When you adopt, one of the biggest choices you have to make is what agency you will work with. There are some great agencies out there and there some agencies who just want your money. Speaking of money, some agencies want everything up front and others will let you pay gradually. Let me tell you that one of the biggest challenges in adopting is putting all of your money and your emotions out there and then trusting that the agency will "Do the right thing." Believe me that you don't want to get in that situation. My wife and I lost 2500 dollars at one agency and it then went out of business. We came out with our son so we are thankful because other couples lost 10's of thousands of dollars. So how do you avoid those costly mistakes?
1. Use a referal of a friend where possible
2. Check the Better Business Bureau
3. Google that business. Lets be honest, you have to take this step with a grain of salt because, if you're happy with your adoption, you probably don't care about leaving a good comment but all of the folks who complain use the internet to "Vent".
4. You may consider using a referral agency first. They should be able to look at the available children of multiple agencies and then pair you up with the right one. PLEASE investigate all agencies.
One of the things my wife and I are doing with this adoption is using an agency that is basically a pay as you go. Plus there is no payment due until the child is yours. Other agencies like you to pay them and then if the match fails, you lose your "At Risk" money. So these agencies have a budget for adoptions fees, then a budget for the Birth Mom expenses and the Birth Mom expenses are "At risk" depending on how much of that budget the birth mom uses. So just to review your fees might include:
1. Application Fee - Register with agency
2. Home Study Fee - Your homestudy
3. Agency Fee - Agency expenses
4. Post Placement Fee - Followup when child is in home
5. Legal Fees - Attorney to close the adoption.
6. Birth Mother Fees - utilities, rent, etc while the mom has the baby
Some agencies might call them different things but that's the core list. Some agencies want you to find your own lawyer and others want you to use their lawyers. Ensure what fees are included in the total price.
You will also see a lot about how long it will take to complete your adoption. Some couples wait 2 years and others will wait 2 weeks. Look at the average wait times. How many couples are there in your program? I'm sure I have missed a lot but this will hopefully get you thinking about what you need. Please ask questions if you need anything.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Who names the Baby?
In our case, the Birth mom allowed us to choose the name of the baby. That Baby then was named the first name and middle name that we chose and took the birth mom's last name. So lets say the Birth Mom's name is Sarah Jones. Your name is Jim Smith. You want the babies name to be Mary Elizabeth. The Baby will leave the hospital with Mary Elizabeth Jones. When you finalize the adoption in front of the judge, the baby takes on your last name so the name will then become Mary Elizabeth Smith. If the Birth Mom will not allow you to choose the babies name, you can change the name at the finalization hearing as well.
So lets take this one step further. When you take that baby home, you have to add the baby to your insurance. That baby will be named Mary Elizabeth Jones even though your name is Smith so make sure that appears on the Insurance Card. This can be strange for a while but Mary will have your name soon enough. Best of luck
So lets take this one step further. When you take that baby home, you have to add the baby to your insurance. That baby will be named Mary Elizabeth Jones even though your name is Smith so make sure that appears on the Insurance Card. This can be strange for a while but Mary will have your name soon enough. Best of luck
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
What if the father is out of the picture
We had a situation in our adoption where the father was out of the picture. What does that mean for the adoption? Well its pretty simple really. Under the law, your attorney will file a notice in the newspaper of the county of the father. That notice will continue for 4 weeks depended on the state law. After that, you will be considered to have completed your "due dilligence". You have satisfied the law.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Choosing your attorney
One of the things that I will do different in the second adoption that I didn't do in the first adoption was to choose an attorney that works in my county. In the first adoption, the adoption agency chose the attorney for us. So the attorney works in downtown Atlanta and we live in the suberbs. This attorney had to jump through many hoops that I think he wouldn't have had to if he was local. In addition to that, we had to pay for multiple trips to our county from downtown Atlanta which is 30 plus miles one way. This just prolonged the adoption and added to our budget and frustration level. Take my advice, the "Good Ole Boy" system is still in use out there and if you have a choice, use an attorney that primarily works in the county you reside. He will know the judges and have worked with them and know what they like and don't like.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Post Placement visit
What is the post placement visit? This is the follow-up visit where someone comes out to your home and completes a report which states that the child is thriving in your home. So lets take a walk through your adoption journey.
Step 1: Paperwork – Background Checks, Health Checks, Credit Checks, etc.
Step 2: Home Study – Normally 3 visits. If a husband and wife are adopting, one visit with both parents, one visit with the husband and one visit with the wife.
Step 3: Go active – This is the waiting game. You either wait on the Biological Mother to choose you or you wait on the State to choose you as the parent.
Step 4: Matched with the child or perspective parent.
Step 5: Consent by the biological mother and father
Step 6: Follow-up visit typically by the Home Study provider.
