[Jenkay]

We would like to adopt a little girl between the age of 2-5 years old. Is it possible to give that information to the foster care system and that be taken into consideration? We live about an hour outside of Austin in a very small town so my resources are limited. Any help is appriciated.

Jennifer

[MissyB9479]

There is some work you have to do first. Not sure what the exact Texas laws are but you may need to complete parenting classes, a homestudy, and other paperwork. If you contact your local DCS or whatever it is called in your area they should be able to provide you with all of the information.

Be aware that most children in the foster care system are not legally free to adopt yet (some are but the plan in most of them are reunification). If you are only interested in adopting a legally free child you may have a very long wait. If you are willing to be a foster parent first (with the hope that the child you were fostering became free for adoption) your chances go up. But it's a hard decision and can be heartbreaking.

The county child services agency should be able to answer most of your questions and holds informational meeting throughout the year for people interested in foster/adopt programs.

[stepforone]

Yes you can specify age, sex, race, problems, health issues etc. There is one page on the study that you check mark what you are willing to handle. The pickier you are the longer it takes to place a child. The above poster was right, it would be faster if you were willing to foster but you take the chance of breaking your heart when the children leave because there is no definites when it comes to these children going to adoption or going to family. If you want to do this without fostering you can go to the website of available children which is open to all prospective parents - http://treatyoak.tdprs.state.tx.us:8...chAdvanced.jsp. Each state has this type of listing. I believe you would have to go through a homestudy and background check to adopt from there.