November is National Adoption Month! Yay!
If you’re just beginning to think about adoption, I know how overwhelming it can be. I was there a little over 5 years ago. I was so fortunate to have friends already in the process. They were a lifeline to me. And, of course, I met more along the way.
When I get questions from people about where to start, the first thing I ask is:
Do you know what type of adoption you are interested in?
Do you want a newborn baby from the United States? Or are you interested in adopting from foster care? International adoption? Older kids? Younger kids? Even those questions can send someone into a tailspin. Most of the time people have an inclination toward one or two areas.
If someone is interested in adopting from foster care I usually point them to adoptuskids.org or Google “Christian foster care” and then their state. There are great Christian agencies who work with foster kids in most states.
For families interested in private domestic adoption, here are a couple resources:
- The Adoption Guide
- Creating a Family – 25 Factors to Consider When Adopting from the United States
If international adoption is where your heart is, I always have families start with the State Department adoption website. They have information on every country that allows intercountry adoption. The list is quite long but obviously some of those countries are very difficult to adopt from. Still it will tell you exactly what the specific country requirements are. This is helpful because you will probably later discover that some agencies like to layer their own requirements on top of the country and you may or may not meet those. For example we had an agency turn us down because we did not meet their income requirements of having $10,000 income for each person in the family. That was not an requirement of the Ethiopian government so we found a different agency.
Later this month I’m going to blog about some of the most helpful adoption books.
What other websites or organizations would you add to this list?
Great resources, Julie! We always point people to Loving Shepherd Ministries ( https://loving-shepherd.org/adoption-services/adoption-resources.html ). They offer a free, confidential online questionnaire that helps families narrow down the options that are the best fit for their unique family needs and passions, and a list of agencies that meet their needs. Our adoption found us, but a lot of our friends and church family have used LSM to start their adoption journeys.
That’s very cool Christine. I’ll have to check that out!
What a great resource! I will share this with my friends. Blessings,
Delana