Blog// LGBT Adoption

What to do Before Filling Out Your Adoption Application

Lifelong Adoptive Family

There are plenty of guides that prepare you for adoption. But there’s not enough for those who are preparing themselves to make the decision. Making the adoption choice shouldn’t be taken lightly, and there are some steps you should take before you start considering yourself ready to answer the question of whether adoption’s the right choice for you. We've listed them for you in this article. 

1. Do the necessary research.

You’ll never be able to answer the question properly if you don’t take the time to find out what adopting a child really means. Do you know what types of adoption there are? Are you familiar with the process, that is, with all the things you’ll be asked to do in order to even be considered as a prospective parent? And that’s just the beginning!

2. Answer all the most important questions

Once you’ve done the work, you’ll need to start making decisions. Would you want to adopt domestically or internationally? A newborn or an older child? Through a private agency or the government foster care system? Each of these decisions will have a great impact on the unraveling of the adoption process itself. It’s also a step you won’t be able to skip if you want to be able to do one crucial thing!

3. Calculate the cost.

Adopting a child can come with front end costs. There are things you can do to make it more affordable, such as applying for grants and other forms of funding, either private or government. Ultimately, however, it doesn’t really matter. You’ll still need to see whether you’d be able to bear all this financially. So the sooner you estimate the cost of your adoption process, the better! There are counselors that you can work with through agencies that help you with this process as well.

4. Understand what the process entails.

Even once you’ve done all this, you’ll still have plenty of things to consider before filling out the adoption application. These include the following facts: as a part of the process, you’ll need to let strangers into your home, answer personal questions, be prepared to meet potential birthmothers and maybe even wait any length of time to get connected. If this sounds like something you wouldn’t have patience to do, it might be a challenge for your decision one way or another.

5. Take some time to think.

You might feel tempted to start the process as soon as possible, but a few more weeks won’t make such a big difference. And you’ll feel a lot more confident in your decision, which could prove to be of great help later on!

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