Tag Archives: state adoption

AdoptUSKids.org

There are thousands of children waiting for homes all over the world. As Americans, often the children that most quickly pull at our hearts are the children here in the United States who don’t have a family to call their own. In an effort to help spread the word about these children, there are photolistings set up that strive to put a face and a name to all of these children who wait. One of the largest photolistings for state adoptions is AdoptUSKids.org. This website provides a way to search all over the country for a child to join your … Continue reading →

Straight Adoption

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This is a continuation from my Foster to Adopt blog. Probably one of the more secure ways to adopt is by going the straight adoption route. This is also referred to as legally free or legal risk adoption. Legally free adoptions happen when the child’s birth parent’s rights have been terminated by the courts, a process called TPR. These cases tend to move much more quickly as a result. Parents who adopt this route usually end up with children over age one. The reason for this is that the state usually takes about a year to work with the parents … Continue reading →

Foster to Adopt

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I am writing a two part blog. This first one will be on fostering to adopt and the other one will shed some light on straight adoption. States deal with the issue of fostering to adopt differently. There are some states that strongly advise you to foster before adopting, others that are indifferent, and then there are ones like our state of Oregon that strongly discourage it. The kind of fostering to adopt I’m talking about is taking in a foster child who’s case is still new in hopes that it will be moved toward adoption. All children that have … Continue reading →

Please Pray For My Son

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This might be an unusual blog, but it’s a desperate plea from a mom who doesn’t know what else to do. I need prayer for my son right now. Whatever you might be doing, I humbly ask you to pray. My son is 5 years old. He was adopted. He has anxiety issues, explosiveness, and impulse control issues. Last year we dealt with a cycling of out of control behaviors. We got him into see his pediatrician, a psychologist and a psychiatrist. Childhood bipolar has thus far been ruled out. ADD has not. My son shows signs of fetal drug … Continue reading →

Adoption: Melissa’s Story

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Unlike many couples who seek adoption, my husband and I didn’t pursue for fertility reasons—at least not initially. We were in our early 20’s and had heard there were many kids in our own state waiting for a forever family. We had love to share and an extra bedroom available. We started the adoption process by attending an orientation at our county’s Department of Human Resources (DHS). Upon hearing about the various special needs of the children waiting in the system, we thought it would be better to wait to adopt. We decided to focus on trying to conceive. After … Continue reading →

How We Started the Adoption Process in Our State

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My husband and I reside in the state of Oregon. When we decided we were going to adopt, we didn’t know where to start. Though states vary in how their steps are outlined, my hope is that our experience will give you some idea of how the state adoption process can work. 1. We went to the Government pages in our phone book and looked for our county’s Department of Human Services (DHS). In other states it may be department of social or human services or recourses. Each state has a different name for their program. Sometimes just calling the … Continue reading →

While Waiting to Adopt

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The hardest part of the adoption process I hear about from others is the waiting! I call it the “Hurry up and wait” game. Anyone who’s played it, I’m sure will agree, it’s not a fun game. There are some things that you can do during the waiting that will not only help pass time, but actually help you stand out as a waiting family. Take advantage of special opportunities with your current family. When my husband and I were waiting, we would take day trips to the ocean and the mountain. We took long aimless drives at night (gas … Continue reading →