View Full Version : How long did adoption take?
Luv2BaMummy
22-09-2009, 22:40
My husband and I are attending a seminar regarding overseas adpotion.. just wondering who out there has been through the O/S adpotion thing and how long it took from day 1 to the day you were holding your child. I guess it depends what country you adopt from..?
Any info would be helpful..
Ta:)
Tenyrmiracle
23-09-2009, 09:08
I haven't actually adopted but, DH and I looked into overseas adoption several years ago. All research came up as approximately 3 years if things are going smoothly. That is from first applying to see if you are eligible to when you could be holding your baby. Things could have changed by now. Good luck!
MummyNanny
23-09-2009, 12:10
Hi :wave:
DH & I haven't adopted either but have been to the seminar twice, once before we had DS & again more recently.
We were interested in adopting from Ethiopia, the first time we were told it can take between 3-5 years but the last lime we went that figure had jumped to 7-9 years.
So much demand for adoption means people are going on a possible 2 years waiting list just to start the adoption process :(. Our experience was in Victoria so hopefully different for you.
Good luck & hope you are holding a bubba soon :yes:
lovemylullah
23-09-2009, 13:55
Hey,
I am in WA and want to adopt, it has always been what I have wanted but have just started looking more thoroughly into it. Let me know how you go with what they say about approx time frames after your seminar :)
WA and vic will take 5 to 10 years
SA and NSW 3 years +
We pulled out of adoption with China (in May this year) after a 4 and half year process - facing maybe another 4 years from that point.
We also did 4 ED/IVF cycles (I have premature ovarian failure)
We are now living childfree.
lovemylullah
24-09-2009, 07:01
Hi Jackie7
wow that's a lot to have gone through. Are you still trying for a baby or have decided it was not meant to be? I am amazed the adoption process takes so long, it must of been hard for you and your hubby to finally make the decision to stop xxx
Luv2BaMummy
24-09-2009, 21:01
Thanks for your replies,
Omg 5-10 years sounds long! We are ttc through IVF/ICSI and want to start the adoption ball rolling now, just in case!
Will report back after the seminar with some up to date info..
Cheers all :shakehands:
Luv2BaMummy, just a word of warning with the seminar thing - most of the professionals (SW's) working in this area tend to under-estimate the time lengths.
My advice is to ask about the Thailand and Phillipness (sorry sp?) programs.
My more realistic piece of advice is to consider living as Expats and go through the adoption process that way.
Are you still trying for a baby or have decided it was not meant to be? I am amazed the adoption process takes so long, it must of been hard for you and your hubby to finally make the decision to stop
For me it's not about it meaning to be or not meaning to be - I know sounds like it doesn't make sense. It is more that I have other things I also want to achieve in life.
Because we were at it for so long and so many times along the way we had to think about why we did want children in the end the decision while hard was in a weird way a lot less challenging than I thought it would be.
I'm actually at the stage were I am desperate to play and see my friends babies/kids (particularly before they become teenagers :laughing: )
oldchuck
02-10-2009, 10:15
We have a little boy from overseas and it took us 2 and half years from start to finish. There are numerous factors as to the wait and some luck also. It depends upon your state and the country you are looking at and how quickly you can get the paperwork done.
The whole process really isn't that bad I think there is a lot of stories out there that scare people not into applying. My advice is to do your own research and attend an information seminar, each state also has its own adoption associations (eg ASFC) which are worth contacting.
wow, 7-9 years:(
Such a long time
:hugs: Good luck to anyone trying:hugs:
lovemylullah
02-10-2009, 12:17
Hey Jackie,
I do actually understand what you mean, focussing more on your life. and yeah playing with them before they hit the teen years def a good thing haha.
Luv2bamummy,
Have you attended your seminar yet?
Luv2BaMummy
02-10-2009, 15:54
Luv2bamummy,
Have you attended your seminar yet?
Hi there,
No, it hasn't been yet... It's next Wednesday. I'm looking forward to it. Will definately post any interesting info on this thread...
:sunshine::sunshine:
Alice284
06-10-2009, 12:03
Hi Luv2BaMummy
I'm really interested to see how your seminar goes, my DH and I are booked into one in December. Like you we have thought ahead and if we get told in a years time that this having a baby thing is not possible for us we'll have another 3-4 years to wait from that point. My parents said it was pessimistic going to the seminar but I told them it's not, it's about keeping our options open.
Dh and I are too young for China but qualify for the Thailand program. Adoption in America is a lot easier than it is here. One of my friends who is from the States is going to move back there so she can adopt her child.
charliecat09
06-10-2009, 16:53
[QUOTE=I'm actually at the stage were I am desperate to play and see my friends babies/kids (particularly before they become teenagers :laughing: )[/QUOTE]
i am in the same place as you and i was one of the social workers from years ago who did the inter country adoption assessments in SA. I have a friend who has been on the wait list for China for 4 years, her approval is about to run out and she will need to be re-assessed again, with all the fees etc. She has been told that it could be another 2 -4 year wait.
Having said that, it does seem to be quite different from state to state. But according to the 'goss', Americans are flooding the market, with easier adoption laws and singles also being able to adopt.
