Once you have chosen to adopt, it is very important to educate yourself about adoption and research of all your options. I’ve been told, it’s tough in the beginning but it gets easier.
Where do I start?
There are several steps that are common to most types of adoption:
- Educate yourself and your family members.
- Decide what type of adoption you want pursue.
- Investigate ways to handle adoption expenses.
- Select an adoption agency/facilitator and/or attorney.
- Complete an agency application form.
- Begin the homestudy process.
- Attend pre-adoption and parenting classes.
- Be matched with or locate a child.
- Prepare for your child’s arrival.
- File a petition to adopt.
- Finalize the adoption.
- Post-adoption services and education.
Find an Adoption Agency: myadoptionagencies.com
After you have selected an adoption agency, connect with an Adoption Specialist who will guide you through the process. It is also a good idea to attend free information meetings provided by your agency.
I was most comfortable asking my friends, who have successfully completed adopting, how they started their adoption process. They gave me helpful information about the agencies and the attorney’s they went with. I learned you can adopt through an attorney or an agency. With an agency, you will eventually need an attorney. They were both highly recommended, so it wasn’t easy to decide which one to go with. After discussing the options, we have decided to go with an attorney.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:18 am
We just started with this process too. It is a lot at first, but the agency knows what’s going on, which makes it easier.