Adoption
don't know where to start
My husband and I are starting to look into adoption. I am currently getting ready to have my 4th m/c so it looks like pregnancy is not going to be an option.
We had been looking into adoption before but got really overwhelmed. Can someone tell me where to start?
I had gotten a packet from Bethany Children's Services and just felt totally overwhelmed and scared at how expensive it is. We don't have $40,000+ in cash sitting around. I'm afraid that means adoption won't be a means for us either...
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much
This discussion has been closed.
Re: don't know where to start
I"m sorry to hear about your losses.
A good start may be a basic beginner book like Adoption for Dummies. It lays out a lot of information and options in digestible bits. It goes over the different types of adoption (foster/adopt, domestic, international) and different ways to go about it (law firm, agency, etc.), fees to expect, financing/grants, resources, you name it. From there you can start to dip your toes into the water, so to speak, and hit the Internet.
See if agencies in your area have informational meetings. You can also look for national seminars/webinars. We attended a phone seminar through resolve.org, and our local agency had both webinars and in-person seminars. They were very helpful as well.
Don't be afraid to give it some time, whether that's to be really ready for adoption, or to save up or find financing options to afford it. It took us a year before we got the ball rolling.
Good luck and keep the questions coming.
PM coming your way...
I'm sorry about your losses. Adoption does seem overwhelming at first. You have to do so many things to get ready for it and it can be expensive. Some people seem to think that it takes a long time too, but in many cases it's a short wait. We finished our home study in April 2006 and had a failed adoption in July 2006. We took time off and updated our home study in May 2007 and Ben was born in June 2007. It only took a little over a year from when we first met with a facilitator in Jan. 2006.
I wish you the best of luck.
Everything can be very overwhelming, I remember feeling like there was no way we could make an adoption happen. My husband and I spent a lot of time on youtube watching adoption videos, following adoption blogs and most importantly researching agencies and programs. We found an amazing agency that we trusted 100%, that will be the most important step for you. We chose American World, www.awaa.org. There are many wonderful agencies but AWAA was right for us.
As far as the finance part goes, we basically trusted that God would provide if we were to follow our hearts and pursue the Ethiopian adoption. We had a little bit in savings but decided to move forward praying that the money would be provided. I started a photography business, in which 100% of the proceeds go toward our adoption expenses. We also designed a t-shirt and are selling them. Believe it or not we have fundraised almost half of the cost!!!
Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions: www.fulmerstory.blogspot.com
Ashlie
It's really hard to give averages. It took us about 4 months to get our homestudy done, another month for profile stuff, and now we're waiting. At this point it could be a day or a year before we get the call. The longest anyone has waited with our agency is 2 years.