About how long does the process take to adopt a child?

Question

If you have any information about adoption please let me know! thanks!

Answer 1

Where do you want to adopt from?

Domestic, foster care, international, etc.

A good rule of thumb is 1 - 2 years.

Answer 2

How much cash to you have, or how big is your celebrity factor?

Do you care about obtaining another mother's child in an ethical fashion - or do you just want fast?

Those are the factors which influence how long it takes.Hope you make good use of it, and research the issues caused by the trauma inflicted upon the baby or child who is separated from momma.

Answer 3

We started our process with Domestic adoption and never moved off the agency's waiting list in the 2 years we were on it.  

We decided to switch to international adoption and once receiving information about our DS it took 8 months before he came home...we were in the process for 9 months total.  Our agency had no waiting list.  

DD #1 came home 5 months after we started and DD #2 came home 4 months after we started.  We adopted all three from the same agency.

International adoption can take time depending upon what country and what agency you pick.  Some countries' adoption programs are less stable than others.  

I know very little about adoption from foster care so I won't comment about that here.

Answer 4

Seriously, it can take from several months to several years.  You have a homestudy done, which requires you to assemble a lot of documents and you have meetings with a social worker. Sometimes you're required to attend classes. That takes a few months.  Then if you're doing international adoption you put together a dossier (more paperwork gathering) and get immigration approval, whic will take a couple of months.  Lastly, you sit and wait for a referral which can take from a few weeks to a couple of years depending on what country you're working with and what age/gender of child you have requested.   From what I understand, adopting a child from foster care is pretty quick, but then again, I've heard that finalizing it takes a long time.  I would suggest you get started by just reading forums at websites like adoption.com  

If you are concerned about ethics in adoption, then you want to watch how much you emphasize the speed of the process.  I know a lot of adoptive parents who choose a program based on how fast they can bring a child home. With international adoption, this can lead to corruption.  It should all be about waiting and being available for a child in need of a home, rather than about how quickly you can get a baby.