Three's Company

40

"So the way our agency works is that we screen all potential families through an extensive background check, including drug testing. We also perform wellness checks in home similar to DHS, would send a caseworker to your home to assess the living arrangements and insure that it would be suitable for an additional child. We do take into consideration the desires of the potential parents when find child matches based on race and/or age. We are a lot more relaxed than DHS and the process can be more costly. But we strive to make happy forever homes."

Cameren held my hand as we sat in the office of "Forever Loved Adoption Agency." Adoption was something we discussed as soon as we knew were serious about our relationship and looking forward to marriage. Cameren was eager to jump into the process after the twins, while I wanted to wait a little bit longer. He felt we were ready though, so I trusted him. This is an exciting time for us. We are hoping to have a kid before the twins first birthday.

"Now the process can take months to find matches and finalize everything. In addition, your adoption doesn't become official until it is granted by a judge. I don't know how much you know about that process, but it is usually a very emotional day for everyone involved. Emotional in a good way. We have all of your paperwork and were are prepared to begin the process if you all are ready to do do. It takes about a week for the full background check to return. Once everything is clear, we'd allow you to access our database. This part always throws couples off because it is in a way like shopping for a kid, so to speak." You get to see photos of the children and read a brief summary of their background and age. From that point, we arrange a meeting with the parents who are looking to give up their child. We facilitate those meetings and allow the children to meet their new potential families. If they are children already in the home, we like to arrange playdates. We might meet at public places like a park. Lots of times, potential families may host a meal. There is really no set way to do this. During this stage, we sort of back off and let the families handle this part. Once everyone is in agreement, we move forward to the next stage, which is really a waiting game with the courts. Once that part is done, we step back all the way as you are now the adoptive parents of your child."