Question by Carroll: How long does it take to adopt?
I heard that it depends on certain things. My family lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and we want to adopt a 13 year old boy.
How long does it take to get the child actually living in the house, and then how long does it take for the adoption to be finalized?
Also, do you have to become a foster parent first? If not, is it a good thing to do anyway?
Best answer:
Answer by Soccergirl13
If he is from another country it depends on where he is from. Some take a few months others many years. If he lives in the U.S. this is how it works. If he is already in the foster care program it could be months at least. If he is not in the program it could take anywhere between 9 months to up to 5 years (possibly more). It normally takes longer for infants but because he is older it should not take as long. As for being a foster parent you do not have to be one to adopt, but it make look better through the process if you can say that. After you learn that you have been selected for that child you get to meet with the child for several visits over a few weeks or months and then you set a placement date. Your agency will visit and work with you for several months in post placement supervision.
Here is more information. I skimmed through the site and it should help: http://www.adopt.org/assembled/overview_howto.html
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I adopted an older boy from foster care here in the U.S.
I was already approved as a foster parent and the boy moved in with me as a foster child prior to my decision to adopt him. But…. getting approved to be a foster parent takes some time – here in WV it takes a few months. Once you’re approved, then the state decides which child(ren) would best fit into your home. They might decide that the 13 year old boy your family is interested in adopting would be greatly benefitted from living in your home or they may decide he would do better in a different family environment.
If your parents become foster parents and take him in that way (which is what I did) then there are other things that have to be considered. For example – where are the biological parents? Do either one of them still have any rights to the boy? If the rights of both the mom and the dad have been terminated, that will help some. However, the boy I adopted was 8 when he moved in with me – it took me close to 3 years to adopt him even though his biological mother was deceased and his biological father’s rights had been given up when he was just a baby. Ours was held up because his social worker and I had a personality conflict and she just dragged her feet because she did not like working with me. She even admitted that to me close to the time of the adoption.
I’ve heard stories of adoptions going through in less than 6 months but most people in the U.S. spend a few years battling it out.
Good luck!