Suggestions for resources

We had adopted several times. We have infants adopted from overseas (now grown), older child adoptions 'through the system' (one is disrupted....still adopted, but will live in a residential home), and finally, went the 'private, attorney route'. We aren't the type for the totally open type of adoption. We went through a local adoption attorney (has an excellent reputation) who is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (can find one close to you on their website). She was very inexpensive, and by enlisting her help, she networks with other attorneys and licensed agencies. We did not want a caucasian baby. We were called about our little one four months from submittal. The baby was found in networking with a licensed agency. Our baby was already born. Birthmom chose parents for her baby AFTER the baby was born. We finalized several months later (due to state qualifications). It has been the least stressful and most knowledgable adoption we have ever had. We have already submitted for our next baby. The cost was very, very reasonable (nothing like this $10,000 and up stuff that you might read about). Money wasn't 'risked' because the baby was already born and we knew 'up front' what our costs would be. In our book , going this route is the best ever!! Good luck, and I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have if I can be of any help. Sincerely, Linny

Linny, Thank you so much for your advice and information. Just a quick question...is it legal in every state to use an adoption attourney rather than a traditional agency? How does this work? Thanks again! My husband and I appreciate your experience and willingness to share : )

To my knowledge, it is legal in every state to use an attorney....but not legal in every state to use a 'facilitator'. Beware of some 'facilitators' if it is legal in your state........some are VERY VERY crooked and will 'rip you off' for tons of money. Facilitators are not legal in my state. Are you already 'homestudied'? If not, this can be done through your agency. Sometimes, a homestudy isn't written until you receive your child. In our case, the homestudy was already written when we contracted with our attorney; but when the baby came, we transferred our license (we were already licensed) to the agency who knew of our baby, and they updated the homestudy once she was placed with us. Again, if I can help at all.......feel free to 'private message' me. (I've just realized this feature through this site today! LOL!) Sincerely, Linny

I adopted my now 6yr old AA daughter through Adoptions from the heart. They have offices in Pa, NJ, Del, W.Virginia, and Virginia. Costs are very reasonable and my wait was very short. I was very pleased with everything they did. Good luck

Mary Ann - how old was your child at the time of placement? What state do you live in? I never heard of AFTH but I've now visited their websited - thanks for another resource :-)

I met my daughter at her birth family's house when she was 2 days old and I took her home the next day after her family signed the relinquishment papers. AFTH tries to place babies as soon as possible to avoid foster home placement. I was very lucky. I had my daughter in my arms four months to the day I sent in my application.

In my previous post I forgot to mention that I live in Oklahoma. I did my homestudy with an agency here and had them do my post placement visits. The most expensive part of my adoption was flying to the state my daughter was born in and then the cost of the hotel while i waited for the interstate compact to be done. I was the first person from Oklahoma who had a child placed through Adoptions from the Heart. They are a wonderful agency, and I highly recommend them

Hi: I live in WA State. We adopted our first AA daughter from Family Adoption Services in the Detroit area, but they have offices in Ohio and Wisconsin, also (I believe) The flat fee for them was $5,000 for "everything" on their end. I had to travel to Detroit, and we had the cost of our attorney in WA to finalize the adoption. They were very professional, compassionate and wonderful, and I would use them again. Our second aa/c child came as a result of our being a bi-racial family, when someone heard about us and referred us to a birthmom. Good Luck. P.S. FAS sends us newsletters, and seems to have quite a few waiting biracial children and babies.

Hello Tamrajd, Could you please post the contact information for the Family Adoption Service agency or email me with contact info at: davidandmary4@yahoo.com Thank you. Blessings, Mary

I also live in Oklahome. Who did you use for your homestudy. I am just begining the process of adoption but would like to get my homestudy started. I am looking into probably an out of state adoption. How does an attorney handle that unless they travel with you to pick up the baby? Did you have to have an attorney in the state you adopted as well as one in Oklahoma? Thank you for your help. I would appriciate any info you can share with me. Like I said I am new to all of this . Thank You

Welcome to adoption land! Congrats on deciding to adopt. We adopted both our sons (both AA, both at birth) via Jeanne Tate in Tampa, FL. (private adoption attorney, she also has an agency now). We live in WA and choose to go to FL because the laws are more adoption friendly. It's really important to find this out as you're researching. Re: the homestudy. You can have one done privately (that is, not thru an agency, often these are only good for that specific agency) that meets the criteria of the state in which you choose to adopt. So, our homestudy meets the specifications needed to adopt in FL. The attorney doesn't travel. When there is an adoption in another state, you go thru ICPC (interstate compact)...which is a whole other story (they essentially make sure the adoption "works" in both states). And is another reason to be sure you work with someone who knows what they're doing. Our adoption will be finalized in FL, so we don't have an attorney in WA for this. It just varies state to state. The research can get overwhelming, don't get discouraged! :) One thing I found helpful was to get info from as many sources as I could (agencies, out of state, etc) and then it became apparent what we would be comfortable with, what was affordable, etc. Our experience has been that many traditional agencies are slower, more expensive, and require more red-tape.

jewellewis, I used the Adoption center of Northeastern Oklahoma in Tulsa. They're terrific to work with. Good luck