What to Expect: the Homestudy

February 28, 2019 dossier, February 2019 Feature - The Paperchase, homestudy, I'm Ready to Adopt, Lifeline, What To Expect 0 Comments

I have been a licensed social worker practicing in international adoptions for over six years now, and I must confess that I absolutely love paperwork! I recognize that I am probably in the minority. I tell families that the beginning of the adoption process might feel like you are trying to sip from a fire …Read More

Preparing for Adoption Q and A: WACAP

October 25, 2017 Agencies, China trip, choosing a China adoption agency, Gotcha Day, I'm Ready to Adopt, October 2017 Feature - Preparing for Adoption from the Experts, prepping for China, Stefanie, WACAP 0 Comments

You’ve dreamt for this day for months, years even. Planned for it, traveled halfway around the world for it and played it out in your mind a million times. And yet, the reality of becoming a family through adoption is undoubtedly different. What happens next depends much on how you, as the adoptive parent, process …Read More

Preparing for Adoption: A Family Therapist’s Perspective

October 23, 2017 books, China trip, guest post, I'm Ready to Adopt, Lifeline, October 2017 Feature - Preparing for Adoption from the Experts, pre-adoption, prepping for China, TBRI-based therapy 0 Comments

You’ve dreamt for this day for months, years even. Planned for it, traveled halfway around the world for it and played it out in your mind a million times. And yet, the reality of becoming a family through adoption is undoubtedly different. What happens next depends much on how you, as the adoptive parent, process …Read More

Preparing for Adoption Q and A: Madison

October 17, 2017 Agencies, China trip, choosing a China adoption agency, Gotcha Day, I'm Ready to Adopt, Madison, October 2017 Feature - Preparing for Adoption from the Experts, prepping for China, Stefanie 0 Comments

You’ve dreamt for this day for months, years even. Planned for it, traveled halfway around the world for it and played it out in your mind a million times. And yet, the reality of becoming a family through adoption is undoubtedly different. What happens next depends much on how you, as the adoptive parent, process …Read More

Preparing for Adoption Q and A: Lifeline

October 12, 2017 Agencies, China trip, choosing a China adoption agency, Gotcha Day, I'm Ready to Adopt, Lifeline, October 2017 Feature - Preparing for Adoption from the Experts, prepping for China, Stefanie 0 Comments

You’ve dreamt for this day for months, years even. Planned for it, traveled halfway around the world for it and played it out in your mind a million times. And yet, the reality of becoming a family through adoption is undoubtedly different. What happens next depends much on how you, as the adoptive parent, process …Read More

Red Flags: Not All Agencies Are Created Equal

February 15, 2017 Agencies, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, switching agencies 0 Comments

You may have seen that an adoption agency with a program in China was recently “temporarily debarred” by the State Department. Some of the violations by this agency included (I am paraphrasing): Charging families in-country fees that were different than what they had previously quoted. Charging fees that were unreasonably high in consideration of services …Read More

A Beginner’s Guide to Special Needs Adoption: Post Seven

October 5, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, dossier, Faith, homestudy, I'm Ready to Adopt, paperchase, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral, waiting to travel 1 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

A Beginner’s Guide to Special Needs Adoption: Post Six

September 3, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, dossier, Faith, homestudy, I'm Ready to Adopt, paperchase, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral, waiting to travel 1 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

A Beginner’s Guide to Special Needs Adoption: Post Five

August 13, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, Agencies, agency-orphanage partnership, dossier, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, medical needs checklist, paperchase, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 1 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

A Beginner’s Guide to Special Needs Adoption: Post Four

August 3, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, Agencies, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, medical needs checklist, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 0 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

A Beginner’s Guide to Special Needs Adoption: Post Two

June 1, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, medical needs checklist, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 3 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

A Beginner’s Guide to Special Needs Adoption: Post One

May 3, 2016 A Beginner's Guide to Special Needs Adoption, Faith, I'm Ready to Adopt, pre-adoption, referral, should we adopt?, waiting for referral 3 Comments

