Adopting from a different county?

Yes, you can in fact go to a different county. I am in the process of looking into doing that now. So far I have learned that it's all about your Homestudy. Other counties will request that your Homestudy be sent to them to open you up for adoptable kids from their county. I am hearing that a "fee" might be involved and am being told it is around $500. I've learned that when an adoptible child is found in the "secondary" county, that the whole case needs to be transferred to the county you live in. This can be a real pain for your Adoption Case Worker because no two counties do things the same way. We are in San Diego County. We are SO done dealing with this county that we are requesting our Homestudy be provided to LA County. Who knows, we may even submit to Riverside County. Most of my adoptive friends who have opened up to other counties got placements quickly and have gone all the way to finalizing adoptions. We are hoping for the safe!

To be able to go to different counties you need to be with a Foster Family Agency. If you are certified with the county then you can only take placement from that county. Some counties will allow you to put in your home study with another county after a years plus time. If you are open to medically fragile children then Riverside county has a good quick program.