Adoption?

[Idaho fan]

Question for any of you with adoption experience...

My wife and I have two boys (6 & 10) and for the last year or so have

been thinking about adopting a girl. I am curious if any of you have had

experience with either adopting or being adopted.

We are thinking about adopting from within the US (rather than from a foreign country). Your thoughts and or experiences are appreciated.

[Huly]

PM Bugs' He knows a lot about it. Also Pez and I have looked into it but not enough to help you. One thing to decide is if you want to go international vs domestic.

International is more costly but quicker and once you adopt the child is yours.

Domestic- takes longer, cheaper but after the adoption the parents have a year to reclaim the child.

[Bugs']

Huly is correct about the parents' rights when adopting domestically. That was a big reason my wife and I chose to adopt internationally. We went through Catholic Charities (and no, you don't have to be Catholic) and it was a very smooth process. Sure, there is a lot of paperwork to fill out and yes the cost can be hi, but we thought it was worth it. So much so, we are considering adopting another child from Korea. It took us around 10 months from the beginning of the process until we received our son, Kevin. This was our first child so we did not have the ability to choose the gender. Since you already have children you would be able to. In some countries, like Korea, it could take up to 2 years to get a girl. In other countries, like China, it would take a lot less time, maybe 1 year or less. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Right now Kevin is almost 9 months old, we have had him for 4 1/2 months and it has been so wonderful. He has adjusted well.

[DjTj]

I don't have any advice really, but this thread reminded me of an article I just read about Toby Dawson, a Korean adoptee that just won a Bronze medal for the U.S.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/15/sports/olympics/15cnd-moguls.html

Toby Dawson arrived in the United States with no name, no parents and no birthday.

He was adoptee K81-2879, found on the streets of Seoul, South Korea. Workers at the Korean orphanage where he lived called him Kim Soo-Chul. They listed his birthday as Nov. 30, 1978, because it seemed like a reasonable guess.

Today, adoptee K81-2879 became an Olympic medalist. When he took the bronze medal in the men's moguls competition, his adoptive mother flashed back to the first time she ever saw him, on a spring day in the Denver airport 24 years ago.

"It felt," Deborah Dawson said, "a lot like it feels right now."

[stram22]

Go for it. There are a lot of kids out there that need a solid home. I was adopted when I was barely a month old and I can you tell it surely beats the alternative.

[Idaho fan]

Huly is correct about the parents' rights when adopting domestically. That was a big reason my wife and I chose to adopt internationally. We went through Catholic Charities (and no' date=' you don't have to be Catholic) and it was a very smooth process. Sure, there is a lot of paperwork to fill out and yes the cost can be hi, but we thought it was worth it. So much so, we are considering adopting another child from Korea. It took us around 10 months from the beginning of the process until we received our son, Kevin. This was our first child so we did not have the ability to choose the gender. Since you already have children you would be able to. In some countries, like Korea, it could take up to 2 years to get a girl. In other countries, like China, it would take a lot less time, maybe 1 year or less. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Right now Kevin is almost 9 months old, we have had him for 4 1/2 months and it has been so wonderful. He has adjusted well.[/quote']

Sounds like things are working out well for you.

It also sounds like I have a lot more reading to do. It seems like each state has its own laws regarding parental rights and adoption. I understand that a biological mother or father could take back an adopted new born but I have not heard that toddlers could be taken back. I thought that when a child was awarded to the state and placed in foster care that the biological parents had no more claim or rights.

Obviously we would not want to lose a child after we have gone through the process of adopting. We are going to contact a local state foster and adoption agency to talk with and take the first step. Thanks for your help.