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I'm posting here, because this is sort of an ICPC issue and I thought you guys might have perspective...
Our nephew was removed from his home Aug 2011 and came to live with us (after ICPC was completed and goal was changed to adoption) in Aug 2012. Parents voluntarily relinquished in Dec 2012, so nephew is legally free and uncontested. In Feb 2013, we submitted adoption paperwork to nephew's adoption worker (6 mos after he came to live with us--minimum waiting period).
Since then...crickets...nothing. We get a periodic request for another background check form, for some support for the subsidy application. Got notification that subsidy was approved, but no information at all about whether/when adoption petition was submitted to court, finalization date, etc...
Last I heard, AW said that ICPC up there was still trying to decide if our homestudy was an adoption homestudy too or only foster (EVEN THOUGH THE PLAN WAS ADOPTION ALL ALONG AND OBVIOUSLY IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN ADOPTION HOMESTUDY), so our state can't even get started on any revisions or a new homestudy until sending state at least decides what/if they want anything.
I mean WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??? How long does it usually take after you turn in adoption paperwork for it to be submitted to court?
At this point, we're not even sure finalization will be this year, which has impact for us in terms of licensing requirements, but also nephew's name will change at adoption, and we need to prepare him for that and were hoping it would happen over summer rather than in the middle of the school year. Grr.
Going to cross post to foster parent support too...
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Not sure what states you are dealing with but we got our GD in 5/11 from OR. icpc to CA. TPR 8/12. We got an adoption worker in CA in Sept for home study. had to take a class. first one offered was in Feb. today 6/22/13 I just got our adoption assistance agreement. I have to mail back and pick an attorney. Then they have another 90-120 days for adoption to finalize. By the time all is said and done we would have been waiting 2.5 years. We had so much confussion between states it was crazy
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Ours took forever too! We had to have our FC homestudy redone to adoption homestudy. Our daughter came here in June 2007 and we didn't finalize adotion until July 2008. It took ours along time also. A lot of ours had to do with adoption subsidy (and other state dragging their feet) but I kept up on them because I think if I hadn't we'd be waiting 2 yrs and not 1.
I do not have experience with ICPC so no advice, but just wanted to say hang in there! Our adoption took forever. The kids were here for two years before it finalized. I remember being so frustrated! I felt like the parties responsible did not feel urgency because the children were in a relative placement. We actually had to redo our adoption home study it took so long.
If I were you, I would use the new name now. It won't be his legal name, but he can be called it. He is legally free. I changed my daughter's first name. We started using it the day the relinquishment went through. Their legal names were on school and doctor's forms, but they were called their new names. Thank goodness we did it this way because it took forever.
Thanks all, it sounds like it is just common for this to take forever. All along while we were going through the TPR process the CW kept telling us that if parents voluntarily relinquished, it would all be over pretty immediately, so when they relinquished in Dec 2012 I was really expecting to finalize within 6 months...but it seems like that may have been a bit of an exaggeration.
Luckily, the AW has the subsidy all approved and lined up, and we're just waiting for the ICPC offices to work out their communication issues.
We're only changing his last name, not his first/middle, so I think it will be minimally traumatic, but I'm definitely not comfortable using the new name prior to adoption, because we really don't use his last name much in every day conversation, it is mostly at the DR and school where having the same last name would be convenient.
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