When to start initial paperwork?

Would it be possible to save up the initial costs (a few thousand so not tiny but not the large bulk either) a bit sooner so you can start the initial paperwork. Korea isn't closing yet, but referral times are lengthening and are likely to keep getting longer as 2012 approaches. Most agencies don't require you to have the entire amount up front, you can cash flow over time (we put the last bit in savings in December! Hurray! One year after starting the process, no referral yet, home study was sent to Korea in July). The bulk of the money is due at referral. I don't think I had any idea how slow the process would be until we started. Does your DH have a job? Or is he transitioning at the end of his classes? If his job is changing, I would wait. Otherwise, I would try to get going as soon as possible. If you're waiting until April or May, probably not a huge change from now (but could be, who knows). If you're waiting until fall, I would also research more countries in the mean time. Just my opinion from my observations. Good luck with whatever you decide!

DH does have a full-time job, and he does earn a good salary. The catch is we want me to be able to stay home with the kids instead of sending them off to daycare and costing us an arm and a leg. At his current salary, we can't do it without having an extremely tight budget. We can save some of the money now, but we're weighing more than one variable. We plan to adopt a special needs child with minor/correctable special needs, and I've heard the wait times for children in those scenarios is shorter, which means we could have a child much sooner than we anticipated.

I hesitate to reply because I don't want to discourage you at all, but I don't want you to be unaware. The wait times I was talking about are for Minor/Correctable medical/special needs. That's the group we're in. Part of it depends on which Korean agency your placing agency is working with. What I do know I've mostly gleaned through blogs and forums. Check out the Holt Forum for more info. and start following some blogs. My blog is: [url=http://www.threelittlemonkeysjumping.blogspot.com]3 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed[/url] On the side I have many links to other adoptive blogs. I completely understand on the financial part. I'm also a SAHM and it's been amazing to see God provide every step of the way. You need to do what is best for your family, whatever that is. Good luck to you! I can't imagine Korea slowing down much more because there are lots of babies who need homes, but it depends on who you talk to. Some predict great slow downs throughout the year, some predict things to stay about the same (maybe even speed up a bit). Hoping the latter is right! :popcorn: Just have to wait and see...

Please remember that all agency discussion must take place via private message. Thanks! :)

ChrEliza, thank you for the link to your blog. I did find it helpful. And we've been in contact with an agency in our state, so we're learning as we go. I appreciate the words of wisdom. :)

Just wanted to tell you I'm thinking of you! Hope life is good.

oh no! is it really closing in 2012? I had heard that was a rumour but never saw it anywhere. Guess i'll start googling.

They're still talking about closing at the end of 2012. Most people wonder how in the world they're going to do that since domestic adoption still isn't looked upon as highly and neither is single parenthood. But I guess we'll see. Thinking of you! Have a great day!

No one has set a firm date for closing Korea's program. However, the following factors do suggest that, within the next couple of years, there won't be enough NSN children available for international adoption to sustain a formal NSN program. If international adoption continues at all, it is likely that the only children who will be placed with overseas families are those who have special needs. 1. Korea's amazing increase in prosperity over the past couple of decades has meant that far fewer families need to place children for adoption. Poverty is the main cause of relinquishment in most countries of the world. 2. Korea has also been influenced greatly by Western values and customs. There are fewer women giving birth to children outside marriage and placing them for adoption, because they are more aware of issues regarding sex and contraception. And having a baby when unmarried is no longer considered as "shameful" as it once was; some women now choose to raise their children, rather than opting for adoption or abortion. 3. Beliefs about the importance of the "blood tie" are less common than in the past. More Koreans find the idea of adopting a child who is not biologically related to them acceptable. Thus, when a child is relinquished, it is much more likely that he/she will find a home with a Korean family. 4. The South Korean government is encouraging domestic adoption through more relaxing requirements for prospective parents who are Korean, giving tax breaks and other financial incentives, and so on. No country really wants a situation in which it cannot raise its own children. Already, many U.S. agencies are closing their NSN programs to new applicants, so that long wait times, like those in the China program, do not develop. And they are increasingly focusing on finding homes for Korean children who have special needs. So there are clear signs that the NSN program will be tiny, at best, and that Korea is going to be one of those places where you can adopt only if you are open to special needs. Sharon

Also Korea has one of the lowest birthrates of any country.

i think this has ruled out Korean adoption for me. I keep leaning back towards domestic so I guess I'll keep on that path. It seems like right now a lot of foreign countries are in the middle of updating policies and requirements and since we don't have an immediate timeline it feels like a moving target.

Junebug: The adoption world is constantly changing. It was that was in the 1990s, when I adopted from China, and it is that way now. Many countries have opened, closed, and sometimes RE-opened since I first became interested in adoption. While I never had a sense that it was right for me, agencies were trying to encourage me to go with a Paraguay program that was one of the first to accept single, older women. That program dried up very quickly, and I'm glad that I never got my hopes up about it. China actually went through some significant changes while I was in process, having decided that the country was a perfect choice for me. In one change, China reorganized its adoption system so that the Ministry of Justice could no longer receive and process dossiers; everything was to be done through a branch of Civil Affairs, which later became the CCAA. My dossier was in Justice and I had actually met the head of the adoption unit in Justice, so this change could have had a major negative impact on my adoption. I had no idea whether Civil Affairs would even consider my dossier, since I was older and single. But China definitely was "meant to be", and today I am the Mom of a wonderful daughter. All in all, you really have to be a little flexible, and to have a good sense of humor, when you consider international adoption. Doors may shut, and other doors may open. There ARE children in need of families, and you CAN become a parent. Sharon