ADOPTION
WHERE DO YOU START?
Learn About Adoption Coming to this website is a good first step. There are many resources to educate yourself on the adoption process. Read through some of the information on adoption available online. A very informative resource is Show Hope's webpage on How To Adopt and Family Life's Hope for the Orphan's Adoption Guide. You may also contact us to talk with a family that has already adopted or attend an adoptive parents information seminar. You can also visit agencies' websites to become familiar with some of the decisions you will need to pray over and ask for further information in the form of brochures, orientation sessions, or webinars. Also, you will need to learn about the types of adoption; foster care adoption, domestic adoption, and international adoption. You may consider whether you can care for and love a special needs child. There are many children worldwide who are already waiting for their families to find them. There are many blessings that these kids can bring a family. They are truly "the least" in society. Special needs can be a child with a medical condition, an older child, or a waiting child. No Hands But Ours has a list of some medical conditions. Select an Adoption Agency One of the first big decisions, once you have decided to grow your family through adoption, is whether to adopt domestic or international. Your homestudy agency, listed below, can place U.S. infants and foster children. You may need to work with an outside licensed agency, depending on from where you would like to adopt. |
According to the U.S. State Department, U.S. families adopted more than 7,000 children in 2012. Americans adopted the highest number of children from China followed by Ethiopia, Ukraine, Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Source: United States Department of State (FY 2013 Annual Report) Educate yourself through books.
A few good book lists on adoption are at Show Hope and at EMK Press. Other recommended books are:
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- Loving Shepherd Ministries assists families with international and domestic adoptions by providing resources and information to help families understand what their options are and which countries they are eligible to adopt from.
- Rainbow Kids also has a list of agencies with which to work.
Get references; speak with other parents who have used the agency you are investigating. Check whether the agency is licensed by your state to provide adoption services. Ask what legal services will be provided by your agency and which services you may be responsible for on your own.
If you are adopting internationally, with the help of your agency, you will prepare a dossier (pronounced doss-ee-ey). A dossier is a compilation of paper work said to demonstrate some elements of your “fitness” to adopt. What is required in your dossier depends on the country from where you are adopting. You will need to become familiar with the Hague Convention Process . There also may be classes that you need to take to fulfill adoptive parenting requirements. Your agency will help guide you through this whole process.
Here is a helpful article about choosing the right agency.
Complete a Homestudy
A homestudy is a series of meetings between you and an agency social worker. Think of it as an ongoing conversation which is part of the approval process for adoption and also serves to prepare you for parenting. The social worker who prepares your homestudy will need certain documents such as birth certificates, marriage license, child abuse clearances and personal references before finalizing his or her report. At least one meeting will be at your home and all who live in your home will need to be in attendance. The social worker will help to ensure that you and your family are prepared to have a child in your home and are ready to parent. Your social worker can also answer questions for you and point you in the direction of further resources to support you as you move along on your journey.
Here is a list of agencies offering home studies in Wyoming.
A homestudy is a series of meetings between you and an agency social worker. Think of it as an ongoing conversation which is part of the approval process for adoption and also serves to prepare you for parenting. The social worker who prepares your homestudy will need certain documents such as birth certificates, marriage license, child abuse clearances and personal references before finalizing his or her report. At least one meeting will be at your home and all who live in your home will need to be in attendance. The social worker will help to ensure that you and your family are prepared to have a child in your home and are ready to parent. Your social worker can also answer questions for you and point you in the direction of further resources to support you as you move along on your journey.
Here is a list of agencies offering home studies in Wyoming.
Choose a Waiting Child or Be Matched
Your agency will match you with a child or you may find your son or daughter on a waiting child list. Your agency will consider what type of family the orphan child would flourish in and what sort of child would beautifully graft into your family. You will learn all you can about the child and then prayerfully decide if this is the child that will become part of your family. Fundraising The cost of adoption may range anywhere from nothing (foster adoption), up to $50,000 (international sibling adoption). There are many avenues to explore to help with the expense of an adoption; including grants, fundraising, and the adoption tax benefit. A great resource is a blog article on How to Fund an Adoption. A great start to fundraising efforts can be also be found here. Another exciting fundraiser is Both Hands. Both Hands’ purpose is to help people raise funds for orphans while serving widows through home improvement projects. Two additional ideas are to check with both your church and your employer to see if they have an adoption fund or benefit. Finalize your Adoption Bring your child(ren) home and live together as a forever family. You may think that this is the end of your adoption process, but in reality, this is only the beginning! There will be many beautiful moments and will probably be some hard times too. You may want to be connected with an experienced adoptive family or group of friends that have been there and have lived some of the same joys and pains. Email the Wyoming Adoption & Foster Care Alliance to get connected. |
BOTH HANDS' purpose is to help people raise funds for orphans while serving widows through home improvement projects.
The Scoop About the Adoption Tax Credit From the IRS website: Tax benefits for adoption include both a tax credit for qualified adoption expenses paid to adopt an eligible child and an exclusion for employer-provided adoption assistance. For tax years 1997 through 2009, the credit was nonrefundable. For 2010 and 2011, the credit was refundable. For tax year 2012, the credit has reverted to being nonrefundable, with a maximum amount (dollar limitation) of $12,650 per child. Talk with your tax accountant to see if you qualify for the adoption tax benefit. |