How long does it take for you to adopt a child in sc or any where in us?

Question

How long does it take for you to adopt a child in sc or any where in us?

Answer 1

I live in North carolina and I filled my paper work 2 weeks ago and my social worker was contacted last week they tell me it should not be more than 2 or 3 more weeks

Answer 2

That's a question for a lawyer to answer.

Answer 3

As a former foster/adopt parent from SC and a current foster home licensing worker in IL I can tell you that if you adopt through the state there is a mandatory six month waiting period. The time starts when the child first moves into your home. Once the six months are over it's just a matter of your adoption attorney filing all of the paper work as quick as possible. One thing that will speed the process is if you have your attorney start the paper work as soon as the child moves in. The more you get done before the six months is up the quicker it will go after that.  For example, we now live in IL. We have adopted to sib groups of three. After the six months was over we were in court and had them adopted with in 30 days. It was all because we stayed on top of the paper work. Good luck!.

Answer 4

Kina, it really depends.  My hubby and I started the process in October 2006; and we're just now getting ready to start our pre-placement visits with our future daughter.  A 22 month old little girl in Pennsylvania.  We live in Georgia.  We initially submitted our adoption application in October of 2006; and started our parenting courses in December 2006... our homestudy was also started in Dec. '06.  We had to have physical exams and blood work done; and our homestudy was like a therapy session.  The caseworker's really go deep into ALL of your business (i.e. your childhood, marriage, financial history, college years... your LIFE!).  But, to answer your question regarding the length of time, it just really depends on where the children come from.  All the children we viewed were in the state custody, including South Carolina; and it's been almost 9 months for us; and we were selected as prospective parents for our future daughter after about 7 months.  Sometimes it's longer... it all depends on what agency you're working with and if the kids are in state custody or not.  I hope this info helps and if you have any further questions, feel free to shoot me an email.  I'd be happy to assist.

Answer 5

it depends on many factors.  such as what age, race, special needs, etc... you are able to deal with.  we waited 48 hours to be matched and 1 month to bring our newborn home.  she is hispanic/caucasion and our friends waited 24 hours to be matched and 3 months to bring their newborn home.  she is african american.  both babies are healthy and beautiful.  it also is going to depend on what kind of adoption your are willing to do, open, semi-open, closed, etc....also the most important factor is how well you educate yoursef.  that is the most important thing in how long you will wait.  the more you know the better you can choose an agency or attorney.

Answer 6

i dont know but maybe a while

Answer 7

It so depends on how you are adopting!  And what your parameters are.

To adopt an older child through foster care -- 1 year or more.

To foster to adopt a young child or baby through the foster care system -- 1 year or more.

To adopt domestically through a private agency - 6 months to 3 years.

To adopt internationally - 18 months to 3 1/2 years.

Can't rush it though!  But well worth the wait!!  Good luck!!

Answer 8

Sometimes it will take years but if you are really lucky you will get him/her in about 4 months.

Experienced Adoption

Answer 9

there is a waiting list of like two years.however if the child in question is like youre niece or someone in your family you have first choice as well as other people in your family.you will need to go through a dhs program to see if you qualify to be an adoptive parent though.

Answer 10

I am in SC and my daughters adoption 4 years ago was 17 months start to finish. I did an international adoption from China. It was a nine month referral period at that time. It is now 18 -19 months and expected to be longer.

A domestic adoption can take a relatively short period of time if you adopt through foster care and chose a child that is already free for adoption. A child whos parental rights have already been terminated will be a quick placement. You will need to attend the classes offered by the state which are more extensive than for foster parenting. If the child is from the state of SC you are so much ahead of the game.

If you decide you want to adopt a child you find in another state, the process is compounded greatly. The paper work for the interstate compact must be filed in triplicate and there is a TON of it. If the child was not considered medically fragile or behaviorally challenged (these equal state funds that SC will have to pay for another states child) is can happen in as short as in less than a year.

If the child is medically fragile or emotionally/behaviorally challenged the state can refuse to approve the adoption and it would never happen as long as you are in this state.

I know all of this because I was a foster parent in GA. I moved to SC and was not allowed by the state of GA to bring the children with me because even though parental visitations were not happening (the mother moved to NC and the father was in jail) parental rights had not been terminated yet. Once they were free for adoption and parental rights were terminated I stepped forward and told them I wanted to adopt these two children. To make a very long story short, I was told that DFCS decided to split these kids up and allow the current foster family to adopt the girl and still no one has adopted the boy. The state of SC does not want to approve the adoption because of his emotional issues which equates to behavioral issues. Neither state wanted to process the paper work and invest the time to move him across state lines. If I could pull it off I would move back to GA and adopt him then move out of state.

If you decide to go private adoption it could take years as well. You could be selected by a birth mother and after she gives birth she changes her mind and you are out the money you paid her. There are tons of laws and regulations in this country to protect birth families and none at all to protect prospective adoptive parents. I understand that they have the right to change their mind but I think if they do, they need to pay the adoptive parents back evey dollar they used. They need to think long and hard about whether adoption is the thing for them to do before they accept a single red cent and get the hopes of the adoptive family raised and then crushed. At this point I believe they are catered to and cottled and can basically get anything they want from the adoptive family and still change their minds and not be responsible for repaying anything back. Adoptive families are preyed on in this and many foreign countries. I am sure most birth families out there are honest but you do not know which type of birth parent you are dealing with until the child is born and the papers are signed. I've personally know several families who have the birth mother change her mind post birth and they were out tens of thaousands of dollars each time because the birth mother changed her mind. They ultimately went international.

Just be careful. I think International is safest (financially and emotionally), followed by foster care and private adoption last.  

Good luck!

Answer 11

I wish I could give you a standard answer, but unfortunately, it is dependent on the type of adoption you are going through.  For us, we had a unique situation, and our adoption process only took four months from the time we found our biological family until the time we brought our son home.  Our finalization didn't occur until much later, but as I indicated, our's was a unique situation.

If you find a biological family yourself, the adoption process does not have to be a long one.  However, if you use an agency for the adoption, you will need to wait until you are matched with a biological family.  This may take some time.  

You may also want to consider a foster/adopt program, and the time for that may be dependent on how long it takes for you to qualify with the foster program, as well as any limits that you place on the child or children you accept (meaning with or without disabilities, ages, etc.).

Again, I wish I could give you more of a straight forward answer, but it very dependent on the type of adoption you are interested in.

Answer 12

We did a domestic adoption of a baby born in GA. We live in CA. It took about 9 mo from the time we chose an agency until she was born & in our care. The finalization was 6 mo later (in CA baby has to be in your home 6 mo to finalize, but usually it is a formality). It took about 4.5 mo to get our home study and all our paperwork done. After that we were "waiting" for a match. Many adoptions are open now. Our birthmother found us online 2 weeks before our daughter's birth. Some people who started at the same time as us are stil waiting (1.5 years later). Since in many cases the birthparents choose the adoptive parents there is no way to know when you will match, but it is usually 6 mo to 2 years from what I know.

Answer 13

It just depends how you go about it.  We are trying to adopt in SC as well.   You may get chosen by a birthmom right away or it may take years.  Or you could adopt through the state system.   Finalization takes a while either way.  Good luck!