i say, you say, “the dossier (doh-see-ay) is on it’s way!”

Three cheers for my life’s work of the past two months being sent to over to Zoe’s country!!! The dossier is gone, baby, gone!

Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!

All the pretty papers. Oooh, aaah... These are what we sent overseas.

And more good news (can you handle it?):  all of the papers look good!!!! We can breathe a sigh of relief that so far there are no re-dos. We had to do quite a few redos States-side (newbies!), but everything eventually was notarized and apostilled.  I wasn’t sure what an apostille was…in fact, I haven’t talked to anyone outside of the RR adoption circle that has ever heard of it.  What is an apostille, you ask??? The Secretary of State takes the notarized papers and adds a piece of paper with a pretty seal on top of it that says very officially that “this-and-this notary really, truly is a notary of this-and-this state.”  That has to be done for every.single.notarized.page.   The plus side is that the people at the office of the Secretary of State of Indiana has won the “Most Friendly Government Employees” award from our household.

Here is a time line check for our adoption:

• June 2010 – committed to Zoe on Reece’s Rainbow (our home study was already complete) and connected with our RR team
• beginning of July – end of August 2010:  Raised funds and received a loan from LifeSong.  Sent off for  I-171H at the beginning of July and received it at the end of August.
• The whole month of August was spent compiling the dossier. We also mailed commitment papers for Zoe to E. Europe in August, too.
• 9/13/10 – sent dossier to E. Europe via FedEx
  
• 9/15/10 – dossier arrived in E. Europe
• 9/16/10 – received word that dossier looks good and may be submitted within a week

Currently we are:

• waiting for our dossier to be translated and submitted
• after submission, we’ll be waiting on a travel date!!!! Woohoo!

Oh, how I love seeing such a short list!

Nuts and bolts:  It took us about a month to get our dossier together.  From commitment to mailing dossier was 3 months, but our home study was complete.  Is it  possible for a family to go from commitment to mailing dossier in 3 months including the home study? It would require some up-front funds, fast fund-raising, a quick home study, a timely response from the government and conquering the paperwork mountain, but it could be done!

from i600a to I171H – step 3

Once you have your home study in hand, you can send it of directly to the US Government. Whether you plan to adopt domestically or internationally, the government has to review your info, send a request for you to be fingerprinted, process your info some more (I don’t know exactly what they do, but it all sounds very office-y), perhaps request a bit more info from you and then (a couple of months later) mail you your golden ticket to adoption – a piece of paper called “I171H”.  This paper looks just like every other printed out paper laying around our house, with little lines and words on a white background.  It does not LOOK exciting, but it IS exciting!!  And guess what?  Ours got here last Thursday!  Almost two months after we sent for it.

If you plan to adopt domestically, I do not know what paper you fill out and send in with your home study to get the I171H.

But, if you are adopting internationally, you have to fill out a very brief and easy form.  It will either be called an i800a or an i600a – which one depends on the country from which you plan to adopt.  We had to fill out the i600a one.   This part of the paperwork was pretty darned simple.  Oh, and don’t forget to send a check along with your papers to the tune of $670.  You know, for processing.   Processing is pretty fancy business.    Our $670 came through a garage sale and necklace sales over one weekend…in exactly that amount!  God provides.

So, fellow adopters and pre-adopters…when you begin your journey on level one with zero points, no ammo in your cache and the instruction manual by your side, keep in mind that the guarded item in the treasure box at the end of level three in the back of the cave is this single piece of paper.  The I171H. You won’t have to fight fire-breathing dragons to get it, but will have to cross a mysterious lake and swim towards a shifting shore that takes an indeterminable amount of time to reach.  Hang in there.  It’s a test of patience. And…you will succeed!

what is a home study? step 2

Here is our completed, officialized home study.  Thickness = 0.1 mm

And HERE is the paperwork that we had to turn in to complete our home study.  Thickness = 1.0 mm

Paperwork to Home Study Ratio is 10:1

“Home study” is the name of a process that takes anywhere from three weeks to three months to complete and is a requirement for all families who hope to adopt or foster a child.  It is the first real step in the adoption/fostering process.  Home study also refers to the stack of completed paperwork you receive when your home study is complete.  You will receive two to three copies of your approved paperwork and will use those copies to apply for grants/loans and to  show the government that you have been approved to be parents of the type of child you are seeking.

