We're Adopting!

Here we go again!
We are starting the adoption process for a second time.
We couldn't be more excited!!

We've been terrible at blogging since we moved back to the old NE, but plan to use the blog for adoption updates. It's easier than sending out mass emails, and this way, you can just check when you're interested!

Right now, we've completed our background checks, written our birth mom book, and are getting ready to start the home-study process.

We are using the same agency from which we adopted Evelyn. We need a Nebraska agency as well, to cover us on the Nebraska end. While the child placement will occur from Ohio, everything else still has to happen here.

A lot of people have asked what the process will look like for us. There is so much tumbling around in my head, that I'll just give you a list!

1. We completed background checks.
2. We found an agency in NE that will be our supervisory agency. We need one because we are doing an interstate adoption. If we were doing a NE adoption, we would just have one agency. Federal law mandates that you have to have an agency in your state supervising the process. This is because once we adopt the child, they become the judiciary responsibility of the state we reside in, not the state where they were born. Our NE agency will cover our home studies, our post placement studies, and be our go to people if we have any local needs during the adoption.
   
3. We will begin the process of a home study with our NE agency. I'm not sure what the exact process on this is, as I'm sure it will be different than our KY agency. Every state/agency has their own routine.
4. We are considered an identified adoption at this point, as the agency in OH actually sought us out for adoption. They are severely lacking in families who want to adopt African American children. Unfortunately, this was the same situation they were in when Evelyn was born. Though that led to the blessing of us adopting Evelyn, its extremely unfortunate that their is such a lack of families wanting to adopt a specific race of kids. If you're interested in adopting, give us a holler. We'd love to fill your ears with the beauty of this process!
5. We wait.
6. Once a birth mom comes to the agency, the agency meets with her to determine her situation. They fill out many medical/social background forms. They interview her and possibly her family members to find everything out they can. They help her get proper medical care if needed, and they see to it she is in a safe environment.
   
7. If a birth mom determines she is ready to make an adoption plan, the agency gives her profiles of several families. As of today, our agency only has 3 families who are looking to adopt an African American child. Yes, ONLY THREE. The birth mom would then spend some time choosing a family.
8. If we are chosen we may or may not get to meet the birth mom before the birth occurs. This has to do with a lot of factors... her due date and her preferences on openness. We are happy to do whatever in this situation, obviously.
9. In Ohio, the birth mom has 72 hours after birth before she signs permanent termination papers. Until those papers are signed, she is still the legal guardian. Once the papers are signed, guardianship is transferred to us.
10. The baby waits in the hospital nursery until the 72 hours are up. This is a guideline set up by our agency. Some agencies send the baby home with the potential adoptive family as soon as the hospital allows them to. We are so glad our agency pays for the child to stay in the hospital. While the adoptive family can spend as much time as they want in the hospital, they don't have the bonding experience of leaving until papers are signed.
    
11. If termination papers are signed, we get to leave the hospital with our child. Then we hang out in Ohio & wait until the inter-state compact is worked out. This has nothing to do with whether or not we become adoptive parents! It is just a legal process, shifting the responsibility of the child from Ohio to Nebraska.
12. Once the interstate is done, we go home!
    
13. A few post-placement studies occur. These are to make sure we are fit parents & that our home is safe. Though a home study is done, the state checks in to make sure we are caring the for the child and maintaining a safe home. If a family were to fail in the post-placement phase, the child become a state-ward and goes into foster care. (This won't happen to us, we aren't worried!) Many people have a misunderstanding that the child would return to the birth mom. This is untrue. The birth mothers rights were terminated at the 72 hour mark. (See #9!)
    
14. 6 months after the placement, the adoption becomes FINAL! There is a short court process where our lawyer, the child's guardian ad lidem, the family, whoever... comes... they ask a VERY few questions, and that's it! A forever family!
    

Okay... there is the VERY short of it. Feel free to ask questions. :) We'll keep you posted!!