Newbie intro with questions!

KermitClin06

Hi there! First off, I want to thank all of you who share on this board, I've been lurking for a week or two now and have gained a lot of valuable information from those who post on the board. I love the FAQs you all just did, thank you so much!

My husband and I have decided to start researching international adoption and we're most interested in adopting from China. So far we've talked to a friends who have adopted from China who gave us the name of a few agencies nearby, but we also want to look at other agencies to see which one fits best for us. Since there is so much information on the internet, I'm curious what sources you all found helpful to find reputable adoption agencies?

Thanks in advance for your help!

silliestbunny

I am far from an expert on IA so take my suggestions with a grain of salt-

But I'd start by joining some of the Yahoogroups for IA.  It was suggested to me when we explored IA to join the Yahoo group called Adoption_Agency_Research but I am sure there are some groups specifically for China.

My only other reaction to your post -  my limited knowledge of China's programs is that unless you are seeking a Waiting Child (either older or correctable medical issue), the wait in the general China program is quite long--- three or more years.  An aquaintance in the program was quoted five years!   

Best of luck to you!

HopefulHalley10

Welcome! We've been doing a lot of research in IA ourselvess, we're interested in Ethiopian adoption, and I would recommend reading The Complete Book of International Adoption.  We did a lot of word of mouth searching for good agencies along with the yahoo group on reviews of agencies.  We tend to ask everyone we find what their experience is with adoption. As far as China adoption goes every agency I talked to (5 or 6 different agencies) said China is a minimum of 4 years on the waitlist, that's after your homestudy and everything else.  We also found it to be one of the most expensive programs no matter what agency we dealt with. It took us a lot of research and a long time for us to research so don't feel like you have to learn everything quickly.  I would also suggest requesting a lot of info packets from agencies.  It can help you visually compare one place to another. Good luck on your journey

KermitClin06

Thanks very much for the suggestions! I've signed up for the yahoo group and I'm real excited about the book suggestion since just last night we were talking about looking for some books on international adoption. Thanks again!

noonecarewhoiam

Another great China website is the Rumor Queens--www.chinaadopttalk.com

c1311

noonecarewhoiam:

Another great China website is the Rumor Queens--www.chinaadopttalk.com

This. We are adopting from Korea, so we were limited in what agencies placed in our state. It cut down on the comparison of agencies. I have a friend that just adopted from china's special needs program last year. It took them about 2.5 years from start to finish.

HannaB

No advice on int'l since we're doing domestic. Just wanted to say hi.

KermitClin06

Hi Hanna! How have you been? Haven't seen you around in a while.

Temp206787500007404

I didn't do IA so I don't have much advice...but wanted to say that you should look for an adoption support group in your area.  I know that we are about 50/50 Domestic vs. International in my combined support group and we have tons of people join early on in the process to get the support of the families who have "been there, done that" on the IA side of things since the process can be so long and difficult to navigate.

Best of luck to you!