Advertisements
Hi Everyone.
My DH and I have decided we want to adopt. We currently have a 7 year old bio DS. We plan on going through the foster to adopt system. We are hoping for a child around 5-8ish. We have talked about this with DS and he is excited about it. We all are really excited actually. We have also talked to family and friends about it to make sure we have their support. They are excited and very supportive. We have not made an appointment to talk to anyone yet, but plan on doing that soon. We dont exactly know what the steps are and want to talk to someone and get all the info of what we need to do and everything. Until then, I thought I would ask a couple questions on here. I am a planner, so I like to do all the stuff I can ahead of time so I know IҒm ready.
We have some debt. House, school, car and credit cards. Everything is in good standing and we pay them on time. We are working on paying everything down and wanting to get rid of credit cards especially, but its going to take a while. However we do make plenty of money to cover everything monthly. Is any of that going to have any effect on us getting approved?
The room we plan on using for the child is currently in use. We have a family member staying in it for a couple months. Would it be ok to start the process of applying and stuff now and then wait until we are ready and the room is empty to do whatever else needs to be done before the child comes? I thought maybe if we start all the paper work now rather then waiting, it would save some time later on when the room is ready.
I have a box of toys DS no longer plays with, and it will be added to before Christmas. When it comes time, I was planning on putting some of them in a toy box. Of course Ill get the child new toys too, especially if it turns out to be a girl and doesnҒt like boy toys. Would this be ok to at least start off with?
This is all I can think of at the moment. Im sure IҒll have tons more. Thanks in advance.
Like
Share
You should call your counties Department of Social Services. They should be able to put you in touch with someone that can give you information on the stuff you need to do.
I don't see where your debt would be a problem. You will have to submit financial records, but that's just so they will know that you can live without the stipend you'll get for the child.
We attended orientation in March, started class in April, finished end of May, started home study beginning of July and were licensed end of August. We got our first and current placements September 10th. So 6 months start to finish. And that's a pretty short time. Our classes were fast tracked, otherwise we would have been in class for 9 weeks.
Second hand toys are fine. I didn't buy anything new. Furniture, clothes, toys, dishes, etc.
Hope this answers your questions! Good luck :)
Advertisements
If you look up your state and foster care, you should be able to find information easily enough. If you want to share here, we could help you.
The debt isn't a problem (even if it weren't paid). The financial information will have to show you are capable of paying your bills without the help of the fostercare stipend.
I think it would be fine to get started with classes and paperwork. We were licensed in 2 months (to the day) from the day we called to inquire about classes/process. We were fast though. Most people take 4-6 months here (longer if with the state directly).
Your toys will be fine. They just want you to have SOME. Past that, you'll buy based on individual children in time.
If you look up your state and foster care, you should be able to find information easily enough. If you want to share here, we could help you.The debt isn't a problem (even if it weren't paid). The financial information will have to show you are capable of paying your bills without the help of the fostercare stipend.I think it would be fine to get started with classes and paperwork. We were licensed in 2 months (to the day) from the day we called to inquire about classes/process. We were fast though. Most people take 4-6 months here (longer if with the state directly). Your toys will be fine. They just want you to have SOME. Past that, you'll buy based on individual children in time.
I meant to address the age thing.Read around here a bit and get a good feel of things, especially regarding kids in the age group you're thinking of taking. Most people would suggest that you need to be thinking younger children because you have a bio. Though all kids can be wonderful, kids are in fostercare for a reason and your son will be exposed to things you may not particularly care for him to be exposed to. Honestly, my bios were 15 and 18 when we started and I *cringed* at what they were seeing and hearing from my littles! Now, maybe I'd like to be a little overprotective; but seriously, knowing that something is "out there" is significantly different than having it and/or the effects of it in your home all day every day. In general, I think schoolers are easier than preschoolers (generally that is true anyway, then add that schoolers are more easily able to process what is going on than preschoolers can). Anyway, just a consideration. Your bio needs to come first.
I meant to address the age thing.
Read around here a bit and get a good feel of things, especially regarding kids in the age group you're thinking of taking. Most people would suggest that you need to be thinking younger children because you have a bio.
Though all kids can be wonderful, kids are in fostercare for a reason and your son will be exposed to things you may not particularly care for him to be exposed to. Honestly, my bios were 15 and 18 when we started and I *cringed* at what they were seeing and hearing from my littles! Now, maybe I'd like to be a little overprotective; but seriously, knowing that something is "out there" is significantly different than having it and/or the effects of it in your home all day every day.
In general, I think schoolers are easier than preschoolers (generally that is true anyway, then add that schoolers are more easily able to process what is going on than preschoolers can).
Anyway, just a consideration. Your bio needs to come first.
Advertisements