From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

5. Match with an expecting mother (newborn adoption) or waiting child (international or foster adoption).

After your home study is completed, you will wait to be matched with either an expecting mother (newborn adoption) or a waiting child (foster and international adoption). For some people, this takes only a few weeks; for others, it can take years.

The... more

From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

4. Complete a home study.

A home study is a series of meetings with the social worker with two goals:

Evaluate how safe a home you will provide for a child Educate you to prepare you for parenting an adopted child

This is the part of the adoption process that hopeful adoptive parents tend to dread the most.... more

From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

3. Fill out an adoption application.

Filling out the adoption application can be a daunting task. Our application process involved two sets of paperwork. The first set alone was 14 pages. On one of those 14 pages, we were asked to make 46 decisions about which health risks we would consider in an adopted child and in the child’s birthfamily. The application... more

From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

2. Attend an adoption orientation.

While not all agencies, attorneys, and facilitators hold adoption orientations, be sure to attend one if they do. You can learn a wealth of information about an adoption professional by attending the orientation.

Personalities of Adoption Professionals

You will meet the people with... more

From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

1. Contact the adoption agency, attorney, or facilitator.

The very first step is to find an adoption agency, attorney, or facilitator. What is the difference between the three?

Adoption Agencies

An adoption agency is an organization, either public or private, that is licensed by the state to facilitate adoptions. Adoption... more

When we decided to adopt a child, my husband and I did not have the first clue about what was involved in the adoption process. I looked through the yellow pages and found an adoption agency. From there, the agency guided us through the process to adopt a child.

While there may be some variations depending upon the state and the method of adoption you choose (agency versus adoption attorney, domestic versus international adoption, etc.), the basic process should look something like this:

Contact... more

I have just completed a series called International Adoption: How to Choose a Country. If you are looking to adopt domestically in the United States, you might find yourself in a similar position of choosing a state instead of a country from which to adopt. Adoption laws differ from state to state, and some couples consider these differences when making this decision.

There are many factors to consider,... more

If you have a “past” of some form, you might worry about how it will affect your ability to adopt a child. I just completed a series for adult survivors of childhood abuse who might have concerns about the adoption home study process. In addition to a history of being abused, there are many other background concerns that you might have when beginning an adoption home study.

In browsing the forums,... more

If you are an adult survivor of childhood abuse, you might be feeling angry about having to discuss your history with a social worker during the adoption home study process. You might rail against the unfairness of it all. This reaction is very normal and, in my opinion, healthy. It is what you do with your anger during the adoption home study process that matters.

There is a lot to be angry about. Your abusers took away your innocence and your ability to trust, and now they are potentially taking away... more

Last night, on my post entitled Abuse Survivors: Therapy during Adoption Home Study, “Kept Confidential” left a long and heartfelt comment about this topic. This post is to address many of the issues she raises about her frustration with abuse survivors having to discuss their histories as part of the adoption home study.

Let me start by saying that I agree with many (but not all) of her points. Here are the issues she... more