Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who are the children?
2. Where are the children?
3. What are special needs?
4.Who can adopt?
5.What characteristics do agencies look for in prospective parents?
6.How do families become eligible to adopt?
7.What is a homestudy?
8.Can the Northwest Adoption Exchange do my home study?
9.We are now eligible to adopt; will we get any child we seek?
10.We are eligible to adopt; what can we do to make our search productive?
11.What can you tell me about the child I'm interested in?
12.How can I help a child without being an adoptive parent?

Who are the children?
They are children right here in the United States who are without permanent families due to neglect and abuse, and parental alcohol and drug abuse.

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Where are the children?
Most of the children are in the custody of state social services; a few are in the custody of private adoption agencies.

While waiting for permanent families, they live in foster or group homes and, sometimes, residential treatment centers.

Some of the children have been in alternative care for a long time and will have had many different placements while waiting to be adopted. For some the wait will never end.
All but a few of the children are legally free for adoption. For the others who are legal risk, there is a court ordered consent to search for a permanent family.

What are special needs?
In the field of adoption, "special needs" generally refer first to the age of the children waiting for adoption, the majority whom are between the ages of six and 18; then to psychological, behavioral, emotional, developmental, and medical problems associated with past environmental and biological causes.

The most prevalent environmental causes of special needs are neglect and abuse.
Neglect alone is recognized to be the primary cause of a host of special needs in children. For older children waiting for adoption -- whose needs for nurturing and basic care (as well as emotional, spiritual, and intellectual growth) were often unmet in their birth families -- this is especially true.

Abuse, too, is a primary cause of special needs. Again, for older children waiting for adoption indications are that over 90% were physically and/or sexually abused prior to coming into foster care.
Biological special needs, which are those that originate with organic and/or genetic causes, are often further aggravated by neglect and abuse.

Examples of biological special needs include attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, mental retardation, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, autism, and fetal alcohol and drug syndromes.

Who can adopt?
The primary criteria are the ability to provide a safe, caring, permanent home; sufficient income to support a child; and good physical and mental health.

What characteristics do agencies look for in prospective parents?
It might seem as if extraordinary folks would be needed, and although adopting older kids is often challenging, those who do it are just everyday kinds of folks.

There are lots of differences among adoptive parents, such as age, race, religion, economic status, and educational backgrounds, yet there are many things they share in common.

The common denominators are:
* Belief that permanency and families make a difference and that no child is a "throwaway."
* Willingness to ask for help.
* Willingness to learn new parenting tools (sometimes by trial and error!), even when you've got lots of previous parenting or other child care experience.
* Willingness to hang in there when the going gets tough!
* Ability to talk openly about sexual abuse and other things that are scary (scary not only to kids but to adults, too!).
* Ability to define family roles and provide safe boundaries for all family members.
* Ability to be realistic and flexible about themselves and their kids.
* Ability to laugh and maintain a sense of humor!
* Sufficient self-esteem to care enough about themselves and their kids to develop good support among family, friends, professionals, and community resources.

How do families become eligible to adopt?
Families become eligible by having a special needs adoption homestudy done by a licensed adoption agency in the state in which they reside.

Each state designates which agencies to license for adoption services. In some, only the state human services department is licensed. In others, both public and private adoption agencies are licensed. Families may call their state agency or check the Yellow Pages of their local telephone directory under "Adoption ..." for listings of agencies in their community.

Although the format for homestudies varies among states and even among agencies in the same state, criminal background checks and current medical exams are required by law for all prospective adoptive parents.

The length of time the homestudy process takes varies among adoption agencies and among states. The time frame generally is somewhere between two to nine months.

A written document is made of the homestudy, which includes the personal history, health and financial statements, and criminal background checks for each adult living in the family home, as well as an assessment made by a social worker assigned to get to know and to evaluate the family. This document is the primary way that children's caseworkers get to know you. It is a recommendation by the adoption agency representing you that you are qualified to adopt children with special needs.

What is a homestudy?
The homestudy typically consists of orientation and training classes; a written personal history of each adult in the family; and personal interviews conducted in the family home, and sometimes in the adoption agency, by a social worker assigned for that purpose.

Orientation:
The orientation helps you to understand the homestudy process in your specific state and acquaints you with adoption resources in your community.

