What do you want your family to be?
It can take as little as 6 months, although that is rare. More typically it takes 9 months to a year or longer. The time frames are affected to a large degree by communications and processing times, especially in foreign countries.
It entirely depends on where you adopt, whether you engage the services of a domestic or foreign placement agency, how far you must travel, whether you need to apply for a visa, etc. Expenses range from $18,000 at the low end to $25-$40,000, more typically.
ARA charges $2,400 for a home study and $1,400 for the Massachusetts-required post placement supervision of three visits, completed after a six month period of placement.
Yes. For domestic adoptions, some states require additional post placement visits. In Eastern European adoptions, some countries require up to three years of post placement reports by a licensed agency.
“The process of adopting a child takes more courage than you think you have, offers more self-knowledge than you think you want, and reassembles your characteristics into someone familiar but changed. It is an incredible journey through a rich landscape of hard truths.”
– Jana Wolff, Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother
