Foster care adoption advice?

refletch · July 2013

Hello!

My hubby and I are in the beginning stages of adoption. After over a year of TTC and a miscarriage we decided adoption was a better course for us! We decided to adopt a child from foster care hopefully between 4-8. I was just hoping for advice on how the process goes, time frame, etc. We are in NC...

beachy6 · July 2013

Hi! My DH and I are waiting to be matched though foster care and, even though we're in a different state, I'm sure the process is similar. First, we had to attend classes at our local children's services agency. There were 12 classes that were 3 hours each. DH wasn't thrilled about this part, but we're both glad we did them because they explained lots of things that may come up and we've both used the information at work! Go figure!

As your taking your classes, you'll be getting your home study stuff ready. The home study, for us, was stressful, but we realized after it was all said and done, there was no reason to stress out! Our worker visited our home 3 different times. She looked for safety things (smoke detectors, etc) and the layout of your home and where you'd have kids sleep. Your worker will give you a list of the rules so nothing is a surprise! Two of the visits were interviews with our worker. She basically wanted to know why we wanted to adopt, why we were looking to go through the public system to do so, and also to make sure we weren't nut jobs! You will also have to get a TON of papers together. W-2's, pay stubs, proof home and car insurance, vet records, your own medical physicals have to be within one year, etc. Again, they'll give you a list of this, also.

These are the basics and really, it's not as scary as it feels when you're going through it! If you are good people, with stable jobs, and good hearts, you'll be fine! There are lots of kids that are 5 and older in our state, so that is a good age to want to adopt. Lots of kids are waiting. You can look on the site Adopt US Kids for photolistings of kids that are available across the country. Most states also have their own photolisting for kids that are available. My DH isn't comfortable AT ALL with looking online and "shopping" for kids, as he calls it. He would rather just wait until our worker comes to us with a match, which is why it's taking us so much longer! But, most people use the online tools and are matched pretty quickly!

Good luck to you and your DH!!

Dr.Loretta · July 2013

Hi and welcome.

the FAQs should give you an overview, and your caseworker should be able to provide details on the home study, clearances, classes, etc

GL!

[Deleted User] · July 2013

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JoaPata · July 2013

Hi and Welcome! I just joined the board in the past month also and am in the process of trying to adopt through Foster Care. In my State we attend a orientation and then get background checks prior to being invited to classes. Our classes are 9 weeks (3 hour sessions). We are going into week 2 of classes. We had our first home visit already. Once class is done we get our home study done and then wait for a match. We are looking to adopt 0-3. There are so many children just waiting for a good home and my DH and I thought it would be wonderful to adopt out of foster care to give a child a home. There has been no cost and our workers have been great with information. My DH and I are also infertile. We tried for 4 years and did infertility treatment with no success. We have never had a positive pregnancy test. Took some time to grieve and then once we were comfortable decided adoption would be a wonderful way to build our family. I look forward to hearing your experience. :-)

mtendere · July 2013

I'm in NC and beginning the process for fostering. We are not going I to it specifically to adopt, but it seems that the process is largely the same. Each county seems to largely handle their own cases with agencies only dealing with special or hard to place cases. Children's home Society is one agency that facilitates adoptions from foster care. They also deal with older and special needs primarily. My understanding is that once you are home study approved, you can look to other states as well, but it can be an arduous process depending on the caseworkers involved. It seems that some have had success while others are just met with frustrations and roadblocks with out of state inquiries.

Basically, to foster, we had to fill out paperwork for initial background checks, which should be happening now. We had to state whether we were interested in Fostering, adoption, and/or foster to adopt among other questions. Then, assuming all is well, we will be placed in MAPP classes for the fall. Then the home study process begins. Each county's schedule is a bit different, so I'd check with your county's DSS to start off.

Edited because I misread your age range.

whatididntkno · July 2013

So sorry for your loss and congratulations on entering this new exciting period in your life!

I'm in NC too. My understanding (at least in my county) is that they expect all foster parents to do so with the goal being reunification. That said, only 40 something percent of kids in our county are able to be reunified. If reunification is not possible the foster parents are then asked if they would like to adopt the child. If they can't or for whatever reason do not want to then other licensed foster parents would then be next in line to adopt.

As far as the process goes, it takes a while to get licensed. Approximately 9-12 months. Our experience will be approximately 10 months from our first info meeting to final licensing. This included MAPP classes (6 saturdays), two home visits, a fire inspection, medical checks/forms, and a lot of paperwork. I believe we also have to have a meeting with our licensing worked in her office to prove we can make appointments, but we haven't gotten to that part yet.

jadesea · July 2013

What part of the state are you? I work for an agency as well am in mid process of V/R, Foster to Adopt. Each agency has their own regulations on top of the State regs.

We are in the Western part of the state. First became visiting resources for children that were in residential home. Often with those kids the next step is foster care depending on the reason they are in that setting. We had day visits, worked up to over night visits with two little boys. We are finishing up our foster care requirements of finger prints, physicals etc. Before we could be a visiting resources we had a home study so it made the steps for foster care easier for us.

The joy the laughter of these two little guys bring to us is unmeasurable! Please feel free to private message me if you'd like to talk more extensively. Good luck!

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