Spin off "Anyone else struggling with Infertility?"

[PaulaJoAnne]

2 questions.
Who has gone through foster adoption?
Anyone done so in Alaska?

 

[Blue Skys]

Good topic, I will subcribe to this one too.

 

[redhen]

Good topic..hope someone chimes in to help you out..

 

[Boyd]

I do fostering, but we don't adopt because of the age group the kids are in. I'd be willing to answer questions

I get them quite often actually. Not from alaska, but I can tell you the basic outlines.

 

[17roses]

I adopted thru the Foster care system but not in Alaska. That state is on the list as one of the hardest states to adopt in. You can adopt thru another state but you would need to go thru a private adoption agency. We used a private adoption agency. It costs money but we wanted our own advacate. Having our own caseworker was really great.

 

[Ewe Mama2]

My DH and I have done three adoptions, two foster to adopt and one traditional adoption. Our traditional adoption was out of state and our two fosters were local. We were licensed for foster care through a private agency that worked with the county. It was very nice to have an advocate (the private agency caseworker) when dealing with the county. I'll be glad to help answer any questions you may have.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
I know one of the reasons its so hard, is because so many of the kids in the system are Native Alaska, but it is against the law for anyone other then Native Alaskans to adopt them.
We can't do out of state, because straight up adoption costs money that we simply do not have.
We have a very carefully budgeted lifestyle, that does not allow perks. We live within our means, and standard adoption fees cannot even be met out of our meager savings.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

I think what is going to be the hardest, is keeping our AP and very crunchy practices to ourselves.
The advise I have been given over and over, is to just keep my mouth shutwhen it comes to the Traditional food choices, baby wearing, etc things that we believe strongly in.
I know some sw will go for it, but from what we can gather, none of them do so here

 

[redhen]

Quote:

I believe it will happen for you someday. The right child will come to you...

 

[17roses]

Quote:
You are correct about the Native Alaskan issue. As far as money goes, where there is a will, there is a way. Many states have an adoption cost cap for adopting thru the state foster care system. If you dont use a private adoption agency then it is usually free or is directly taken out of the $10,000 tax credit. It took us about 4 years to save up but it was the best money we have ever spent. We are parent and that means the world to us. If you have not already, you should attend an adoption seminar. They are usually over a weekend.

There are all kinds of adoptive parents and I dont know what your beliefs are but I highly recommend you are upfront about them. If you dont tell the caseworker and they find out before the adoption is complete, it could be devastating. Remember, you must foster the child for at least 6 months before you can adopt in most cases. There are 2 paths to adoption thru the state. One is to foster a child and they may go back to the birth family or to go strait to the adoption side but regardless the 6 month rule usually is applied. We went the adoption route and required that it was a low to no risk adoption, meaning that all legal ties the birth family has to the child are already broken by a court of law before we would consider that child. Once I laid eyes on my child, I wanted them to be mine. But there are all kinds of adoption and what is right for us may not be right for someone else.

Feel free to PM me with questions about our adoption and I will answer any questions honestly but please remember that it is different for every person. Your states laws about foster adoption should be available thru internet sites. I spent many hours reading info on the internet, talking to caseworkers, going to classes, reading books and making lists with DH to figure out our best option. Every person and couple is different. I believe that each of us that knows we are suppose to be mothers or fathers have an option right for us.