Step 7: Finalization
Ok, this should put things in perspective. Before finalization, an agency will do a follow-up visit to see how things are going. Think of it like the homestudy for the court. You have done all of the work for the birth mom to pick you. Now its time to shift your focus to the court. Typically this step is completed by the agency that completed your home study. In our first adoption, our agency was in Kansas. We had to get our home study completed on our own. We used a local agency from Georgia. The cost of the home study included the followup for the post placement visits. In Georgia, we had to complete 2 post placement visits. Your state might be different. Don't worry because its almost over at this point. After this step, the lawyer schedules the finalization hearing and its over.
Step 1: Paperwork – Background Checks, Health Checks, Credit Checks, etc.
Step 2: Home Study – Normally 3 visits. If a husband and wife are adopting, one visit with both parents, one visit with the husband and one visit with the wife.
Step 3: Go active – This is the waiting game. You either wait on the Biological Mother to choose you or you wait on the State to choose you as the parent.
Step 4: Matched with the child or perspective parent.
Step 5: Consent by the biological mother and father
Step 6: Follow-up visit typically by the Home Study provider.
Step 7: Finalization
Ok, this should put things in perspective. Before finalization, an agency will do a follow-up visit to see how things are going. Think of it like the homestudy for the court. You have done all of the work for the birth mom to pick you. Now its time to shift your focus to the court. Typically this step is completed by the agency that completed your home study. In our first adoption, our agency was in Kansas. We had to get our home study completed on our own. We used a local agency from Georgia. The cost of the home study included the followup for the post placement visits. In Georgia, we had to complete 2 post placement visits. Your state might be different. Don't worry because its almost over at this point. After this step, the lawyer schedules the finalization hearing and its over.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Why we didn't choose the Foster to Adopt program
My wife and I chose to use Adoption rather than Foster to Adopt for this upcoming adoption. We originally thought that because there was no expenses in Foster care. In our first adoption, the expenses was the biggest issue. The first agency took all of our money up front and the match failed and we were stuck. This eventually lead to the adoption of our son but the agency was very difficult to deal with. That being said we thought Foster would be the best fit for us. I wanted to discuss in this blog, what are the pros and cons of adoption verses Foster care.
Adoption is finding a forever family for a child. There are costs involved. The agency we are using is a pay as you go agency. For example. We pay $50 for an application fee. Then if that goes through we pay $400 for our profile and training class. After the training class we are active. Then after the child is placed with us, we pay the final fee. Now let me tell you, my first adoption worked more like, pay everything up front and then there was a certain amount of expenses that were at risk. We have talked about those expenses in earlier blogs but I will be glad to cover those again if you shoot me an email at how2adopt@gmail.com.
Foster to adopt is providing a temperary home for a child that is in State custody. Our state has 3 programs. Foster, Adoption and Foster to Adopt. Adoption is for the adoption of older kids. We were told that if you wanted to adopt a baby, the wait time was at least 3 years. Foster is keeping kids in your home for a temperary basis. As long as the birth parent works the program per the states guidelines, the child will eventually go back to the birth parent. This could be up to 2 years before that child is available for adoption. Foster to adopt is the same as fostering a child. The only difference is that you are going into the program with the expectation of finding a child for your family. Lets be honest. There are no guarantees here. You do set the guidelines for what kids you are willing to accept in your home but there is still a "risk" of the child being replaced in his birth parents home.
There are emotional hurdles regardless of what route you choose to take. In both programs, you must be prepared to face these hurdles. For example, you might have a failed match with adoption or you might have a child go back to the birth parents in Foster to adopt. However, the rewards of having those kids in your home are worth any price you have to pay. You have to choose the road that's best for you and your family.
I would love to know your thoughts about both Foster and adoption programs. Please comment and lets share with each other what we know. Thanks
Adoption is finding a forever family for a child. There are costs involved. The agency we are using is a pay as you go agency. For example. We pay $50 for an application fee. Then if that goes through we pay $400 for our profile and training class. After the training class we are active. Then after the child is placed with us, we pay the final fee. Now let me tell you, my first adoption worked more like, pay everything up front and then there was a certain amount of expenses that were at risk. We have talked about those expenses in earlier blogs but I will be glad to cover those again if you shoot me an email at how2adopt@gmail.com.
Foster to adopt is providing a temperary home for a child that is in State custody. Our state has 3 programs. Foster, Adoption and Foster to Adopt. Adoption is for the adoption of older kids. We were told that if you wanted to adopt a baby, the wait time was at least 3 years. Foster is keeping kids in your home for a temperary basis. As long as the birth parent works the program per the states guidelines, the child will eventually go back to the birth parent. This could be up to 2 years before that child is available for adoption. Foster to adopt is the same as fostering a child. The only difference is that you are going into the program with the expectation of finding a child for your family. Lets be honest. There are no guarantees here. You do set the guidelines for what kids you are willing to accept in your home but there is still a "risk" of the child being replaced in his birth parents home.
There are emotional hurdles regardless of what route you choose to take. In both programs, you must be prepared to face these hurdles. For example, you might have a failed match with adoption or you might have a child go back to the birth parents in Foster to adopt. However, the rewards of having those kids in your home are worth any price you have to pay. You have to choose the road that's best for you and your family.
I would love to know your thoughts about both Foster and adoption programs. Please comment and lets share with each other what we know. Thanks
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