Now that we had said yes to adoption I was ready to jump in and get the process started. Heck, I was ready to bring our son or daughter home the next day. Little did we know that it would take a few months to narrow down the country we were to adopt from and the agency that we would go through to facilitate our adoption. So what steps did we take to begin our adoption journey? Everyone’s adoption journey is a little different, but here is what we did...
Step 1: Go to Loving Shepherd Ministry website and fill out an application. LSM is not an adoption agency, however, they will help you get started. After you fill out the application, they will send you a packet of information based upon your age, income, family size, and if you desire a domestic, foster care, or international adoption. Many people do not realize that each country has requirements that families must meet in order to adopt. It is critical that you identify those requirements before you select your country. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
From the information you will receive you can begin to get an idea of which countries you are eligible to adopt from as well as a list of agencies who are experts from those countries. While this is not an exhaustive list, it is a very helpful one.
Step 2: Attend conferences! There are actually several conferences for families who are considering adoption. Those that we attended were Together for Adoption (T4A), CAFO Summit, and, one that I organized at County Line Church, the Adoption Journey Conference. The first two conferences are held each year and at different location around the country. The Adoption Journey Conference is held in the spring at County Line Church of God.
These conferences are invaluable resources as you can speak directly with agencies, check references, talk with families who have been through the process, purchase material, listen to experts, etc. There are other conferences as well, but these are the three we attended.
Step 3: Choose your country and agency. This has to happen almost simultaneously which makes this step a critical one. For example, we had our choices narrowed down to the foster care system and Haiti. So we began contacting agencies who worked with the foster care system and Haiti. However, we learned that Haiti just became Hague accredited, so that was going to slow the process down big time. Prayerfully, we no longer made Haiti an option, however we were not entirely sure about the foster care system as well.
Inevitably, at the CAFO Summit conference in Chicago, we “ran” into Lifeline representatives in a breakout session. As they began to tell us about their agency and the countries they worked within, we knew the direction that we were headed.
Step 4: Apply with an agency. From here on out, your steps will be directed by your agency. Here are the steps that we are following through an inter national adoption. We are told it will take about 18-24 months.
- Fill out an agency application which should be accompanied by a payment.
- Sign a contract that includes your first installment. (Most adoption will cost you between $20,000-40,000.)
- Conduct a home study to satisfy the U.S. and simultaneously apply with immigration.
- Fill out a dossier that is your application to the desired country.
- Wait for a reference. This is when they match you with a child or children.
- Travel to your country to meet your child or children and make court appearance.
- Stay in country for 5-7 weeks until you can leave with your new family members!
So there you have it. A brief overview of our adoption process. So which country did we choose to adopt from? I will share that in my next post:)
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