Just starting out... Agencies to use other than DYFS??

Yes, there are other private agencies to go through for domestic adoption. However most of them cost alot of money, as I'm sure you know with international adoption. DYFS adoption only is relatively a very good process, of course depending on the age you are looking for. If you are doing adoption only, once your home study is done, your case goes straight to Trenton where they will match you with a child...

Hi Walkermom, and thanks for the reply. What I should probably have elaborated on was that I was under the impression that people were saying they were using varying agencies for FOSTERING. I'd never heard of that; I'd only known to go through the state/county to foster. So I wanted to be sure I wasn't misreading anything lol.Yes, domestic adoption is incredibly expensive, as international adoption can be. Thus the reason we are going to try to adopt through the foster care system. If you have any personal experience you can impart about the process in NJ (or in any state for that matter that you think would be of help), please feel free to share. I know nothing of the foster/adopt process and am just starting out. We would be looking for a newborn or young baby as we have a 4 year old and another who just turned 3. I would also be open to a sibling set if the oldest child was 2 or younger. I'm jsut not sure how long the wait for a newborn (either gender, with moderate medical needs/born drug addicted) would be. I know in my county, there is a high percentage of drug addicted African American babies born who need homes so I was thinking it might be a faster process for us due to where we're located... but again, totally guessing at this point. I know I'll get more info on Wednesday at the orientation but still searching for my own answers here in the meantime lol.

I've been a foster parent in NJ for 3 years. Even after the info session and the entire licensing process, I didn't completely understand what I now understand and will share with you here. Based on what you wrote in your post about your age range, you will be licensed as a "concurrent" home meaning you'll be licensed to foster and/or adopt. All children placed in your home will have a concurrent goal of reunification (R/U) with birth family AND adoption by you. Reunification will be the primary goal. Adoption will be the secondary goal. During the first 12-15 months of the case, the goal is unlikely to change (meaning it will be R/U until at least a year into the case). And during the first 12 months of the case, family/friends of the bio family can step forward and ask for the child to be placed with them. It doesn't mean they will get the child but they will be considered as a placement option and may or may not get the child. After 12-15 months (it might be as few as 9 months or as long as 20 months), if the bio parents haven't done what they need to get the child R/U'd, the case goal will change to adoption by you....at that point (18 or so months in), the chances of the bio parents getting the child back are less likely. But it's still very possible - especially if they have consistently seen the child and have a good bond with the child. And family/friends aren't likely to be considered as placement options (due to the fact that the child has now had a year and a half to bond with you) but they may have to be evaluated and "ruled out" as an option. At this point, the case will get scheduled for termination of parental rights (TPR). TPR can take MONTHS to happen. Only after TPR has been granted by the judge, can you truly relax and know the child will be adopted by you. So be prepared for a roller coaster of emotion. Some cases are "easy" where you get baby from hospital, bio parents never visit, no family/friends ever come forward and you adopt without a problem. Some cases are much, much more complicated with family/friends involved, bio parents working their plan sometimes and not working it other times....you get the idea. No one (not the CW, not the judge, NO ONE) knows how easy or hard a case may be. The only exception to the above are "safe-haven" babies which are left at firehouses or hospitals and go to adoption fairly quickly. But calls about safe-haven babies are few and far between. With the age range you are looking for, children will NOT already be past the TPR point and unless you get a child moved from another foster home, your child will just be at the beginning of the whole process. And no matter what anyone tells you (this child is "pre-adoptive", this case is definitely headed to TPR), don't believe them unless you want your heart broken or unless you believe they can accurately predict a future that no one can predict. All cases are potential R/U cases until TPR has happened. And because of the age of the children you're looking for, TPR won't have happened. There's just not enough time for TPR to have happened on a baby or a toddler. Good luck! ETA - and I don't know any foster parents who are through an agency except one who is with an agency in northern NJ which places extremely challenging children in therapeutic foster homes. I know another couple who adopted from an agency 10 years ago (the children came from foster care) but my sense is that NJ is moving away from outsourcing to agencies. I could be wrong....

@fostertoforever: Thank you, thank you, thank you! That is EXACTLY what I needed, and the fact that you are NJ as well just made it all the better. I am realistic in knowing about how long TPR takes especially in regard to newborns and infants, and the process of RU being the ultimate goal. I guess in my research I'd seen many more older placements and really wanted to get an idea of the possibility of the age range we're looking for being available. But the info you have given me, with approximate timeline, is invaluable. I SO appreciate you taking the time to provide me with that!

Your age range is DEFINITELY available...there's no question about that. Be very firm about your age range. They will call you for placement of all ages....and large sibling sets. They will call you (and anyone on the list) with any placement they have. You will start to feel badly saying "no" but stick to your age range. And if they have a child "slightly out of your age range," know that when the child shows up, he/she could be a year or two older than they said. My impression is that it's "easy" to place babies and single children. It's harder to place school age and sibling sets. So they may tell you babies are rare or your age range is not realistic. But having said all that, I've found the people I've been working with over the past few years to be wonderful, professional people. The process is ridiculously slow - but as long as you know that going in, you should be fine.

We foster through a private agency. Honestly we haven't gotten many calls, maybe 5 over 18 months. However, I love my worker. She is down to earth and really advocates for us and our charges. We do have a young range - under 4 so that makes it more difficult to match but she has only once called about a kid outside our range but she was part of a sibling group so that may have been why. If you want info about our agency I would be happy pm you the info.

Everyone I know who's fostered through Children's Aid and Family Services in Northern NJ has loved them... But we're with the county because we had no idea we could choose another agency when we got licensed

Do you mean Jewish Family Services of NJ? We used them for our homestudy when we were doing our dossier for China. We had a HORRIBLE experience with them (at least with the SW who did it) and when we called to complain about her and question her biased language and behavior, we were given the run around. I've never heard of Children's Aid, I will look into that now. I too had no clue you could go through an agency to foster - I thought we had to go through the county and we have our orientation meeting with them tonight actually. Thanks very much for the info on them...

No, I mean Children's Aid and Family Services.

It's incredibly sketchy that any agency would charge for the placement of foster kids, especially kids ages 8+ - why do that when the state and a bunch of non-profit agencies do it for free? I would stay away for foster-adoption.

OH! lol! Sorry, I thought you were listing TWO agencies, not one with a long name. Sorry.

The fees are mainly for the home study, but it still totals just over $1,800. Went to an orientation last night using the state/county CPS agency and really got a good feeling from the women running it - who would also be the people we work with directly (among others). Absolutely going through the state/county instead of an agency.