information today from a group out of Wyoming called "FOCUS on CHILDREN" they do Pacific Isles adoptions so if we decide to do that then we will probably use them. We have just felt driven so I know it is our time to do this and that our child is out there somewhere or will be. If you guys need any specific information about other agencies-just ask cause I have done some homework. I'll try to keep the posts shorter next time! Good luck to you both and hope to hear good news soon.

[pattybeagley]

Hi aspengrove
Just was wondering what facilitator you were able to work with? I haven't found any in the state of Idaho so was it from another state? Just wondering..and congratuations on your new baby girl. My sons are 19 months apart and even though it has been alittle challenging, it has been so great for them. They are best friends! Wouldn't have it any other way Patty in Idaho

[jstone]

Just curious on the difference is between a facilitator and a adoption lawyer and a agency? Never heard of a facilitator before.

Thanks

[pattybeagley]

Hi Jstone
Thanks for the Idaho statue info about the homestudy.

As I understand it...An adoption agency needs to be licensed by the state they are residing in and are only licensed to do certain types of adoption, either international /domestic etc. and they usually can only work with aparents from certain states. Some can only work with Idaho aparents and some can work with aparents from anywhere in the US. And it depends where the baby or child is born or is residing. I hope I didn't make that sound more complicated then it actually is.

An attorney obviously is licensed to practice law and therefore has to abide by certain ethics but can arrange for the two parties to agree on certain arrangements like counseling for the birthmom, future contacts, expenses allowed for birthmom, etc. and then finalize the adoption.

A facilitator is not licensed or regulated to a degree that protects both parties involved but their fees are usually lower and they sure a making their mark in the triad. They usually see themselves as networkers who advertise for birthmom and services and then help aparents match up with what the birthmom is usually looking for in a family. I hope I explained it right but I just want to mention that this is just my personal opinion from doing my homework. They are all good to us as long as you know the risks involved.

Hope everything works out with the attorney. Is it John Hawley in Boise? Just wondering. Let me know-thanks! Patty

[jstone]

We are using Brady law chartered. They are very informed and work to keep the cost low as possible. They bill on a hourly rate not a flat fee so it can either work for you if everything is smooth or against you if there are complications. Here is there web site if you are interested.


http://www.bradylawoffice.com/

[BeckyS]

just wanted to say that we used Brady for our finalization & thought they were great....they were on top of things, very personable & the fees were very reasonable....they even handled the new birth certificate for us & we had that in the mail in less than 2 weeks after the finalization.