[rbmcqueen]

eCan anyone tell us if there are any states that offer the required adoptiona training classes online. We are having a problem with the scheduling of the claases in our area. I am willing and able to adopt from the foster care system in any state. This is what is going to hold us up the most. My husband works at 4:30 am and there are no saturday classes. Please let me know if anyone has any information that can Help us in our travel to adopt a sibling group.

[Tudu]

In GA, we had to physically attend IMPACT training. We are allowed to do our additional 16 hours in online classes, books, video, etc. We are going through a private agency and adopting through fostercare. Our agency was the only one that did 3 Saturday classes, the others did it once a week in the evening for 10 weeks.
What state are you in? Maybe someone from your state could give you a referral privately.

[rbmcqueen]

I am in Florida, DCF is horrible here, they have 50 families waiting to be licenced for foster care. What private agency did you go through in Georgia, and what were there fees. I will appreciate your help

[awebaby]

I was also curious about foster/adopt from a state other than your own and how that works. Is it through state agencies or private?

Any info would be appreciated.

[LadyBugz]

I've not heard of the possibility of fostering outside your area (after all--the purpose of fostering is reunification, and it is pretty hard to keep a bond going when the children are in another state). I have heard of the very rare case of foster parents moving out of state and their foster children moving with them. It is not the norm and not what you are asking about, though.

It is possible to adopt out-of-state through the foster care system, though. You become approved in your home state and then your homestudy is forwarded to the case worker of the children you are interested in adopting. It adds an extra layer of bureaucracy to go between states as you have to go through the interstate compact agreement process, but it is doable and done frequently. Expect an extra 2-6 months added to the process if you go out-of-state.

Either way, your local area has to be the one to do all the initial approvals, though.