From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

7. Visit with the child (foster adoption and some international adoptions).

For foster and international adoptions, you might have the option of visiting with the child after you are matched but before you adopt. If you have this option, I encourage you to use this opportunity to begin bonding with your child-to-be.

Foster Adoption

I... more

From Adoption 101: How to Adopt a Child:

6. Meet the expecting mother or waiting child.

After you are matched with an expecting mother or a waiting child, you will schedule a meeting before the adoption. Most people are nervous about meeting for the first time, but remember that the expecting mother or waiting child is likely to be just as nervous as you are.

Foster Adoption

Different... more

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

When you are starting out the adoption process, the various types of adoption from which you can choose might overwhelm you. This post is to help explain each type and provide links to where you can find out more information.

Newborn Adoption

If you choose to adopt a newborn, you will likely match with an expecting mother who is in the later stages of her pregnancy (generally in her third trimester). In some cases,... more

My next several posts will be an Adoption 101 series. I am writing these posts for people who are just starting out the adoption process. Those of us who have been part of the adoption world for a while can forget that we did not always know what to call an adopted child’s biological parents or what a home study is. This series will also be helpful for friends and family of those who are adopting.

It is hard to follow any discussion if you are not familiar with the basic terminology, so I will begin... more