Wondering about adoption ( wanting to adopt) ?

Raven,

If you and your husband want to adopt, please do not be put off by some of the answers on here.

The process is relatively easy to start. First you have to decide if you want to adopt an infant from a private agency or if you want to adopt via foster care. Personally, as a foster parent, I would very much like you to consider foster care but what you ultimately decide is up to you.

If you want to go with infant adoption and an agency, you need to decide on whether or not you want to go with one that has a religious affiliation or a secular one. Then, you need to do your research. Look at the different web pages and call the Better Business Bureau to see if there have been any complaints about that particular agency. After that, call them up and tell them that you are interested in adopting. Ask them what their particular criteria for adopting parents are. Some require one parent to stay home for a year, some require you to have a year's salary in the bank, some have age restrictions. Find one that is workable for you. Ask for references. This is very important.

After you decide on an agency, you may or may not be required to take some classes. You will have to have a background check done, they may or may not check your credit, they will do a home study. Then there are the fees the agency will charge. All this can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

If you do not particular want an infant or if the agency fees are cost prohibitive, you can adopt via the foster care system. The requirements are usually a little less stringent(dare I say more realistic) than those of a private agency. You do not have to have your own home. You do not have to stay home for a year. You do not have to have a year's salary in the bank etc. You will need to find out who has the adoption contract for your state. This is probably the most important thing. There is one agency that has the adoption contract and then there are satellite foster care agencies. These other agencies are just as good but the agency that has the adoption contract has a bigger pool and if you are already with the agency that has the adoption contract, there is less hassle if you are requesting a home study. That probably doesn't make much sense but once you get into the wonderful world of foster care, it will make sense. So, after you pick the agency (the one with the adoption contract), call them up. You and your husband will be required to take state mandated classes. Depending on your schedule, this can be on Saturdays for 3 hours a day for 3 months or on Mon, Tues, Wed for 2 months. It isn't long. Just enough to get you familiar with issues foster children might have. Then you will have to decide if you want to do foster to adopt or straight adoption. Both have advantages and disadvantages. If you do straight foster care, you will have to get a home study done, background check, they usually don't do a credit check, you don't have to provide as much financial information but you do have to prove that your income is stable, and the agency will have to do a walk through. If you do foster to adopt, you will have to do all of the above plus you will have a walk through by the state licensing department also.

If you want to go international, it is probably much the same but there may be residency requirements also.

If you and your husband decide on adoption, good luck.

If what you are wanting is an infant, then I second 7rin's post entirely. Give away one of your own, first and then see how you feel about taking someone else's.

However, if you are wanting to give a home to a child in foster care, kudos! The best place to start would be your local social services.

You've really asked the wrong question on the wrong forum. I find many of the people here are hatefull and it's so hard to get straight answers. I would recomend that you contact your ministry of family services and they will give you some options. Good luck!

just go to your adoption agency they will be able to help you with all the questions you have

i do recommend that you do some research first

good luck if you need to talk please email me

The process is utterly devastating!

Put it this way, if you're gonna adopt, you should pay-it-forward and choose which one of your beautiful daughters you're gonna gift to someone whose in a better position in life than you are - after all, it'll be "in your child's best interests!"

I suggest you read the links and blurb mentioned in the Best Answer (as chosen by voters) @ http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201... since that answers your question most thoroughly.

I'm all for adoption but if you can reproduce naturally, then just stick to that.