I'm thinking about adoption. My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for awhile now. we had a miscarriage in July. I started looking at adoption stuff and its been really weighing on my heart. I want to do a in state adoption. Has anyone else done this? I would really like to adopt a baby but I'd also love a child under 2. What kind of adoption have you done and how long did you have to wait?
Re: Thinking about adoption
Welcome. I hope you'll find a lot of info and support here. It's a great group.
What do you mean by in-state adoption? Do you mean through the state, or an agency or private adoption within your own state?
We did domestic infant adoption through a large agency. We started the process in May 2009, finished our homestudy that October, and were matched in March 2010.
Wait times can vary depending on a lot of factors, and you're likely to see a wide range the more people you talk to.
I highly recommend reading the FAQs at the top of this board. They have some great resources to get you started, and you can always come back with more specific questions.
Post often!
Hi and welcome. I'm sorry for your loss.
I agree with the posters that recommend you check out the FAQs; there's a lot of information there to get you started.
I adopted internationally, and it took 2.5 years the first time and just over a year the second, but that really doesn't say anything about anyone else's adoption (even if they adopted from the same country at the same time and using the same agency) because there are just so many variables that can affect how long a person's process. That is one of the most frustrating things about adoption, although you can get estimates, there really is no way of knowing how long it will take.
By "in state adoption," are you referring to domestic infant adoption in which the expectant mother lives in your state? Or do you mean adopting a child who is in the state's custody, more commonly referred to as foster adoption or adopting from foster care? There are regular posters here who have done and are in the process of both.
If you are referring to adopting from foster care, you should know that the primary focus of the foster care system is reunification. That means that the system is invested in helping the child's biological parents get to a healthy place where they can parent their child again, and will do everything possible to make this happen rather than proceed with the child's adoption. In many places, this means that adopting a child under the age of two is unlikely or may lead to long waits.