Just beginning the process through DSS: Any Advice?

I have not adopted but I am a foster parent that could adopt. The classes are great. I learned alot. A lot of people wonder why you have to take so many long classes with all of that homework. Well this is what the people teaching the class said to us. They when around the room and asked everyone of us one on one who in this room would you want to take your children or pets if something happened to you......You had to pick someone in the room not family. Well I myself along with most others said that I could not pick because I didn't know anyone well enough. And she said right! We do not know you and have to get to know you through the home work and the time spent in the classroom. That way we can pick the family that is best for each child. The classes go by fast and before you know it you will have your Lic. It took us a month and a half to get a placement but many people don't take as long. Some people get a placement the day they sign their paper work. Our age range is 0-3 and we where placed with a 7mth old girl. She is with her dad now....but I still keep her during the day. I know of many people that have adopted young children through the state but you might have to go through a few before your child comes to you and then it might be a hard long road before the adoption goes through but it will all be worth it in the end! Good luck!

Good luck to you! It is a long and difficult process. Depending on the sex, age range and challenges you are willing to accept, this may be the longest and most difficult journey you have ever made. In spite of the need for adoptive parents in MA, you will spend a lot of time proving yourself worthy before you get that call. We started almost a year before we were ready and it was a good thing, because it took almost twice that long. Once we got tired of waiting and got aggressive about our search, the process sped up a little. My advice is to wait until your homestudy is approved and then really start looking for the child that is meant to be yours. Go to parties, look in the MARE book and mingle all you can in the adoption community. Also, be prepared for a lot of heartbreak. You may not be the right match for the child of your dreams, but what is meant to be will be and your family will come to you. Best Wishes, Wendy

My 21 year old was adopted in MA through DSS at age 10. I did find the MAPP classes very helpful and informative. Some things weren't applicable but overall, it was helpful. I remember thinking that since I already had raised two kids, I shouldn't "need" the classes, but they touched on so many issues I wouldn't even have thought about otherwise. Good luck to you! Judy

Greetings, We adopted our daughter through DSS. Since we had heard it would be a long and grueling process we made inquiries a couple of years before we were ready to go forward (our bith son was an infant still). We decided we were ready for the 10 week MAPP training in May 2001. Our home study was complete a month or two after the end of class and by the end of August our healthy, biracial(AA/C), 12 month-old daughter was a part of our family. This seemed to be a fairly average time schedule for our classmates from MAPP. Perhaps our social workers were more outstanding than most (the SW we worked with were wonderful). The finalization of our adoption took longer than most in our class (One family is still waiting to finalize). We finalized last March after three and a half years in the courts (** appealed to Boston Supreme). I have heard of some families told to do foster care in search of/ while waiting for the child they would adopt. This seems to me a heartbreaking way to go for adoption. The state is desperate for good foster homes (we do that now) but it would have been much harder to do if I was waiting to find the right kid for us. We did no searching on our own but worked closely with the social workers so that they could find the best match for our family and our child. The end of this note says we are still waiting to finalize. I wrote that long ago and don't remember how to change it... It is so good to know we will be together forever. Good Luck, Laura :D