A few people have asked us what our next steps are. It is hard to have a simple answer to this but I want to layout where we are in the process.
Step 1: Choose the right Agency for us!
We have chosen and been accepted to work with a national agency. There are a few reasons for this.
1. They have a national presence and have a shorter wait time for placement. This means from the day we officially go on the waiting families list, we will hopefully have a shorter time to wait for a baby.
2. There are securities for our money in place with this specific agency. Private adoption is extremely expensive. With this agency if we get 90% of the way through the process and a birth parent changes their mind, our money will be fully refunded so we can start the process again. Not all agencies have that security in place, so for Brandon and I this is a major game changer!
3. Post adoption services are important to us. Someone to help navigate the first few weeks after adopting and a personal case worker is something not all places can provide. This agency will be with you from the day you start the process until years after a child is placed in your home. After adoption they are only there for support, other then that there will be nothing tying us to them, so we can choose how much or how little support we need.
4. To adopt in the USA there are a few stipulations and one of them is to be married for a minimum of 2 years. Since Brandon and I are just short of 2 years ( I know, how in the world has he put up with me this long)! this Agency is allowing us to start the process now. They recognize that we are close enough to the 2-year marker that by the time any legal processes will take place we will have hit the 2 years.
Step 2:
FUNDING!!!!
As many of you know Brandon and I are not independently wealthy! HA! So, there are funds to be saved and things we need to work on to get the correct funding.
We are saving as much as we can weekly and plan on taking out a loan… I know, going into debt to adopt is risky, but there are ways to offset the cost. Here are a few:
-Adoption Grants
- Low interest Adoption Loans
- SAVE, SAVE, SAVE
- Adoption Tax Credit (this is something we would file for after the adoption was final and could help repay any loans we need to take out)
I am sure you are on the edge of your seat wondering what our monetary goal is. Well folks here it is:
$43,000.00
So if any of you are independently wealthy, now would be a fine time to pick up the phone and dial my number!!!!!!
With that being said, please spread the word, we are willing to work, babysit, clean, craft and just about anything to raise the money ourselves. Loans and handouts are not our style, but being parents is. So we will be at step 2 and holding for a bit.
We can potentially move to step 3 , (Home study, classes and background checks) during the late stages of step 2, but we don’t want to move forward with $$$$$ nagging us.
So please share our page, tell a friend of how awesome a wreath I made you is, or your family photos, or wedding/ birthday invitations I hand crafted are. Our goal is to meet our baby in 2020 and we cant do it with out all of you!
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