I also found out that last year adoptions in Australia were at their lowest since the late 60's ( look up intercountry adoption stats!), For this reason and this reason alone, we have decided to pursue surrogacy,
CC
oldchuck congrats on your little one - the process as it stands now is taking a lot longer than when you went through it.
And even longer than when I went through it.
Charlie I totally get why you are exploring surrogacy instead.
My advice for those looking at ICA - look into the programs with the Phillipiness (sorry sp?) and Thailand - however expect these programs to start filling up more as more couples that would have taken part in the China or Ethiopia programs will be going with other programs.
Also you need to know that there ware quota systems for many programs - so it could still take years after your approval beofre your paperwork leaves Australia.
In all reality I recommend you consider exploring the possibility of living as Expats and adopting that way. (Many processes would be over in a 2 to 3 year mark, possibly even less and this includes the fact that you have to live overseas for 1 year for 'reasons other than adoption'.)
Wow! I wonder if celebs like Madonna and the girl off Greys Anatomy had to wait this long to get their babies?? Somehow, I don't think so...
lovemylullah
28-03-2010, 18:09
Hey girls, just wondering if anyone learnt anything new from the seminars they attended around dec?
:)
partisan
05-05-2012, 21:06
Has any body heard progress since last comments in 2009? I just started looking into options now and found that expat adoption is the fastest way, going to my state info session on local and intercountry adoption in a july 2012 but suspect wait times are going to be long, also looked into IVF as a backup but fertility is a crucial factor there. Looks like australia does not have as much bilateral agreements on adpotion with many countries like USA does.
charliecat09
06-05-2012, 02:57
The stats for international adoption continue to decline : http://havingababyinindia.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/adoption-bad-news-for-australians-goes.html
Sorry...
What are the cost into adopting?
Alice284
06-05-2012, 14:25
I just wanted to update people on our journey so that we may be of help to people in a similar situation.
After our second failed IVF attempt in July 2011 we had more tests and were referred to our states upmost authority on fertility. He looked at our case and told us we had two options if we wanted a child. The first was adoption, which he agreed was a long, painful and expensive process. The second was to travel overseas and do an IVF cycle using donor eggs - the process O/S is a million times faster and less complicated than Australia, he told us to not really even bother here. We thought about our options and then a few weeks later we went to the Adoption Info Session.
It was noted that applications for international adoption are decreasing however the waiting times are increasing. More children are being placed in their own countries. There are not thousands of orphans laying around dying like some people seem to think. On average from application you were looking at around 5+ years depending on the country, China's wait time is well over 5 years. All up with the fees and associated costs including travel and accommodations you are looking at around $50,000.00. Yep that's right, fifty thousand dollars. Domestic adoptions are basically non existent. They are encouraging more families into foster care and there was strong rumour that, in my state, laws were changing so that children in permanent foster care for over 3 years could be adopted by their foster parents. They really pushed this route along with the fostering of refugees. This is not an option for us as we are required to move states regularly for DH's job.
After this we decided that we just had to give donor egg IVF a shot as all up we were looking at $12,000.00 and that includes a two week trip to Europe (Zlin in The Czech Republic to be exact). We decided to take the advice of the specialist and contacted the clinic, they could fit us in within 10 weeks! We went and were very happy with the clinic and I am happy to say I am nearly 8 weeks pregnant with my beautiful 'adopted' eggs! If the morning sickness is anything to go by I'm hoping this one is here to stay.
We are still open to overseas adoption and are discussing putting in our paperwork before it expires this December. We feel very lucky to have been successful with our donor eggs the first time around and we will build our family through adoption, be they eggs or children!
Good luck to everyone else looking at this journey, it's long, it's expensive however it would have to be worth it! I'm happy to chat about my experience with donor eggs O/S, just message me.
MummyNanny
06-05-2012, 15:30
Congratulations Alice284, thats fantastic news :smiliedance:
Hi!
I think time frames will vary based on many factors. It could be a few months to over a year
God Bless..!!
:):):)
Alice284
05-06-2012, 12:56
Hi!
I think time frames will vary based on many factors. It could be a few months to over a year
God Bless..!!
:):):)
Wow, I'm interested to know where you are adopting from if it's only taking a few months to a year? For starters the approvals process can take nearly a year and then once your files are made up you have to wait until your state is allowed to post more files to that country, they have small quotas every year. Even once your file is approved it might sit in your state office for another year or two. Once it is sent to the country and approved by them, which can take months, then for some countries the wait can be under a year.
Chuy, I suggest you check out the Attorney General's website on the inter country adoption programs for the most accurate and up to date information. There are lots of miss informed people out there spreading falsities about adoption, don't be one of them!
I
It was noted that applications for international adoption are decreasing however the waiting times are increasing. More children are being placed in their own countries. There are not thousands of orphans laying around dying like some people seem to think. On average from application you were looking at around 5+ years depending on the country, China's wait time is well over 5 years. All up with the fees and associated costs including travel and accommodations you are looking at around $50,000.00. Yep that's right, fifty thousand dollars. Domestic adoptions are basically non existent. They are encouraging more families into foster care and there was strong rumour that, in my state, laws were changing so that children in permanent foster care for over 3 years could be adopted by their foster parents. They really pushed this route along with the fostering of refugees. This is not an option for us as we are required to move states regularly for DH's job.
