help?

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum. My dh & I have been discussing a lot becoming a foster family and/or adopting. We both wanted a large family & we have 2 boys here with us. Our 3rd son was stillborn & as a result of the damage to my body I can no longer have children.
This is something we have tossed around for a few years & it just feels so right now.
I was wondering if someone can give me the basic gist of what I would have to do/go thru to get the process rolling. International I'm sure is how we will go. I have been reading what I can in here for the last hour.
What is the purpose of getting fingerprinted?

Tina,

Welcome to this adoption forum.

Your boys are very handsome.

I have a little girl who came to us through international adoption about 3 years ago and we are in the process of adopting our second child.

The process (for international) goes something like this. (as far as I know)

Initial application to an adoption agency.
They accept the application and then send you...
About a thousand pages of paperwork on who you are what you do and so forth, which allows the agency to make a determination as to wether you can properly raise a child financially and emotionally.

NOT NEARLY AS SCARY AS IT SOUNDS

Then the homestudy.

A social worker is assigned to you and he/she will come to your house and make sure that you have a place to properly raise a child.

AGAIN SOUNDS SCARIER THEN IT IS.

Then you get fingerprinted to find out that you are not on the child molester registry. (I assume thats why)

THen you wait for your referral, which is the paperwork which tells you who your child is. Depending on the country you might receive alot of info or very little info about the child.

You will then take that paperworkhome and look it over. You might also consider bringing it to a pediatrician or a doctor that specializes in international adoption. There are a few of them, one on the island (Dr. Paul Lee) and one in Manhatten (Dr. Jane Aronson).

I highly recommend Dr. Lee, who practically saved our duaghters life, another story for another time.

Finally you wait to travel, or to pick up your child at the airport. Depending on the country.

Our daughter is from Korea, and we picked her up at the airport. We are adopting again from Korea and we are going to travel to Korea to pick up our next child.

I hope this helps. There are lots of places online to get information.

I used an agency called New Beginnings in Mineola, and I found them to be wonderful. I know others on this site are also using them.

Please feel free to ask any other questions.

Jenn

Jenn pretty much covered it all, and I'm going through the same agency/same country as her, so I really have nothing more to add. GOOD LUCK!