I enjoy research. Because the orphans in our own country have been heavy on my heart as of late, I have been doing a little research into what an adoption from the foster care system entails. The information I have recorded below is taken both from a conversation with our social worker and from a very informative article that you can reference here.
In order to begin any adoption process (that I am aware of anyway) you need to do a homestudy. The word homestudy was a little intimidating to me, like someone was going to inspect every aspect of our life and deem us acceptable or not. In reality it was a wonderful experience. Our social worker has been very honest about all the aspects of adoption. She is positive and encouraging yet has made sure we are aware of some tough issues thatare likely to arise. She has been a huge support since we have been home with Joshua. She is willing to listen, empathize, and advise. That said, I have heard some horror stories from others about their homestudy process. So if you meet with a social worker you do not mesh well with, I would keep looking for someone who will make the process more comfortable for you. I do no think you shop for the person who will tell you what you want to hear, but being comfortable with and confident in your social worker becomes more important as you bring your child into your family than during the homestudy process. So choose someone you enjoy working with and respect!
**If you are only interested in adopting through foster care, you can call your county and they will likely do a homestudy without cost. While this option saves money, it also limits you in other ways. Not sure how much info. to go into here, but leave me a note if you have questions and I would love to tell you what I have learned.
Speaking of money... how much will it cost???
NOTHING! (except perhaps the cost of the homestudy if you choose to go private) And the cost gets better because you are still eligible for the federal adoption tax credit of around $13,000 this year. And because the US government realizes how expensive it is to keep children in foster care, 88% of children adopted through the foster care system receive a monthly subsidy that ranges from $300 to $1000 a month.
So there is an affordable way to adopt. Many people have told me they would love to adopt but they just can not afford it... well I now know they CAN afford it!
I think there is a real stigma in the US about kids in our foster care system being too damaged. "Those kids" have been moved from home to home, they have seen some tough stuff, they have probably been abused, and the list goes on...
Well the truth is that many of them have had a VERY HARD life, which is why they need YOU!
The other truth is that children adopted internationally have very hard lives as well, they just do not "come with" the paperwork to prove it.
I know I wrote about teens last week and my heart does cry for them. Badly. But I do not want you to think that there are only teens waiting for homes in the USA. The average age of waiting children is 8.1 years. 13% are younger than two.
So there you have my very brief, super simplified explanation of adoption from the foster care system.
Now to remove your curiosity, Chad and I are not planning another adoption.
Will we ever? God only knows. No pun intended. When we hear of the extreme need to provide families for children, we melt. We love kids, both of us. We love to serve them. Even more so we love to serve Him. I believe God calls us all to serve the orphan - that is a whole different post - and we will continue to serve orphans in many different ways.
So would we ever consider another adoption? YES. This has been a very difficult journey, it is the only thing I have done that many times during the process I have said, "I don't think I could ever do this again." I have grown volumes during this last year. God has taught me more during this adoption process than I could have ever imagined. I am not the same person I was a year ago. I have been refined by the fire. So although I will never tell anyone the journey to our Joshua was easy, we would absolutely do it all over again should He ever ask.
And we have been so blessed by the gift of our son. Just this morning he called to me and said, "mommy more 'nuggle! pleasie 'nuggle more mommy! No mommy and joshua wake up! 'nuggle!" Why would I ever say no to an opportunity as good as that one?
All that said, we are very content just as we are!
If you ever have questions for me, you can find my email address by clicking on my profile. I am by no means an expert, but I am willing to share what I can.
**Thanks for praying for me. My schedule lightened a bit as things got delayed with Krissy's sewing class and I will not go there until next week.