Thankyou for this info! I'm not looking at adopyion (currently preg through IVF) but I get SICK of the views expressed by some who are anti-IVF that those who go down that path are selfish because there are so many kids needing to be adopted and overseas adoption is easier/cheaper than IVF! Glad to hear from someone who actually knows what they are talking about and has been given the info ;)
Tanzanite
13-06-2012, 19:07
From the experience of a very close friend, for them it took 2-3 years.
Alice congrats! :bee:....Ingore Chuy they are from the US.
Gurtling time lenghts have long since expanded from those that have gone through it perviously.
As for Local adoption I have known a few couples that have actually been placed with children locally - the ones placed seem to be couples that maintained a level of contact with their SW's very two or so months.
Alice284
02-07-2012, 09:26
As for Local adoption I have known a few couples that have actually been placed with children locally - the ones placed seem to be couples that maintained a level of contact with their SW's very two or so months.
This is interesting, I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for that info. I should ring the office soon as we are wait listed for the next domestic info session - we have to go to that before we can express interest and start the process. We've been waiting for a year for them to schedule a meeting!
My married younger brother just adopted an infant boy, aside from their own set of twins --- just willing to be the more doting father hat he is. Bless his kind heart.
"A father is one who rears and cares for a child, not the one who justhelped made it." --- from a Friend
Maybelline
04-07-2012, 09:05
A close friend adopted her girl from Ethiopia in 2009..her girl was 1.5 yrs
It took almost 10yrs to gro through process..I think over $15.000 to do it..
Australia has now closed the adoption through Ethiopia ...very sad!!!
Her daughter is divine!!!!
At the moment for our state Taiwan is the fastest program but unfortunately also quite expensive as the in-country fees are pretty high and in US dollars.
The least expensive is Thailand as there are no local fees in Thailand, you only have to pay your state assessment fees here in Australia. Plus the travel costs in 4 years or so when you travel to pick up your child.
Other countries are a much longer wait that Thailand or Taiwan. Some states are involved in a special needs trial with China which I understand is the fastest of all, and apparently the children have very minor needs, not the major ones you read about Americans adopting. But only a limited number of states are involved so it wasn't an option for us.
Hi Maddy just wonder where you are at in the process with adoption. We are attending an info session next week on adoption and believe the process is quick here in Asia. We have been living here for almost 2 years so we believe we qualify.
I am very excited to find out more and hope this path works out for us.
All the info I read online from couples that have adopted here have managed to do so within 3 months!
Please don't bother with adoption in australia because you will be like my husband and I over 6 years and you'll be living in hope. Look at all the people who have taken matters in their own hands and brought home their child. Please do that and look for the champions who have done that and get help from them. All I know is if you go and live overseas for 2 years and whilst you are there you adopt a child and you can bring them back home with you. If you can afford to do that then get the short cut in life and do that. That is why when you live in Canberra all the you can see lots of families walking around with children from all over the world.......
Please ask helop from people who car....not from the adoption agency in Australia.
Yes.....Australi's care factor is to others and not to their own citizen!!! They are happy to use our money to bring in people from all over the world but REFUSE to let us adopt because we have "quotas every year"....where is the "quoto" gone for alllowing illlegal migrants to our shore EVERYDAY !!! We have to lobby the government in this mattwer. The problem is we childless couples are too slack in "campaigning" the government to change the policy. On top of that we have the greenys and the "welfare " mop who think they know better!!!
So why don't Aust have these agreement like USA. You know why -USA takes care of their own citizens first unlike Australia. Recently I spoke to an adoption agency and they told me that they can't help me because they can ONLY help US citizens with all their adoption and they mentioned that they have no problem getting children for their adoptive parents. Their don;t have a long waiting list either. They said the whole process only takes them 1 year. Unfortunately she said she can't help Australian and she was kind enough to send me the address of ALL our deptartments that deal with adoption in all the states of Austrlia. .......From what I heard they are all useless.
I wonder why we need all these departments if they can't help us....why are we wasting the tax pauyers money to keep these departments open???? Oh yeah they are there to make our lives miserable by saying that "you are progressing up the ladder".....hmmmmmm that ladder is a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng way up if you believe them!!!
Yeah Chuy, I like to know where it takes 1 year as well. I will move there myself.
totally agree, I think this is the best way to get your children .mGo and live for 2 years and bring as many children back as you want!!! What a joke!!! Who can afford to go overseas for 2 years. How are we going to pay our mortages? The govt is forcing us to do this. Why do we have to go that far to have our babes???
As sad as it is I agree with you mybabe. We are in a situation where we came to live in Asia for jobs and adoption is a real possibility. I don't understand why the aussie government has all of the restrictions in place as I have spoken to so many people who come from poor countries and the orphans are begging on the streets. I have visited some of these countries and it is terrible to see. Hope some change is imminent and the laws are amended.
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