Ever Thought About Adoption

ADOPTION CONTENTThe Process of Becoming a Parent
Adoption of a child who has resided in the Florida foster care system can be a very rewarding experience. Though these children have experienced a tremendous amount of loss in their short lives, they are all survivors who continue to possess dreams that only an adoptive family can help them realize. If your family has begun to consider adoption as a means to expand your family and provide a forever home to one or a group of your communities many foster children, your first steps is to simply call 1-866-661-5656. Making this toll free phone call will begin your journey to make a child’s dreams come true and change your world forever!
Almost anyone can become and adoptive parent. You can be single, married, have children of your own or be first time parents. You can live in a home or an apartment, as long as you have a room for the child you wish to adopt. Financial stability is a must, but you don’t have to be a millionaire. A strong sense of commitment, an understanding of the struggles foster children go through, patience, and a whole lot of love are the ingredients of an adoptive family!
Adoption of a foster child or children is free! Attorney’s fees are taken care of by the supervising agency, and there are many benefits available for the adopted child, including a Florida college tuition waiver and Medicaid medical insurance.
Once you make that first phone call to 1-866-661-5656, you will be placed in contact with a local Social Worker who will help to guide you through the adoption process by providing you information on mandatory trainings, the home study process, and the process of matching your family with a child or children whose needs would be best met by placement with your family.
Who Are the Available Children?The majority of children who are available for adoption through the foster care system are considered special needs, and all of them have been victims of abuse, abandonment, or neglect at the hands of their primary caregivers. Most of these children are “normal given their circumstance” (Bob Rooks). The term special needs refers to a child who meets one or more of the following criteria: over the age of eight years old, of black or biracial races, has a physical or mental disability, or is adopted with his or her sibling group. To view some of these children click here:
TrainingAll adoptive parents are required to complete a thirty-hour training course called Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting, or MAPP for short. This valuable class is designed to allow you and your family an opportunity to make an informed decision as to whether or not adoption through foster care is the right decision for your family. A full MAPP training course runs for ten weeks as the class meets one time per week for three hours. During this time, you will be guided to learn the strengths your family possesses that can help a child become the best he or she can be, as well as learning the needs your family may have that could hinder a child’s success in your home. You will learn about the cycle of attachment, a cycle that has been broken for many of our waiting children. You will learn why and how children can no longer return to their primary caregivers, and the tough times many children experience while in the foster care system. You will learn parenting techniques that have proven to work best with children who have special needs. It is during this class that your will complete a FBI background screen and have at least one time visit to your home by an Adoption Specialist or Initial Foster Care Licensing Specialist.
The Home StudyThe home study is perhaps the most important step to becoming an adoptive parent. During this phase of the process, an Adoption Specialist will meet with your family to assess your ability to become parents of these very special children. This extensive multi-step process will involve discussions about your motivation to adopt, your own childhood history, your current marriage and family life, parenting experience, and the strengths and needs of your family. It is during this process that decisions will be made regarding the age and type of child who might best fit your home as well as a recommendation of your suitability to be an adoptive parent.The Matching ProcessThe Adoption Specialist will provide you with information on the children available for adoption in the local area of Sarasota, Desoto and Manatee counties as well as information on how to learn about children who are available across the country. Should a child within the tri-county area be of interest to you, you will be put in contact with the Adoption Specialist assigned to that specific child and also share your home study with them. With an approved home study, the Adoption Specialist can share more specific information on the child with your family, including details of the child’s special needs as well as their likes and dislikes. Generally, the Adoption Specialist assigned to that child will review your home study and share it with the Service Team who works directly with the child. If the Service Team feels that your family may in fact be a match for that child, a match meeting will be scheduled. This meeting is a wonderful opportunity for your family to be introduced to the Service Team, ask questions, and learn all there is to know about the child. The Service Team can also ask questions in order to further assess your ability and commitment to meet the needs of the child. Should all parties involved feel that the match is a good one, your family included, you will be invited to meet with the child.
Initial visits with a child are always supervised by one or more persons of the Service Team and normally take place during daylight hours. The length of time a frequency of visits with the child vary from child to child, based on the child’s needs and comfort level with visitation. If visits are positive, recommendations will be made to increase the visits to unsupervised and eventually to overnights. Once it becomes clear that visitation is positive and the child has reached an appropriate comfort level with your family, a decision made together with your family and the Service Team, plans will be made to move the child into your home.
The Adoptive PlacementOnce a child is placed into your home, a Adoption Specialist will visit your home at least one time per month to ensure that the child’s needs are being met in your home and that he or she is adjusting well to the new environment. The Adoption Specialist will also help your family obtain any community services the child may require post adoption. The child must reside in your home for a minimum of ninety days before an adoption can be finalized by the courts. The Adoption Specialist will work with your attorney to help coordinate the final adoption hearing.
Adoption of a special needs child can be a time consuming process, but it is well worth all of the hard work. Not only will you be the new parents of a wonderful child, you will also have learned a great deal about your family. These children need your guidance, do you have the strength to show them the bright side of life? Click on the link below that says future to see some wonderful children that are up for adoption!

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