From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

9. Complete Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) requirements (for out-of-state adoptions).

If you are adopting a U.S. child domestically from a different state, then you will have to comply with all ICPC requirements before you may physically transport... more

We lived in North Carolina, and the baby was born in Georgia, so we had to fulfill all Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) requirements before we could legally leave the state. Even though the birthparents’ parental rights had terminated, we were still not allowed to go home.

When we adopted, the Georgia end of things was very efficient, but the North Carolina end was slow. I have heard that North Carolina’s ICPC processing has improved a great deal since then, and I hope that this is true because 16 days is a very long... more