After 8 hours on the road, we made it to Indianapolis, IN for our Weekend Intensive class. Good thing we decided not to fly. The east coast is getting some big snow today and the radio said many flights were cancelled/delayed. No problems on our drive, fortunately.
The details on the workshop:
Friday will cover: overview of the adoption process from your home study to post-placement; review of the adoptive parent binder and all necessary forms; professional guidance to create your "Dear Birthmother" letter and adoption website; resolving any questions or concerns about the adoption program; a private session with your adoption coordinator; preparation for your first "match meeting" with a potential birthmother; and beginning the home study process.
Saturday is a class called Successful Adoptive Parenting:A class that explores unique parenting issues involved in open adoption. That afternoon there is a transracial support group that we were invited to attend.
We looked at 2 options for getting our home study done. One was to buy the home study that KVC did for Caleb's process. They want $1,000 to update that and sell it to us. A social worker we know through MAFA has her own adoption agency and is willing to do a home study for us. She'll be somewhere under $1,000. She's hopeful she can have it done in 3-4 weeks. We have to talk to IAC tomorrow about the options to see if either one is workable for them.
Thank you for all your positive thoughts and prayers! We really appreciate all your support!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The application process...
In case you were wondering, here is what goes into the initial application for IAC...
1. The registration form for the weekend intensive workshop.
2. The confidential questionnaire for adopting parents.
3. Verification of employment.
4. Health information.
In addition we have to get 3 references.
Submitting that stuff along with a check for the initial fee gets us into the weekend intensive class. The next class is the 26th and 27th of February. At the class we'll go over the adoption process, all the forms we need, writing the Dear Birthmother letter, get our questions answered, and begin our homestudy process. We also attend a class on Successful Adoptive Parenting.
The packet goes in the mail tomorrow!
1. The registration form for the weekend intensive workshop.
2. The confidential questionnaire for adopting parents.
3. Verification of employment.
4. Health information.
In addition we have to get 3 references.
Submitting that stuff along with a check for the initial fee gets us into the weekend intensive class. The next class is the 26th and 27th of February. At the class we'll go over the adoption process, all the forms we need, writing the Dear Birthmother letter, get our questions answered, and begin our homestudy process. We also attend a class on Successful Adoptive Parenting.
The packet goes in the mail tomorrow!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Adoption vs. Foster to Adopt
As most of you know, we have been foster parents for almost 3 years now. We started the foster program hoping to be able to adopt one of our placements. Unfortunately, after having 5 infants placed with us over the years, we have not had that opportunity. The system now seems totally focused on returning babies to parents, regardless of their circumstances. Failing that, they will look to relatives, regardless of their previous contact and bonding with the infant. Which leaves foster parents as the back-up plan. Very frustrating since we are the ones bonding with the baby and putting in the time to get them started right! We're told these things are cyclical and that in the past bonding has been considered over blood. We've basically reached the point that we can't wait for the cycle to come back around again!
We both believe that God has a baby for us. As is the case with most foster cases, we're adopting a dual-track plan in hopes of realizing our dreams. We'll continue to foster, specifically infants. And hopefully one of those will be available for adoption. We are also starting this process to work with an adoption agency that does open adoptions. The cost is significantly higher and there is no guarantee of a baby this way either. We hope and pray that one way or another, we'll find ourselves adopting!
We both believe that God has a baby for us. As is the case with most foster cases, we're adopting a dual-track plan in hopes of realizing our dreams. We'll continue to foster, specifically infants. And hopefully one of those will be available for adoption. We are also starting this process to work with an adoption agency that does open adoptions. The cost is significantly higher and there is no guarantee of a baby this way either. We hope and pray that one way or another, we'll find ourselves adopting!
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