The adoption timeline

If you know me well, you know I despise bureaucracy. I'm a rule-breaker and everything about bureaucracy is designed for rule-followers. It's a constant battle. 

I learned very quickly that adoption is A. LOT. OF. BUREAUCRACY. So much paperwork. Each agency requests different things, so it's hard to really start gathering what you need until you settle on an agency. 

We started our adoption process in November of last year. We looked at a lot of different agencies, paid fees, and started going through the application process, only to find out that it wasn't the right fit. One agency wanted us to make a 2 minute video (working with their film editor) to help "sell" us to the birth parents. Another made us sign 200 pages of paperwork from all the countries they work with (not just the countries we were considering, but all of them), along with a notary. A notary in Luke's office was a saint to sit with us through that. None of the agencies felt right until we found Children's Home Society. They have been very rigorous and thorough, but also very helpful and organized. Plus their office is close by, so we've been able to just run over to drop off paperwork as we've finished it. 

So, we started with Children's Home Society in March of 2016. It took us the entire month to fill out all the paperwork. Background checks (from 2 states), fingerprinting at the police station, credit checks, financial accounts, references (personal and professional), education experiences, medical histories for all of us (boys included), employment history, the places we've lived since we were 18 and contacts to confirm those residences. I started copying every single thing, just to not have to track it all down again. Through brute force, we finished all the paperwork that month and were waiting for our application to be approved. 

In April, we were accepted into the program.

In May, we had our first day long training with other families who were adopting internationally. We had such a great group! We email each other to check in and see where everyone is in the process, to ask questions, vent, etc. We're thankful for them! 

In June, we paused in the process to think about switching to the foster care to adoption track. 

In July, we had our first home study visit with our social worker. 

In August, we had our final 2 home study visits. She has a month to complete her home study recommendation that gets sent to India along with a dossier of our family. 

She's presenting to the internal Children's Home Society team on Tuesday of this next week, then they move forward with building the dossier. 

Once we get approved by India as potential adoptive parents, we are eligible to be matched. So, we're thinking we'll likely be matched this fall. 

Exciting times! We'll keep you updated as we move along!