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My huisband and I are just starting out, but I'd love for some advice from those of you that have adopted in the Phoenix area. I have had a difficult time finding an agency in the area that fits us. Most seem to be agencies that require you to be a part of their religion. My husband and I are a Christian family and were raised in Christian homes, but we are not currently active in any religion or church. Does anyone know of an agency that doesn't require a "faith statement" or something of that sort? Don't most women place their children with an agency because they want their child to be raised in that specific religion? Additionally, we would prefer to keep our costs under $15,000. Is this realistic? I looked at American Adoptions (or something like that) and they reported costs between 25 and 35 thousand. Then I read a post by a gentleman on one of these posts that reported spending 45 thou with that agency. ?? I would also appreciate PMs regarding attorneys that you may have worked with. Thank you so much for your "brains" on this. I know it takes time to answer posts, hopefully I can offer advice once I become a seasoned Adoptive Parent! :) Steph
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okay... we are AZ. Rural AZ. It's been a nightmare. Partly because of changed contracts with the state and agencies in rural areas. Finally after almost 18 months we have been waiting. We have a few avenues where we are waiting for calls.
Hope everyone has a good experience and all works out well.
I have had a difficult time finding an agency in the area that fits us. Most seem to be agencies that require you to be a part of their religion. My husband and I are a Christian family and were raised in Christian homes, but we are not currently active in any religion or church. Does anyone know of an agency that doesn't require a "faith statement" or something of that sort? Don't most women place their children with an agency because they want their child to be raised in that specific religion?
Additionally, we would prefer to keep our costs under $15,000. Is this realistic? I looked at American Adoptions (or something like that) and they reported costs between 25 and 35 thousand. Then I read a post by a gentleman on one of these posts that reported spending 45 thou with that agency. ??
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Go on a search and know that if you apply with an agnecy that has a religious name to it you likely will be asked for a faith statemnt. Here in AZ some of the agencies that were backed by religious organizations have changed their names and are not asking for faith statments (at least this has been our experience with the one we are usuing) If we adopt through the agency we chose we will be paying 11,000. I would recommend making phone calls. I don't know where you live but different areas have different guidelines and agencies to check with. GOod luck!
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jenlars3
Hi! I live in Tucson. My husband and I are just barely starting the adoption process. We're looking to adopt from Liberia. Anyone have any experience with that?
Jen
We've tried the domestic route before (about two years ago) with no luck. Then we went back to the infertility treatment route (no luck there after a year). International adoption is something that we've always been interested in. We are looking at Liberia for a few reasons. My niece's father is Nigerian, so we've been interested in adopting from Africa. Liberia has an interesting history and background. In addition, the fees seem reasonable and the turnaround time is (reportedly) fairly quick.
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By domestic, do you mean private adoption for a newborn? Have you considered adopting a child from the foster care system? The costs are zero--in fact you will receive monies and benefits, and the waiting time is very short. We received our first adoptive placement less than six months after we were licensed/certified. A year later we have two more adoptive placements (we're done now!). If you choose to go this route, just educate yourself on the issues these children may have.
You do need to educate yourself on domestic. Some agencies do not place many newborns (if that is the route you are going) some do alot of placements. It doesn't necessarily mean the agency is better or worse it just means they do more. One agency we looked into and thank God we didn't end up with them actually did very little placement. God was good to us by not having us stick with them. We didn't think about that when we were looking at agencies. These agencies will take your money and not tell you about that. In fact I'm amazed at how little they do tell a person here... you have to ask. I know people who have waited very little time doing domestic adoption either through the birth parent, newborn adoption or state adoptions. And as *Snanzelka* said you don't pay anything when you adopt through the DES System and there can be benefits. I wouldn't say there always are benefits (meaning money, reimbursements or financial help)... there are always benefits of love and joy though.
It's been a while since I posted. Give you an update. We met our new son in February 04. He was placed with us June 04. We are now looking to finalize in May 05. We have gone through the ringers and back. We have really had to fight to get subsidy. We had our caseworker quit, the new case worker was wet behind the ears and the supervisor would not return calls. Man, what a nighmare!! :mad: While visiting with a subsidy agent the agent said that they liked the progress that our son was making and would we be interested in adopting another child. The agent told me that they had three other children that met the prefrences we had set. How crazy is that! I told the agent that maybe in the future, but right now we are trying to get our son stabalized. Our son is finally starting to believe that we intend to go through with the adoption. He had a previous adoption go sour. Now that he believes this is for real, he has settled down quite a bit. We are very excited about finalizing!
Mina2u... that is great! I'm glad you have your son and you are working with him to give him the stable loving home he deserves.
The system is a bit fragmented at times... it is up to the families to make sure that it is working for their child(ren) before moving onto more obligations. We are looking through foster adopt as one avenue for adoption and just had a major change in not only our caseworker but also her supervisor. They are backpeddling to get to know the families they are working with. It has to be hard to start all new in a job like that. It is also frustrating for us having to start over with a new caseworker.
We are still waiting and excited for a match. Keep us in your prayers.
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