FAQ

So a lot of you have been asking some questions and we thought that we would answer some of them for you. Below are the questions with their answers. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. We are open to anything.

1. What's the adoption process?

In order to begin adoption with LDS Family Services you have to attend an orientation meeting. This is where they tell you all the facts about adoption and where you get to learn about the rest of the process. For us it was the time to decide whether it was the right decision or not. After the orientation meeting you fill out some paperwork, like the recommendation letter request that is sent to your Bishop. Once all the beginning paperwork is in you are assigned a caseworker. You have an intake interview, where you get all the paperwork you will ever want to fill out, and then you go and fill all that out. The paperwork includes background checks, intense questionnaires, and recommendation letter requests. After all of this is filled out you get to have joint interviews, individual interviews, and then, finally, a home visit. While you are waiting to do all the interviews you create a birth parent letter and collages that will eventually go onto you online profile. Once all of this is completed and you are approved by your caseworker, your profile goes up online and then you wait until a lovely birth parent finds you.

2. How much does it cost?

LDS Family Services only requires you to pay 10% of what your annual income is, no less than $4000. Since we make less than $40,000 a year we only have to pay the minimum. Adoptive couples also have the option of paying pass through expenses. This money goes towards helping the birth parents before and after placement. The pass through expenses are $3000.

3. What is open adoption?

Open adoption is when you know the birth parents of your adopted child. Your adopted child also knows their birth parents and there is contact between you and the birth parents. Contact can be anything from just letters and pictures, to face to face visits. We have chosen to do open adoption and we are open to visits if that is what will be the best for the child.

4. Why choose open adoption over closed adoption?

Open adoption has advantages for everyone. The adoptive couple gets to meet the birth parents and to get to know them. This means that you know the medical records of the child and you know about things that may arise as your child grows up. You also have the possibility of making a lifelong friend. The adoptive child gets to know their birth parent. They know that they are adopted, so there are no surprises later. They also get to form a relationship with their birth parents that is more like an aunt or family friend. Open adoption lets the child know that their birth parents love them very much, and that they didn't just "give them up." Lastly, open adoption has many benefits for the birth parents. Open adoption allows birth parents to go through the grieving process in a way that can help them. They know that the baby they have placed is loved and they get to participate in that love. There are many benefits for all sides in open adoption and that is why we have chosen to do open adoption. We want our child to know who their birth parents were and we want to be supportive to the birth parent who is willing to place one of God's special spirits with us.


5. Do you want a boy or a girl?

We are hoping for a boy or a girl or even both. We will even take twins or a family group. We believe that God will make that decision, just like he would if it were going to be a biological child.

6. Would you like a child of a different race?

We are very open to a transracial adoption. We love all cultures and races. We believe that any child that is placed with us is our child whether they are white, black, pink, blue, brown, or green.

Almost approved

We will have our home visit this week and then we should be approved. We also had our training and it was awesome. It was so good to hear the different stories that were shared from both adoptive couples and birth mothers. We are excited to be able to adopt and we are totally excited about having and open adoption. Thanks for every ones support and love for us.

Almost there

We are almost there. We have our collages done, our birth parent letter is almost complete, and now we are just waiting for our background checks. Once we have those back we will have our home visit. Next weekend we have our ten hour training. The classes we get to attend look fun and educational. I am especially excited about the class on The Bigger Picture of Adoption. This class is going to show us how to take care of our new baby. We are super excited to be approved and to start our family.