DH and I would gladly adopt an AA baby, but have been told that the baby wouldn't be accepted since we live in a VERY small GA town and the people are VERY narrow minded.
I'm so sorry your journey has been so rough. I know it's been a rollercoaster for you guys! I hope your kiddos come home soon - I've been wondering how you were!!
About the above, you can PM me if you want details, but our town is 98% caucasian and we have had very little issues so far. Everyone adores Melody. It's always a tough choice though (and we don't plan to be here longterm).
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This has been a terrific thread and I want to thank everyone who's posted on it.
We're looking to add one, possibly two more children to our family - not *quite* yet, but soon - and are seriously discussing adoption as a possibility. It's terrific to hear so many on this board have done it successfully. This thread has been really inspiring and helpful! I'm so excited to consider this possibility for our family.
I'm sorry to hear of the long and difficult struggles some have had with adoptions. I can only imagine how heartwrenching it must be.
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Sandra - I'm glad you posted. I wondered how your Guatemalan adoptions were coming along. Any suggestions for funding a Guatemalan adoption? The country would be among our top choices if it weren't *so* expensive.
Sandra -- Would you mind sharing what agency you used for your Guat. adoptions? You can PM if you'd like.
We are trudging along day by day. Still trying to pick an agency.
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tried to PM but you were full, so I'll just post it here:
Hey, mama - I just got your message on the thread about adoption and wanted to give you the info we have.
We have not yet adopted from Guatemala (the pregnancy was sort of a surprise, in the midst of that process - thankfully, early on in the process) but our relatives are very happy with *their* adoptions through him. We also just happened upon a family with two Guatemalan daughters when we were travelling in Wisconsin last year - they used him for both their daughters and we thougth that was not only a great testament to his reputation, but also a funny coincidence, considering how far away they were!
He has a great staff and they have a reputation around here for "costing a tad more, but being able to get things through the courts here and down there much faster than most" because they do so much "in house" and are so experienced down there. They attorney they work with in Guatemala is very well respected as well - there has been some recent controversy about attorneys in Guatemala being scam artists, so this was reassuring to us.
Let me find his link - and he's less of an "agency" and more of a facilitator. He's an attorney, and thus limited by malpractice laws, which protects us as clients that much more. We have a lot of legal recourse and protection because he's bound by more regulations than just an adoption agency, kwim? (Which is why DH really wanted to use his office).
I also am in the very very very early consideration stages of our adoption process, you could say... but Thank you all for all the info. I want to soak in as much info as I can before we are even ready to put it into action!
I'm coming in late, and have not read the other responses. (so I am probably repeating)
The first step is to find an agency and start on your homestudy.
The agency will take things from there. You can go private or state for your agency. We went state but when we could not find a "match" via our state system, we ended up adopting twice via private agencies. (both special needs adoptions)
Best wishes. My only advice if you are looking at special needs adoptions is to be very sure you can handle it......even as trained special ed teachers, we had no idea what parenting a child with developmental disabilities entailed!!
Michelle
__________________ "If it (salvation) is based solely on following rules, then it isn't grace via faith in Jesus Christ"
Fostering is a great way to begin the adoption process...m
DH and I have been foster parents for more than 12 years now. We are currently finalizing our third adoption. DD came into our care as a newborn just a few days old. The intent was to see her go to a foster resource home, a family fostering with the intent to adopt. Nothing happened and the longer she stayed with us the more obvious it was she was going to stay
I think Foster parenting is a wonderful way to explore adoption. I'm in Ontario Canada... not sure about how things work in the US but our expeience has been positive so far.
There have been no expenses involved in adopting through our local CAS (Children's Aid Society)
Good Luck to all who are in the process of adoption and those exploring the possibiliy. What a wonderful gift for everyone involved!
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We already had 3 bio sons so we chose to do foster/adopt. At the time LDS social services had a cap on # children and we already had 3. So our choices were foreign or foster. We did our licensing and then home study and I chose to only accept newborn foster/adopt only. I specified no drug/alcohol exposure. Basically I felt I wasn't prepared to take on any special needs or deal with problems from abuse situations with older children.
Amazingly 1 week from our home study first visit we received a newborn healthy girl directly from the hospital. 6 months later we got baby #2 also perfectly healthy. She has a few sensory issues but nothing big.
During the foster process we met the birth families and offered open adoption a year into it and they relinquished. We see the biomoms twice a year and it is a great situation.
So miracles can and do happen. So don't think when you want to narrow your selection that you are cutting out your chances of getting a child. It is important to get the right child for you. Our beautiful girls are now 5.5 and 6 years old.
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Claire, Montessori-teaching mama of two boys.
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