We had our initial consultation meeting this evening with our counselor, Sue. Sue is probably in her sixties somewhere, definitely a grandma sort of lady, tall and slim with chin-length white hair. We made our introductions and settled in for the questions. It is definitely a little uncomfortable having to tell a perfect stranger such intimate details of our lives - medical and family histories, and things like that, but Sue was easy to talk to and tried to put us at ease. Of course I was nervous and babbled like a doofus, but I settled down after a while and let Jeremy answer a couple of questions.
Those of you who have adopted will understand what I am talking about when I tell you that there is a mountain of paperwork standing between us and our baby...you can skip this paragraph. For those of you who haven't experienced adoption, here's a short rundown:
**We will need to get our "Adopt Only" foster care license (which entails being fingerprinted, background checks for both of us, physicals for both of us, 10 different forms and a diagram of our house marked with fire exits).
**We have to provide a full income/asset balance sheet with our net worth and monthly expenses
**We have to provide our federal tax forms for the last 3 years
**We have to provide photocopies of our birth certificates and our marriage license
**We have to provide a statement of insurance and legal guardianship
**We have to fill out a questionnaire about what characteristics we want in our future children and what medical issues we would be willing to accept
**We have to fill out a questionnaire about transracial adoption
**We have to create a profile with autobiographies and family trees.
**Finally, we have to create our profile with the two-page "Dear Birthmother" letter and pictures of us, family and friends.
We also have to attend at least 5 classes totaling 18 hours. This was a lot to process - so much information all at once, but we got a 3 ring binder with some written info in it that we can go over at our leisure. I'm really glad that first meeting is over!
2 comments:
Do you need personal references or a letter about how awsome you both are? If so please don't hesitate to ask!
Love yah!! Kat
I am glad to hear that you found a wonderful counselor that you feel very comfortable with. I am so happy for you and that you are doing this. I know that when you get your baby you are both going to be absolutely wonderful parents. I can't wait to share those moments with you. I really hope this goes quickly so that you can have the baby you so deserve.
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