[Praying 4 # 1]

Hi,

My name is Shawnna and dh is Matt. We have recently decided to pursue adoption. We really are not at all sure what we are suppose to do other than we know we need to have a home study done. We are waiting for another month or two to actually get our home study started because we are remodeling our house and want that to be finished when we have our home study. So for the next month or two we are basically doing our homework and trying to find out as much info as we can on adoption. We also know that we are wanting to adopt a waiting child age 2-5. We think that we are going to start with our local child social services first as we are also considering foster parenting. Any information on adoption or foster parenting would be greatly appreciated.
I'm looking forward to making new friends from this bb and would love to have an e-pal if anyone would be interested!

Shawnna

[willowhawk]

Hi Shawnna...I just read your post and decided to respond. I have adopted 5 children throught the Dept. of Social Services, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering adoption. There are so, so many children waiting for homes. If I can be of any help, please let me know. I am more than willing to give any info you may need......Cindy

[joymom]

Congrats on deciding to pursue adoption!

I'm sure you'll discover this in your research, but I'm pretty sure if you go thru the state they'll take care of your homestudy. In our state, the only reason to do a private homestudy if you're doing a 'state' adoption is if you think you may come across a private situation as well. (Many times the state homestudy is only good for their specific situations and not usable or accessible elsewhere.) We considered going this route at one point and found that we were the most comfortable with working with an agency that placed children referred to them by the state. It's a little more expensive (ok, a lot more expensive??), but we felt we'd be getting better support. Just an idea!

Happy researching!

[Praying 4 # 1]

Thank you for replying!
We have been told that we might be able to get our home study done at no expense through the state due to the fact that we are considering foster care as well as adoption. Expense is one of the reasons we have chosen this route and the fact that both dh and I have decided that we would rather take in a child that may otherwise be in the state system until they are released due to age.
I really am confused as to what happens after we have had our home study and have taken the classes that are required. Do we just sit back and wait? Are we going to at some point need a lawyer? I only know about the home study and classes from others that I have talked to on other sites but no one has really said what to expect after that!?
We had talked to an agency at a seminar that we attended and they said that if we went through them for an infant adoption that they would take care of all of the legal stuff that all we would have to do after the homestudy and classes is write a letter to a possible birth mother. But since we have chosen another method of adoption I don't know what will be expected of us.

Thanks again to both of you for replying!

Shawnna

[willowhawk]

Hello again Shawnna...We were actually referred to an agency by our local DSS to have our homestudy done and to take our classes. They contract with DSS to place children in need of homes. The homestudy as well as the classes were free. Expense was also a considering factor with us. Once our classes were done (and our homestudy was approved) we were presented with two children who they felt would fit into our household. I have four bio kids, so this was a factor in placing children in our home, also. As it turned out, there was another couple also interested in the same two kids and they ended up taking them. We were disappointed at first, but the agency said not to worry, there were plenty of kids. I'm not sure where you are located (I'm in Mass) but there is also an organization called Mass. Adoption Resource Exchange. They have a book in the local libraries called a MARE manual that you can go and look at. I started making monthly trips to the library and found several children who sounded as if they would be perfect for us. There were two brothers listed (age 7 and 9) and we got the opportunity to meet them at an adoption party. As it turned out, they were the first two kids we adopted. We never did need a lawyer for any reason as the agency's lawyers handled everthing. I am the type of person who has a hard time sitting back and waiting, that's why I decided to do some leg work on my own. Let me know where you are located and I'll see if I can give you some referrals. ...Cindy

[Praying 4 # 1]

Cindy,

Thank you for your info. I really appreciate it. We are located in Indiana. I am probably going to be a lot like you in the sense that I will have a lot of trouble sitting around waiting. We haven't even gotten started yet and I have already been to surrounding states websites looking at their photos of children who are waiting! I'm so anxious to get started I feel like we have wasted a lot of valuable time the past few years. It's been 5 years since we were told that we would not be able to concieve on our own and then this year we tried infertility and they all failed so I really want to get things moving!! I know we are still young, both of us are 26 but I also know that it can take awhile to get everything taken care of and finalized. I'm also anxious about recieving my books that I have ordered so I can start reading as much info as I can get my hands on about adoption!

Thanks again!

Shawnna

[blessed with 2]

I don't know, but you might anticipate some waiting time from the time you contact social services until your homestudy. I would talk to them to get an idea of how things work, and what they require. It may be that you can "get the ball rolling" while you finish work on your house. I did not like sitting around waiting either, so I can identify! I have learned through adopting that what you think should be quick, often is very slow since so many agencies are overworked! Good luck!