We're young and not out of college yet, but interested in adoption...?

Question

We see those Christian Childrens Network ads where you send money every month to help children in different third world areas... and we thought about it, but then we thought, what better way to really make a difference than to adopt an abandoned child. Then you know for sure you're making a difference.

We're young (24 and 27) and not out of college yet altough we're in school now. We have a one and a half year old and another child coming.... we love having a growing family.

Although financially we don't have the world and a half to offer, we get by just fine and live comfortably.

Would our lack of college degrees and/or student income level (which is about lower middle class right now) stop us from adopting a child? Would they deny us? Should we wait until we're out of school?

And how do you go about adopting anyway? I've heard state wide adoption costs can be minimal but from private companies it can be very costly. Any advice is better than the none we have as of yet. Thanks!

Answer 1

I heard those adoption agencies are really strict and that you can get in a lot of trouble if you cant keep the kid to certain living standards.   I dont know what those standards are since i never really looked that far into adoption, that is just word of mouth that I heard from some one else.   I would wait till your done with college, to me that seems like the best thing to do.  Like you said your young so you got plenty of time too do this.

Answer 2

Please look into one of the following:

1.  World Vision -- they willl match you with a child of any country you want, and he/she will write letters to you, you will get a photo of him/her, and can also write back.  The money you send monthly to sponsor this child goes to their education and daily care, for them to stay in their own home.

2.  Big Brothers/Big Sister -- they wil match you with an underprivileged child of the age you prefer.  You may send time with the child, take them to the moves, teach them to play ball, sew or cook.  They can eventually come to your home, and be involved with your family activities.

3.  Foster care with your state -- you can foster a special needs infant who truly needs love and care.  You can foster a school age child and help them in the worst time of their life.  This is a way to truly make a difference in a child's life!

Good luck!!  Great heart!!

Answer 3

It is true that if you adopt from the state the cost is minimal.  I line in Pa and am a foster parent.  If we adopt any of our foster children, which we hope to do, the cost is pretty much $0.  However, I am sure that is different from state to state.  We also want to adopt an infant and know that our chances through foster care are slim.  While we have enough to support the child, we don't have enough to just hand over 20,000 or more.  So, we have decided to fundraise in our church and community.  If you have your heart set on an infant, that may be the way to go and you can find a lot of ideas just by doing a search on the net.

I don't think your lack of degrees will be a problem.  First off, everyone who adopts does not have a degree and second, you are working on it.  As long as you can prove that you can support the family you have already as well as the child you adopt, you should be just fine.  Although you are not finished with school yet, if you want to adopt sooner than later I would start looking for an agency now.  It takes a while to do all the paperwork.  Once the paperwork is complete, then you have to wait again for a placement.  All said and done, you are very likely to have your degrees finished before the process is complete.  (My husband and I started out as an adoptive family through foster care.  After a year with no placement, we became foster parents with the hope of adopting a child that was living with us.  We have been doing this also for over a year and still don't have an adoptive placement.  I know that we will get a placement when it is meant to be, but it does show you that the wait can be long, even when working with the state.)

Being that you already have children of your own, going through that state might be a good choice, especially if you are willing to adopt an older child.  Although we haven't had an adoptive placement yet, I love being a foster parent and would have adopted any of our children if given the chance.  Hope this is helpful.

Answer 4

I would wait till you got out of school, even more that your soon to have 2 very young children. However you could start doing research now to see what's out there, type of adoptions that’s available, what you feel will be right for your family.  Most people who adopt aren’t overly rich. But you would have to be able to provide at least the essentials and the adoption criteria would depend on what agency you went through.  Cost also varies by agency, country etc.

Typical if one adopts from the Foster Care system it’s relatively cheap but most of the children will be special needs.  This can be older children, mixed race and minority children. Kids with some health issues  such as HIV positive, Mental retardation, emotional issues etc.

Sometimes if you adopt abroad you might have to spend some time in that country. Take Brazil for example one has to stay between 14 days to 30 days in the country depending on the age of the child. So that would cost someone to live down there for a spell. If your married both parents have to go though i have read that one spouse can return home after 10 days.

Private adoption is the most costly , which is going through an adoption attorney rather then a agency.

You have to do a home study again this depends on what agency one goes with, but you might have 3 or 4 home visits with in several months, you’ll be asked various question interviewed together and separately. They might speak to family and or friends.  Then if your approved you just have to wait for a match and this could take as little as a few days as long as a few years.

Answer 5

When we adopted our first child I was 25, and my husband was 27. Although you may have to wait until you're 25 with some agencies/ programs, many will let you go ahead and start the process a few months early as long as you'll turn 25 before the child is placed with you.

We also have not completed our degrees and are still working on them, and it was not a problem at all. We just had to show that we were financially stable, and able to provide for the children we adopted. We adopted both of our children from Korea, and the family income requirement was only $30,000 a year, proving that you do not need to be wealthy to adopt.

You will need to be able to give a lot of time to the child that you adopt (and the children you already have), so if you both are attending school full time and working full time, the agency will probably want you to cut back on work/ school especially in the begining during the initial adjustment.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Adoption cost vary from state to state and from agency to agency. Its kind of hard to give you cost in a nut shell. Child protective services would be minimal. Otherwise you are looking at cost of 15 thousand to 40 thousand if not more.