Becoming a parent, no matter how it happens, is never easy. But for those just looking into the possibility of adoption it can seem positively overwhelming. It is our hope to change all that. This 8-post series will go step-by-step through the process to adopt through the special needs program for those of you who …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 10)

July 10, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 1 Comments

Today we’re finishing our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the final post by Kelly – who blogs at Mine In China – on How To Choose An Agency. You can find links to the previous nine posts here. So grateful to Kelly for this insightful and well-researched series, such an excellent resource for adopting families!   Finding Your Priorities and Choosing Your …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 9)

July 2, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 0 Comments

Today we’re back with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the ninth in a 10 post mini-series by Kelly – who blogs at Mine In China – on How To Choose An Agency. You can find links to the previous posts here.   Grants, Fundraising, and Understanding the Business Side of Agencies   Finances are an important consideration for many parents. Few …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 8)

June 25, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 0 Comments

Today we’re back with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the eighth in a 10 post mini-series by Kelly – who blogs at Mine In China – on How To Choose An Agency. You can find links to the previous posts here.   Financial Considerations   If you have stayed with me through this series it is likely that by now …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 7)

June 19, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 3 Comments

Today we’re back with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the seventh in a 10 post mini-series by Kelly – who blogs at Mine In China – on How To Choose An Agency. You can find links to the previous posts here.   Travel Questions   If you are reading this series because you want to choose an agency to start …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 6)

June 11, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 2 Comments

Today we’re back with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the sixth in a 10 post mini-series by Kelly – who blogs at Mine In China – on How To Choose An Agency. You can find links to the previous posts here.   Asking Agencies About Special Situations   If you would like to adopt from China, you need to fit …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 5)

June 4, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 0 Comments

Today we’re back with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the fifth in a 10 post mini-series by Kelly – who blogs at Mine In China – on How To Choose An Agency. You can find links to the previous four posts here.   Comparing Agencies   Now that we have discussed the different types of files, you probably know …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 4)

May 28, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 3 Comments

Today we’re back with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the fourth in a mini-series by Kelly – who blogs at Mine In China – on How To Choose An Agency. You can read the first three posts here, here and here.   LID File Agency Questions and Transferring Files Between Agencies   While we will be discussing many different factors to consider when choosing an agency, …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 3)

May 18, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 0 Comments

Today we’re back with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the third in a mini-series by Kelly – who blogs at Mine In China – on How To Choose An Agency. You can read the first two posts here and here.   Understanding LID and Partnership Files In this post, we are going to focus on another file designation used by China, known …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 2)

May 7, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 0 Comments

Today we’re back with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with the second in a mini-series of ten posts by Kelly, who blogs at Mine In China, on How To Choose An Agency. If you haven’t already, you can read the first post here. Things to consider when choosing your child first:   If you’ve decided that you really …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt: Choosing an Agency (Part 1)

May 2, 2015 Agencies, choosing a China adoption agency, Guest Series, I'm Ready to Adopt 1 Comments

Today we pick back up with our I’m Ready To Adopt series with a mini-series by Kelly, who blogs at Mine In China, on How To Choose An Agency. Because this very complex subject deserves a mini-series of it’s own. Kelly has published a series of posts on her own blog and has graciously reformatted them into …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt, Now What? The Homestudy

February 13, 2015 dossier, homestudy, I'm Ready to Adopt 2 Comments

Alternately titled: Four Things to Know Before You Begin Your Home Study. This is the second post in a series on the “how to” of adoption, step by step. Post one can be found here. Starting the adoption process can be intimidating. You hear horror stories of the paperwork that is involved and it is …Read More

I’m Ready to Adopt, Now What? Getting Started

December 2, 2014 Agencies, Amy A., I'm Ready to Adopt 3 Comments

Welcome to our newest contributing blogger, Amy Abell. A few months ago, Amy shared a most helpful, well-laid out, easy-to-follow series on fundraising for adoption. So when we were planning a sharing about the “How To-s” of adoption, we asked her if she would share once more. And again, she managed to lay out a …Read More

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