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Hi! I just found this site today. My dh and I are at the very beginning stages of trying to research adoption. We have made contact with an agency in the Hampton Roads, VA area. How do you begin to investigate an adoption agency? I have no clue.
Any and all advice on that and adopting while one spouse is active duty is appreciated.
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Paula,
There are several ways to 'check out' an agency:
1. Check with the State Licensing Board for Licensed Child Placing Agencies in Virginia to see if they're license is valid and in good standing.
2. Check with the BBB to see if any complaints have been lodged against this agency, resolution, etc.
3. Check on the Adoption Guide [url]www.theadoptionguide.com[/url] to see if there are any reports positive/negative.
4. Check some of the usergroups such as Yahoo's 2Adopt has any feedback.
5. Ask your OB/GYN, religious leader, etc. if they've heard of agency and what they've heard.
I live in Chesapeake, VA and don't know of any adoptive family support groups locally but if you do, go to a group and ask members what they've heard.
We adopted our son through domestic parental placement in in 2002 when DH was AD/USN. He retired 31 May 03. My biggest pieces of advise as it relates to military:
1. Be sure DH lets his command know what's going on. My DH's command was very good about time off with very little notice b/c they knew what was going on - only condition was that we had to bring Ryan to the squadron for his first F-14 pictures after we came home.
2. For anything DEERS/TRICARE oriented in SE Virginia, go to Little Creek's PSD. Their staff are the only ones who understand how to add a preadoptive ward & convert to child status once your adoption is finalized. They're very helpful & knowledgable. Worth the drive for us!
If you'd like to know what agency & attorney we used, please just PM me.
HTH,
Regina, AMom to Ryan Joshua Thomas
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The information above was great. I had been trying to get some of the same information myself. I am definitely going to call the state licensing board on Monday.
One other piece of advice we were given - before you sign any contracts you can take them to the JAG office and they will look them over for you free of charge. They can't act as your legal counsel but they can let you know if the contract is on the up and up.
Since my husband will deploy in Jan. we are working on the homestudy first because he actually has to be around for that. Any signatures can be handled by me with the power of attorney. BTW we have been told that homestudies can take up to 6 months to complete!
Kim