Prayer does do wonders. It helped us and we really had it pretty easy. I shall keep you in my thoughts and prayers as you get ready to make your journey. Make sure you post to let everyone know how it went! Good Luck, sounds like those are 2 lucky little girls.

[Cin97]

This is great to see everyone on here from Iowa.

My husband and I are from Mason City and we are pursuing International Adoption from Kazakhstan, which is a Russian Country three times the size of Texas.

There is a lot of paperwork to go through but the end result is so worth it all.

[dehobe]

Are any of you going to the meeting in Sigourney, Iowa tomorrow night to meet Iowa adoption caseworkers? I'm not sure if they are presenting info about children available for adoption, I guess that is my assumption. It might be a good way to get info. Deb

[entropy]

Hi
We are in Cedar Rapids and we are just now sending our paperwork of to Colombia to adopt internationally!

Congratulations! My husband and I just celebrated Christmas by finalizing our sons adoption. He just turned 9 mo old a week ago Sunday and it seems like we've had him forever! It is amazing how much they change your life and yet it is all for the better; even with the sleep deprivation!!!!

[bearsrepeating]

Hi. My dh and I are just starting the process to adopt/foster. Right now we're going through DHS and starting our ten week classes this coming Monday.

I noticed a couple of you mentioned not liking changes with DHS. May I ask what some of the concerns are?

This is totally new for us. We have 3 children, have always wanted 4, but it's not safe for me (or baby) to be pregnant again. Dh also doesn't want me cut open again (3 c-sections). He said he'd rather adopt a child that already needs a home.

We were thinking about an international adoption, but there is no way we can afford it. :-( There is a couple around here that we know that adopted 3 children from Ukraine almost 2 years ago.

Any advice is appreciated.

My concerns have more to do with the uncertainty. They will tell you right up front that their goal is to reunite the biological family.
That is all well and good but these children have been removed for a reason and maybe putting them back into that situation is not necessarily the best thing. I would also find it hard emotionally. I mean if you have a child with you for some time and you get attached and then they put them back with their family; it has to be hard. It may be easier for you as you already have 3 children of your own, but I imagine it would still be difficult. I could tell you not to get emotionally attached but then you are not being honest with yourself or with that child. So just go into this with your eyes wide open and know that it can be both hard and full of joy. Also, do not give up exploreing other options, you never know what you may come across. We were blessed within a month of finishing our home study and are going to start looking for a girl next year! God bless you as you start this journey, may he guide you every step and bring you the child meant for you and your family.

[Mysticah]

Bearsrepeating.......we are doing State Adoption through DHS. We too are in our 10 week classes. Tomorrow is session #6. I could teach the class so I find it very boring. You see this is our second time through this system. We adopted 1 girl age 6 4 years ago. It has been a rocky road. That is why it took us 4 years to do it again. The state adoption hasn't been the easiest road, but it is affordable. Plus you are helping children that need help. With the state you can do fostering, thats an option, we are not fostering. We can not take the fact they are here today, gone tomorrow. The first time we went through this our file was lost in a drawer. We sat dormant for 3 years before a new worker came into the office and sent letters to everyone in the drawer to see if they were still interested. After that we had to have an updated home study and then things moved very quickly. As with all adoptions, you are put under a microscope. I wish birth parents had to go through that. I would be happy to answer any State adoption questions that I could.

[dehobe]

Bearsrepeating, We have adopted 4 children through the state of Iowa. It is a roller coaster and you never know if you will be the family picked to parent the child. We did foster care and three of the children never left. The first child we planned to adopt, but the others we did not. You very rarely get a baby and you have to deal with never knowing if you will get the chance to adopt. The training changed and there were cuts in adopion subsidies. Our children received all the benefits because they are considered "special needs". Communication is a problem because of the high workloads and more children in th system. We have considered adopting one more child, but because we have 6 under 7 yrs. we are told we cannot adopt anymore. We did 2 private adoptions for our 2 younger daughters. We have 2 older daughters, 19 and 20 yrs. We would like to at least be able to do a homestudy, but that is not being offered. Anyone know if we at least have to be able to go through the homestudy process? Deb

[bearsrepeating]

So what is all covered in these classes? Ours start tomorrow night, so I guess I'll find out then.

Ideally, I'd love a baby, but realistically I'm telling myself to not get my hopes up. I would like a child younger than my youngest (2 1/2 at the moment), but who knows if that will even happen. I am open to other ages at this point, though.

As for it maybe being easier for a child to be reunited with their family since I already have 3 children, I don't think it will be. Loving and caring for a child and then having them taken away would be awful no matter how many children someone has. That's the hardest part about us deciding to foster. Getting attached to a child and then you have to give them up. Plus, our 3 girls love other kids, and if we have another child here that they get attached to, it will be hard on them, too.

Oh, those of you who have fostered. Have you ever had problems with getting permission to take the kids out of state? We have a lot of family in WI, and like to take little trips there once in a while. I know that will have to be a question we ask when they call us to care for a child, but I was just wondering.

I found this forum while looking for something else, and I'm glad I stumbled across it. Right now, I don't have a whole lot of questions, but I'm sure I will once we get a little further into things. Thanks for the help.

[Mysticah]

It is very difficult getting very young children through the state. Most of the time these children come with a lot of baggage. For them to be available through state adoption they have had to go through a lot of abuse, one way or another. Ours came with a lot of baggage from abuse. Everyday we have dealt with behavior issues. She saw and dealt with a lot in her 6 years of life, prior to her coming to us. But we have had to deal with those issues. I never thought I would step foot in a counselors office, now I have seen many many counselors. I never thought I would have to think about child abuse period. But her adoption has opened a whole lot of new doors. Be ready for what you may face with state adoption. I don't want to scare you, but it is much more difficult than standard domestic adoption of infants or international infant adoption. I imagine there are issues with international as the child ages, but atleast they would be able to enjoy their childhood. My childs childhood has been robbed from her. She was the parent in her birth home. That never status doesn't seem to go away.

[Sharonkay]

Thought I would revive this thread. We are located north of Waterloo, IA. We are looking to adopt a domestic caucasian infant. Would like to find an agency that handles everything. But, it seems the only Iowa agencies that do this are Christian type and don't accept famlies who don't attend church.

Can someone suggest any agencies?

About Heaven Sent in ankeny, do they have a website? email? What services do they offer?

Those that have adopted infants, where did you adopt from? We are nervous adopting out of state etc.

thanks!

[Sharonkay]

Wow, no PMs ??