Adoption
Posted By: Amy on 2006-08-28
In Reply to:
Hey all. My husband and I are going to the orientation with the Georgia DFCS to possibly begin the process of adoption through the foster care system. I would really love a younger child, but I hear the wait is very long if you get a match at all. I understand there are many children with special needs, but I cared for a cousin (all her 24 years with spina bifida) and a grandfather (with Huntington's), who both passed away in the last two years, and I don't know if I could handle that kind of situation again. From what I've seen, private agencies, even those not for profit, seem ridiculously expensive, and the wait for an infant/toddler is also long with them. We have plenty of love to give and a decent family income, but not a lot of money all at once like they expect. If anyone has experience with adoption through their state agency or foster care system, or even those who know of honest agencies with reasonable fees, I'd appreciate any advice or encouragement. Anyone have happily-ever-after stories to tell? Thanks!
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mine was $70 for adoption--sm
which included some shots, but since mine was too little and/or young to have neutered at time of adoption, I had to pay $100 deposit as a guarantee that I would have her neutered when the time came. I used one of their afiliate vets and total cost, with booster shots, rabies and distemper vaccines, and having to have her de-wormed, as she came home from the shelter with worms, and the neutering, was over $240. So, with the original $70 adoption fee, the $100 deposit for guaranteeing to be neutered, and the $240 vet fee, it came to a whopping $420 for my little girl! I did get the $100 deposit back, but it took six months to get it back and having to *prove* from the vet that I actually had her neutered. Kind of expensive, I would say, but I love her to death...she is my *baby girl* and worth every penny. I guess every shelter is different in their fees, and so are vets.
Really wish I had the baby and gave it up for adoption (sm)
It seemed like the right decision at the time, but the nine months would have passed so quickly and now that baby would be alive, somewhere, hopefully having a great life. It made me fear for the first several years of my two living children's lives that they were going to be taken from me as punishment. I picture the child that would have been at different ages.
Maybe he means adoption, but probably is just a misspeak. nm
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Check into adoption through local Catholic services, fees in our state (Ky) were based on income and
although expensive, not as bad as private adoption. Still, a long wait, we were told.
Go to NBC10.com - Our local news has "Wednesday's Child" which is a child for adoption.
Every Wednesday they introduce a child who needs a home and a family. There should be some information there as these kids are up for adoption.
www.NBC10.com -
Hope that helps!
Kinship care versus foster care/adoption
Having been placed in a position where I now have custody of my 3 YO granddaughter and going through the legal system, I sought an online network of relative caregivers for children. I would encourage you, especially since you are in Georgia, that if you take any children into foster care with the idea of adopting them, there is federal law that requires the state to take certain actions in a specific time frame. When a child is removed from it's bio parent(s), the state is required to investigate any possible relatives who can take the child before foster care is considered, but even before that, reunification with the parents is the priority. Once a child enters the system and is in the system for 15 out of any 22 months, the state is required to find permanent placement for the child.
The problem with this is that there are case workers who may favor a foster family and do not seek out relative care. I have a good friend in Georgia who had to fight all the way to the state level to get custody of her grandson after the child was placed from the hospital into a foster care home with the promise that the foster parents would be allowed to adopt. She has now adopted her grandson, but it was a long, hard battle to get the state to admit their own interests were placed above those of the child and/or family.
If you get a child placed through the state, please make certain there is not a relative who wants that child before you get your hopes up. The courts are now favoring return of children to relatives even after a child has spent years with a foster family who hoped to adopt them.
States get bonus federal funds by complying with the time lines and being able to close the case, so some states place children in foster care because it is easier than trying to locate relatives.
Didn't mean to go off on a tangent, but I can't imagine my sweet bella going to someone outside her family.
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