Things are moving on the adoption front at our house. We did need to hire a new home study agency. Fortunately we located a good one quickly, and had both a social worker assigned and a home study packet mailed the very next day. That bodes well, I think.

Looking at the list, I'm pretty sure we should have everything together by the middle of next week, and so our new social worker went ahead and scheduled the first two of our three homestudy interviews. I thought it might be helpful to new families to share a list of the items required for a home study that we are currently gathering to give you an idea of how to prepare for your homestudy.

References

One... more

As we are gearing up for our next adoption, I've made myself a list of the first steps in the process to keep me organized. I thought that those of you who are also at the beginning stages of the process might find it helpful. Keep in mind that different agencies may ask for things to be done in a different order, so read all the directions provided in your application packets.

If you have any paperwork questions, be sure to get them answered before go to the trouble of having a document produced and notarized. You want every detail of your paperwork to be correct so that you don't have... more

This week as I was making a list of things we'd need to do at the beginning stages of our upcoming adoption, I discovered there's something new out there in the world of adoption regulations. It's called the Hague, and it's affecting families adopting from Ethiopia. More on that below, but first let me tell you a little about the Hague.

What Is It?

The Hague Treaty was completed in 1993, and has been signed by many countries around the world. The purpose of the treaty is to ensure ethical adoption practices around the world, and to protect the children being adopted... more

If you plan to travel to get your child and still need to get your passport, you would be wise to get this taken care of as soon as possible. Due to the new laws requiring U.S. travelers to Mexico and Canada to have passports, the passport offices are currently inundated with passport applications. This has caused many delays in passport processing.

In the past, passports have taken 6 weeks or so to be processed if you choose not to expedite your application. On March 17th, an AP news story on AOL had this to say about current processing times:

Passport... more

I wanted to revisit the agency licensure discussion to clarify, share new information, and to bring the issue back to the top of the blog for people who may have missed some of the updates I made to my licensed agencies post. In my mind this is an extremely important issue. As adoption from Ethiopia becomes more popular, there are more agencies out there handling Ethiopian adoptions, many of which are reputable.

But as always it is important for adoptive parents to do their homework. To handle adoptions in Ethiopia, American agencies have to be licensed both in the U.S. and in Ethiopia.... more

There is a cool website for foster and adoptive families that offers adoption classes online that you can take for free. The website is Adoption Learning Partners and currently they have six different classes available.

Conspicuous Families is a 1.5 credit class Let's Talk Adoption is 2 credits The Journey of Attachment 2 credits Finding the Missing Pieces 2 credits Becoming Your Child's Best Advocate 2 credits Understanding the Adoption Tax Credit 1 credit With Eyes Wide Open Lifebooks 1.5 credits

Two more classes are supposed to be available soon: Adopting the Older... more

I know there are readers here eager to get going on the adoption process, but for various reasons you cannot begin just yet. Some of you are fund-raising. Some are still in discussions with spouses. Some maybe are waiting for other children to get a little bigger. In any case, it can be hard to feel mentally ready to get going without being able to send in that application to the adoption agency just yet. There are plenty of things you can do to make your waiting time productive.

BOOKS

First of all, make yourself a reading list of books about adoption, parenting, and Ethiopia. There are tons of great books out there. If I could only read three books,... more

In the Beginning- I600A and Fingerprints

Fairly early in the adoption process you’ll want to pick up a copy of the I-600A. This is a BCIS form requesting advance permission to bring an orphan into the US. You can pick it up at your local immigration office--locations listed here. You can also print it off at this website. If you print it off the internet, it is a good idea to... more

Ethiopia Dossier Paperwork -- First Steps

So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and adopt from Ethiopia! If you’re like me, you’re anxious to get going. If you’ve already received your homestudy packet from your homestudy agency, you may be feeling overwhelmed at the sheer volume of items mentioned. What you do next can greatly affect the speed of your dossier assembly. Here are some tips to get you a jump start.

1.) First off, request your birth certificates, marriage licenses, and divorce decrees. You will need to request these items from the state in which each event occurred. http://www.vitalchek.com/ is one... more

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be very blessed.

I got an email from a mom excited to be beginning an adoption from Ethiopia. She had quite a few questions about the best way to move efficiently through paperwork. In response to her questions I decided to re-run a few of my posts from last winter to catch up people who may have begun reading recently and haven't had time to plow through all the archives.

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In The Beginning: Blackbelt Paper-Pushing

I have a confession to make: I am a woman possessed when I am in the midst of an adoption.... more