First, begin to save your money because international adoption takes lots of money. Not only will you need to pay various agencies for their assistance with your adoption but you will most likely travel to pick up your child! Don't let the money keep you from seeing your dream come true though! There are adoption loan programs and grants available for families and some agencies will even waive fees for particular children. Ask for help! Adopting families often raise their own support in many ways: from selling items on Ebay, to yard sales, bake sales, fundraisers, corporate matching, second jobs, refinancing etc.. Secondly, you must search your soul and decide what special needs or conditions you feel comfortable handling. Make a list of the special needs you feel you can handle and research the treatments. You may feel comfortable with heart problems where I am more comfortable with missing limbs. My yahoo egroup snadoptionresearch
can assist you with this.
Just go to the links on the side of this page, click
and join!
It is very important to discern what conditions you can handle so that you can talk intelligently with an agency on the child you are seeking and hoping to adopt.
Check out agency waiting lists and ask questions on how they select families for the children they are placing. Does the agency work with one family at a time on a child, or will you go before a committee pitted against other families applying for the same child? Compare agency fees and understand what is covered and what is not covered in the fees. Ask questions regarding typical timeframes. How long between dossier and referral, from dossier to travel? How much assistance will you get from the agency for the fees you pay to them? Can you cancel without penalty should something unexpected happen? Ask for photos, medical records, ask if there are any videos on the child etc..Take your referred child's medical files and photos to an adoption medical specialist for review. Interview medical doctors and make a decision on which doctor to take your new child to for assessment once home. Right before travel make an appointment for your child to be examined upon arrival home.
In advance go over the labs the doctor will run on your child and make sure that your child is tested for forms of Hepatitis, parasite infestation, TB, etc.. Also make appointments with specialists beforehand. Read as many books on adoption, special needs, older children, institutionalized children, and your child's country as you can. Take adoption classes in preparation for the child you are bringing home. Make friends with folks who are from your child's country, living stateside. Learn all about your child's new culture.
I also own a list for families adopting waiting children from China. You may join this group by clicking on the link to WaitingChildrenChina on this page.
Talk with other families and glean from their experiences.
Your dream will become a reality if you stay focused.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you need to stay patient and focused on the goal. All adoptions have bumps in the road, hoops to jump through, and waiting games but if you persist (and sometimes try again) you will see your dream come true!