HOW TO COMPLETE A HOME STUDY

1.  Get online and google “home study agencies” in your area.  Or, ask a friend who they used locally.

2.  Call around and see what each agency charges and what is included in the fee.

The average cost of a home study is $2000.  When we called, we received “quotes” from $1400 to $2200.  Some home study agencies are also adoption agencies and offer support groups once you return home.

Say, “Hi, my name is _____.  I’m hoping to adopt a child from _______ and would like to know what you charge for a home study?”

3.  Fill out the paperwork!

Home study agencies provide you with all the paperwork you need to complete.  You will have to be fingerprinted, get a criminal history check…all kinds of fun stuff.  AFTER you find  an agency.  Consider it an adventure.

4.  Meet with a social worker.

A home study-trained social worker will visit your home one or two times to see what your home life is like and to get a feel for who you are as a family. This process for us was not nearly as intimidating as it seemed.  That’s not to say we didn’t put our best foot forward by getting some scrap metal out of the yard and updating our fire safety equipment.

5.  Pay and wait.

A home study will cost anywhere from $1400 to $2200, with $2000 being the average cost.   Before you begin, you need to make sure you can pay!  And, wah-lah.  You’re done!

how to adopt, step 1 part 2

Strengthen your core.

We are incredibly grateful to have the loving support of family and friends, but not everyone I happen to meet understands why we want to adopt.  And I certainly don’t expect them to.  I love answering questions about our adoption, but I’m not just winging it out there.   Take time to focus on the purpose of your adoption and get firm-grounded.  Prepare loving responses and answers.   And ask God to give you the strength and grace to walk through all challenges that will come your way.    Strengthen the core.

And give thanks for all of the blessings and for those who do support you. Like…..the Galvin’s, who sent me this lovely passport holder this week.  Isn’t it grand?!?    Their thoughtfulness brought me to tears.

Did you know that you aren’t allowed to smile in passport photos anymore??? I so didn’t know!  The very monotone man taking my snapshot peeked his head out from behind the camera to tell me to not smile, at which point I had a solo laugh-attack and wasted several minutes of his time.  I could not stop laughing long enough for the shot and it just kept getting funnier and funnier!  So, I ended up thinking morbid thoughts, holding my breath and trying to keep my lips together.    Right in the middle of CVS.

The Galvin’s note says: If you can’t make a “happy face” for your passport, at least you can put it in a happy cover!

Thank you, Galvins! It’s so nice to feel heard and loved.  And we’re making happy faces all over the place because we get to be the hearers and lovers of Zoe!!!!

Note:  Request/Renew your passport at this point in the adoption process. For international adoptions. I don’t recommend being held-up waiting on it later.  Having an up-to-date passport is a good idea anyway.  So, like, when your friend from Paris offers you a free trip next week, you can say yes.

how to adopt, step 1

Today, I’m beginning a series on the steps of adoption.

Step One is the only step that doesn’t involve paperwork. Yea!

Step One is deciding.  It’s not the how, it’s the who and where. Right out of the gate, you will have to start paying fees and doing some paperwork, but first, before anything, some core decisions have to be made.  It’s a lot like enrolling in college.  Before you enroll at a university, you know you will take classes and you hope to get a degree, but knowing that isn’t enough to fill out the initial paperwork.  You can change your major later, but you do have to claim a major or a field of study.

In adoption, “claiming your major” means that you state whether you are seeking a US or international adoption, what age range of children you will consider, how many children you are seeking and whether or not you would consider special needs.

You may or may not know which agency you hope to use to facilitate your adoption.  For instance, we had heard good things about Reece’s Rainbow, had talked to Andrea and knew we wanted to adopt through them.  This is a good time in the process to start looking around for an agency, talking to other people who have adopted and thinking and praying about what would fit best in your family.   Pray for guidance and affirmations.

Note: Some countries have no age limit on who can adopt and many accept single mothers!  A few accept single fathers.