State Adoption: Fingerprinting and Criminal Background Checks.

In some states you may be able to start the criminal history and background checks as soon as your adoption application has been submitted and before you have an adoption socialworker assigned. If your state allows these steps to be taken early it is a good idea to make the appointment and get them started as they can take some time to be completed. Most states require a complete fingerprinting and criminal history check in order to adopt children from the foster care system. In many cases your state will require this to be completed for any adult living in … Continue reading →

State Adoptions: Training and Application.

The Foster to Adopt or Straight Adoption information packet families receive after contacting the state children’s services office should include information about orientation and training classes in the county a potential adoptive family lives. Sometimes this packet will include the Adoption Application which will serve as the foundation for your home study. Most states require a certain number of hours in training before the foster or adoption application will be accepted. Generally, interested families will need to attend an information meeting and a set number of hours of training before the application can be submitted. The majority of your initial … Continue reading →

The State Adoption Home Study: Getting Started.

Kathy and Rachel have done a wonderful job explaining the Home Study process for Private Domestic Infant adoption and International adoption. I thought I would write a Blog about the Home Study process for adopting a baby or child from the United States Foster care systems. In most states the cost of a Foster to Adopt or Straight Pre Adoptive Home Study is FREE. The fact is our income taxes currently pay to support more then 500,000 children in the foster care system with a third of these children waiting for adoptive families. Every working American currently supports these children … Continue reading →

The Adoption Home Study Process, Part 1

When you have decided to start the adoption process the first step you will want to take is to start preparing for the Home Study. The Home Study is the process whereby an individual or couple, undergo a study by a licensed public or private agency to assure the well being of the child in the home and the readiness of the family to adopt. The Home Study is required for all prospective adoptive families no matter what type of adoption may be pursued. Home Study requirements will vary from agency to agency, but every Home Study will have state … Continue reading →

What to Expect From a Home Study

For many prospective adoptive parents the thought of the Home Study can be very frightening or intimidating experience. After all, an individual who you have never met before comes into your house and asks you very personal questions about your childhood, your family, your marriage and your financial situation, among other topics. For those who have never had much experience with a Social Services Agency or Counseling, this assessment of your life can feel very intrusive. As my husband stated “you feel like your whole life is under scrutiny.” Further, your future dreams and hopes are in the hands of … Continue reading →

Which Agency Do We Choose?

Deciding on an Adoption Agency is not always as an easy decision. You have decide which agency is going to be the best suited to fit your needs. I conduct monthly seminars for American Adoptions, which we adopted our son through. During the seminar I always let couples know that although I am here representing the American Adoptions Agency, this agency may not be suited for every couple. The seminar is not meant to convince people to join the agency but to give information to see if American Adoptions would be the right fit for them and will it meet … Continue reading →

Family Books: Part of the State Home Study and Attachment Parenting.

Many caseworkers and other experts feel there are some things where pictures are more important than a thousand words. Family Books are a little bit like the letters and other things shown to a potential birth mother who might be considering placing her baby. The difference is that a Family Book may be used by the state as part of your home study and should be made to be given to the child before the transition starts. Families who are interested in adopting a child from the state foster care system may be asked to create a Family Book. If … Continue reading →

International Adoption

I have not personally gone through the experience of the International adoption process therefore the information I have compiled is made up of resources available on the Internet that I have found. Please feel free to make a comment if you find any of the information that is provided to be inaccurate. International or Inter-country adoption emerged soon after the Korean War when a number of Korean born or Asian American babies were born who needed homes and families. In 2002, 20,000 children were adopted from other countries. Many countries participate in International Adoption with America. These include Asian countries, … Continue reading →

Domestic Adoption

As I have mentioned in previous posts there are many choices that a couple or one has to make after making the decision to adopt, the first of which is to decide what type of adoption you would like to pursue. There are three primary ways to adopt: 1. Through the state or foster care, 2. Domestic adoption, and 3. International adoption. I will be discussing domestic adoption in this post. I’ll also comment in another post about international. If you have been reading Anna’s posts you will find the information that you need to adopt through the state or … Continue reading →

Moving Past Infertility to Adoption

As I have mentioned in a earlier post the reason many couples adopt is because after many years of trying to conceive a child a couple finds that they are unable to have children. Many couples choose to try fertility treatments only to find that they were unsuccessful as well. Then the couple turns to adoption as a way to build a family. I have found through completing Home Studies and talking to other couples who have adopted that the length of time and the number of treatments that a couple tries does vary. However, for the most part many … Continue reading →