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- Gather information to learn about who can adopt, why families choose CHSFS, how much it costs to adopt and how to finance an adoption and more.
- Explore your options by reviewing information about our international adoption programs.
- Contact parents who have adopted to gain insights on how their lives have been touched by adoption. Read stories and poems written by adoptive parents.
- Attend a local information meeting to learn about the agency's services, fees, and process for adoption.
- Register or apply to start the adoption process.
- Complete your pre-adoption education by attending classes at your agency or by completing a take-home course. Work collaboratively with your social worker to gain an understanding of the issues of adoptive parenting.
- Complete and return the Cultural Worksheet and Transracial Parenting Plan required of CHSFS pre-adoptive parents. You will receive these worksheets with other materials after you apply.
- Complete an adoption study which is an official document required by your state and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This important document prepared by an adoption professional describes your background and the education and preparation you have undergone to complete an adoption.
- Choose your program and begin your program-specific paperwork. A CHSFS country specialist will guide you through the dossier preparation, the collection of documents and personal information required by the child's home country to complete a legal adoption.
- File with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The USCIS requires an approved adoption study and formal
application with FBI fingerprint clearance. If the child is being adopted from a country that is not party to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, an I-600A/I-600 application is required. For families adopting from a country that is party to the convention, an 1-800A/I-800 must be submitted to USCIS. CHSFS's country specialists consult with you on when to file your USCIS documents.
- Receive and accept a child referred to you.
In consultation with a CHSFS country specialist and your local social worker, you receive and review a child referral, which usually includes a picture, a report, and sometimes a video. You seek a medical opinion to interpret the child's medical information.
- Travel to your child's country or your child can be escorted to the U.S.
You are notified when to travel to the country and enter your petition to adopt in court, or when your child is ready for escort to you. If you travel to meet your child, your child usually stays with you while you are in the country. As soon as the procedural and legal work is complete, you become the child's legal parent, you complete your U.S. immigration visa work and return with your child to the United States.
- After your child is home, post-placement procedures are required. Legal work must be completed according to the laws and policies of CHSFS, your child's country and your state.
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©2006 Children's Home Society & Family Services |
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