What is the process to adopt a child?

Adopting kids can be expensive and frustrating. I know several couples who can’t have kids who are trying to adopt. One couple I know did manage to adopt a Chineese baby girl but they ended up having to spend a lot of money on the adoption and they had to travel to China a few times (not cheap).

All of the other couples I know have been unsuccessful but mainly because they decided they want to adopt a perfectly healthy baby that looks like them (read caucasion) with no mental issues or learning disabilities. If you are going to be this picky you may have problems. I know when I was looking into adoption I didn’t really care about the child’s race but some of my relatives were very unsupportive of us adopting a black or Hispanic baby (and they told us so unquivocally).

My wife and I were having trouble getting pregnant and we didn’t know if we would ever be successful. We were looking into adoption. For us the only workable option was foster to adopt. You see if you become a foster parent and you become attached to your foster child than it is much easier and cheaper to adopt than it would be otherwise. You also have the advantage of getting to know your foster child for a while before you decide if you wish to adopt. Being a foster parent takes a lot of work but if you really want to make a difference in young lives it can also be very rewarding. Being a foster parent can be wrenching as well. One foster parent I know took care of a child for several years because the child’s mother was unable to due to criminal and substance abuse issues. After a few years the mother cleaned up her act and wanted her kid back. At that point it was very hard to give up the child.