Stay informed and organized to avoid being overwhelmed by adoption paperwork.
There are many infants and children in need of homes with whom you can share your love and life. If you are considering adoption, whether it be through an agency, an attorney, the state or even an international adoption, it's important to realize that adoption is a legal process and you will be required to create and complete a lot of paperwork. Stay ahead of the paperwork by learning what kind of information and papers will be required of you, and create a binder with separate folders to organize and contain these documents for easy access.
Instructions
1. Complete the adoption application. The required information presents who you are and what your needs are to the agency or attorney with whom you will be working. You will generally have to provide your current contact information; an overview of your health; financial and personal information; and your work, marriage and criminal history. You will also be asked to provide references and answer questions about your family and household members, and what age and gender child you want to adopt.
To prepare, select some close friends or associates whom you can list as references and create a references folder. Make a list of important dates, numbers and information about yourself.
2. Compile your documents for the home study, which is a screening process of you and your home conducted by a social worker. During the home study, you will need a number of different forms to back up the information you provided on your application. Create a folder to hold official documents such as birth certificates and any divorce decrees or marriage certificates.
Create another folder to hold your financial documents such as your past tax return document, pay stubs and statements. You will also need letters from your physician and employer confirming your health and employment. Add the letters to your references folder.
3. Create your profile for the birth mother. After undergoing the home study, you will need to create a profile and/or a "Dear Birth Mother" letter. The profile is used to introduce yourself to any prospective birth mothers who may be considering you.
Create a profile folder and add photographs of you and your family which illustrate your home life. Write an autobiography that further explains who you are, your upbringing, beliefs, values and hopes for your future child. Add them to your profile folder.
4. Assemble your dossier, which is a set of documents that are used to complete the adoption process in a foreign court. Refer to the folders you have created, and make several notarized and translated copies of all of the documents and information you submitted during your application and home study, in addition to your completed home study report, letters of recommendation, psychological evaluations (sometimes needed), a fingerprint clearance and approval from the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, and a police clearing and background check. Create a separate folder to hold the dossier forms.
Tags: home study, folder hold, agency attorney, documents such, home study will, profile folder, references folder