Older Child Adoption

Amongst the unknowns, one thing you can control is completing your paperwork correctly and in a timely fashion. Our first bit of advice, is to get a sturdy plastic file carrying case, with blank file folders, to label and fill with essential documents. It’s important and necessary to be organized and systematic. The paperwork seems redundant and time consuming. Assign one person to be in charge of completing the documents. This person can delegate specific items to be completed by your partner. The agency forwards a stack of forms at a time and waits for completion before sending more. The checklists and paperwork seem never-ending. You may want to see the whole packet at once. Don’t, it is too defeating, confusing and overwhelming. Again, trust your agency. We cannot say enough about both of ours. They make sense of the myriad of paper, and organize an exhaustive, yet comprehensive, easy-to-complete program.

Your agency must provide support in the evaluations of your options and decision-making. You didn’t have control over the circumstances that brought you to the adoption agency. You don’t have control over the time of a child referral. Your agency should give order to an emotional part of your life. They will ask the right questions for you to consider and answer. They may provide educational sessions. Our agency required these programs, which were extremely beneficial. The educational sessions help you make choices or changes and reinforce your decisions. Each agency will handle the paper trail differently. Below is a snap shot of what our paperwork entailed. The categories in your situation may be different, but similar in format. · The adoption application, asking the general questions of who you are, how you came to this point, how you will parent and why you want to adopt. · Interview questionnaires concerning marriage, parenting, and adop tion views. · Reference questionnaires (letters of reference) from family/friends, co-workers: Sample questions to be answered: How long have you known the couple/person? Have you seen them with children? What are your feelings for the adoption plan? Describe the couple’s marriage. What is your relationship to the couple? How often do you see them? How has the son/daughter-in-law fit into the family? Describe their per sonal qualities/limitations. Describe their potential ability to parent. How do you feel about having an adopted family member in your family tree? Will a child of a different ethnicity be accepted in your community? What do you understand about trans-racial adoption and/or adoption issues? · Proven financial stability (previous tax and employment records). You will need to provide copies of previous years tax returns, most recent pay stubs and copies of assets and liabilities, which represent your most recent portfolio. · Fingerprinting from the State in which you reside and the Federal Government. Police reports from your local community describing your character in the community. · Physical exams and health certificates from your family physician · Your Autobiography (Chapter V, Home Study Process) · Dear Birth Parent letter/photos (domestic) · Immigration and Naturalization (INS) forms · Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) forms · A home visit report from the State/Agency/Home Study (see below) · License by the state as foster parents Other Documentation may include: · Birth Certificate · Pictures of your home (inside, outside, pictures of you and · Marriage Certificate your partner/family) · Divorce Decrees (if applicable) · Adoption Dossier (packet pre sented to the Embassy for · Death Decree (if applicable) adoption) · Legal name change (if applica · Bank letter/statement ble) · Letters of employment from home study refer · Power of Attorney rals–one should include a statement of faith) · Name affidavit · Consulate forms (if applicable) · Declaration letters (foreign)

When obtaining original documents for any of the above, ask for additional copies. If any documents originated outside the United States, begin the process early, as it may take longer time to obtain. State and Federal Government offices only charge a few dollars for each document. You will want duplicates to use with future forms, if a mistake is made, if you lose it, or for a future adoption. These documents may need one or more of the following “four” stamps of approval: notarization, certification, verification, and authentication. A definition of each term (plus more) is as follows:

Notarized Copy: A document signed in front of a Notary Public who affixes his/her seal or stamp, signature, and date to the document to acknowledge or make the document legal. Choose one Notary Public and stick with that person for all your documents, or at least keep your notarizations in the same county. Make sure the Notary does not notarize their own signature, which is commonplace at most police stations and banks. You will want to check with your agency for appropriate wording before preparing documents to be notarized.

Certified Copy: A signature that officially endorses or declares that it is a true and accurate copy of the original document. These may include birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, death decrees, and legal name changes.

Verification: A validation that the person who notarized your document(s) is a legitimate Notary Public. Most notarized documents must have this confirmation by law attached to it. The county clerk where the notary is registered can complete this verification. The Secretary of State can verify ALL notaries. Be sure to check on the fee for service and type of payment required by these offices. Most documents require their own notary verification and cannot be grouped together. Some documents may require both local and state verifications.

Authentication: A process whereby the Foreign Consulate in the United States affixes the official Consulate seal stating that the signatures of your documents (notaries, certifications) are genuine. An important step is that the document(s) must be sent to the foreign Consulate, which services the state in which the document originated. For example, if a wife was born in Ohio and married in California; the wife’s birth certificate must be sent to the Consulate servicing Ohio, the marriage certificate sent to the Consulate for California. Some states require an authentication by the United States Department of State before sending it to the Source County Consulate. (Don’t worry; your agency will help you.)

Dossier: This involves all documents and detailed reports required by your chosen country to complete the international adoption process within their government translated into their native language. These documents must be originals with the appropriate verifications and authentications. They will become part of the in-country court or government file and will not be returned to you.

Power of Attorney: A key document needed for the attorney of your chosen country to handle the adoption proceedings. This document allows the attorney to process your adoption, to accept the birth parent’s consent for an adoption plan, initiate the court proceedings, and represent you. This document must be properly drafted, notarized, verified, and authenticated. It must contain no typographical or informational errors and no white outs or corrections.