When it comes to adoption and foster care there are a lot of steps that one needs to take to make sure they are suitable parents for a child, no matter the age. I believe in this system and understand that it takes time to find the right parents for each individual child. If you are looking into pursuing adoption there are plenty of things you will need to understand and prepare for so that your can properly care for and provide for your new child. Below is some of the best advice I can give you on adoption and the process surrounding it.
Basic Characteristics:
- Mature, stable, flexible, and dependable parents
- Ability to advocate for your children
- Be the best you can be for your new family and work close with the child welfare worker
First Steps to Take:
- Educate yourself about the ins and outs of adoption
- Contact a local agency to learn more and speak with a representative
- Attend and in-person orientation meeting
- Understand the differences between adoption and foster care
Contacting a local agency will allow you to first hand speak with someone in your area that can give you all the necessary information to consider for adoption. Speaking with a representative will help you decide the perfect path to take and find out more information such as when the next orientation meeting is so that you can educate yourself further and meet other soon to be parents.
When attending an orientation meeting a lot of new information will be brought out for the future parents in attendance. The leader of the meeting will discuss the different and varying roles & responsibilities of adoptive parents, the entire process you need to go through to adopt, the next immediate steps in the process, and all the steps to complete after you adopt. The leader of the meeting will also discuss some of the challenges you may face when it comes to adoption and/or foster care. The process is not always an easy or seamless one but in the end its one of the most rewarding decisions of one’s life. It is extremely important to show up to the meeting with an open mind and heart. Be ready to ask questions and listen thoroughly to the answers provided. Have someone taking diligent notes so you can reference the material at a later date and take down the next meeting date should you want to come back in the future.
I hope this information has provided you with some of the basic information you’ll need in order to properly and informatively determine whether you would like to become a parent by adoption or fostering.