Training Classes:
These are often the same classes that prepare foster parents for parenting children who have special needs. They help you begin to learn how to deal with the issues that surround special needs adoption; gain understanding of the grief, abandonment, and betrayal a child often feels; and learn how to cope with a child's needs. You learn why advocacy is crucial, and more importantly, how to do it.

Personal History:
A comprehensive history is developed on each adult living in the family home. Questions are asked about family of origin, education, experience with children, feelings about education for ones own children, employment status, and future plans. Other questions may address daily routines, friends, neighborhood and community, and religious preference.

Married couples are asked questions about how they met, how long they have been married, the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship, how decisions are made, etc. Single persons are asked questions about their support systems; significant others; availability of child care resources; and so forth.

Children in the home are also interviewed (depending on their age and level of understanding) regarding their feelings about an addition to their family and what adoption means to them.

The social worker's job is to assess the family's capacity to parent a child with special needs and to help the family identify what special needs they are able to handle. The written assessment done by the social worker is a crucial element of the final homestudy document.

Health Report:
A medical history, including a physical exam within the past 12 months are required for all prospective parents. TB tests are required for every member of the household. A medical condition that is under control (e.g., high blood pressure, diabetes) usually does not prevent being approved to adopt. However, a serious health problem that affects life expectancy might.

Criminal Background Check:
All adults in the household complete forms that are sent to a state police check center and child protective services. Some states or counties require local police clearances, as well as FBI fingerprint checks. Folks who have been convicted of harming children cannot adopt.

Financial Statement:
You will be asked to list the amount of your family's income. Some states may require a copy of an income tax form, a pay check stub, or a W-2 form. You do not have to be wealthy or to own your own home to adopt. Even if you receive some type of assistance, you are eligible to adopt as long as you have adequate resources to provide for your family. Financial assistance in the form of subsidies are often available when adopting children with special needs.

Personal References:
You will be asked for names, addresses and phone numbers of three or four individuals who can attest to your experience with children, the stability of your marriage and/or household, and your emotional maturity.

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Can the Northwest Adoption Exchange do my home study?
The Northwest Adoption Exchange does not complete family home studies, but we are more than happy to help steer you toward someone who can. An adoption exchange is different from an "adoption agency" in that we have information about children who are waiting for adoption within the northwest region, but we do not license families or have children in our care. All of the children depicted on our website are in the care of one of the Northwest regional states.

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We are now eligible to adopt; will we get any child we seek?
Not necessarily. The custodial agency may be evaluating a number of families for that child. The family chosen will be the one the agency feels can best meet the child's needs. That may mean a family skilled in dealing with post trauma stress, fetal alcohol syndrome, or ADHD. Or it may be a family who has access to special resources.

When an agency and you decide that you are the most appropriate family, the child's worker will set up a series of visits between you and the child. If the visits are successful, the child will come home to you.

An agency, usually the one which did your homestudy, will be assigned to provide support during the first 6 to 12 months prior to finalizing the adoption.

When this supervisory stage has been successfully completed, you will go to court to finalize your child's adoption.

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We are eligible to adopt; what can we do to make our search more productive?
* Look at NWAE's online photolisting services regularly. Look at other adoption and photo listing websites, too, by going to our info and links section for a directory of helpful websites.
* Read the waiting child feature in your local newspaper.
* Read adoption books; listen to adoption tapes.
* Attend Adoption Fairs and Adoption Parties.
* Attend conferences on adoption and parenting techniques.
* Educate your extended family and your friends.
* Participate in an adoptive parent support group and get wonderful support before, during, and after you adopt.
* If there is no adoptive parent support group in your community, start one!
* Acquaint yourself with counseling services that specialize in adoption issues, as well as educational and social services in your community.
* Stay in touch with the adoption agency that did your homestudy and your assigned worker.
* Begin to plan for the changes that a new child will bring to you and your family!

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What can you tell me about the child I'm interested in?
We utilize the children's profiles to give a glimpse into their personality and their special needs. The profiles are written to encourage your interest and provide you with a basic idea of each child's strengths and challenges. While we are not able to release specific mental health/emotional diagnosis, we strive to explain the child's behaviors and needs. We understand that families want to make informed decisions and we encourage you or your family worker to direct your questions to the child's social worker who can provide you with the best answers.

How can I help a child without being an adoptive parent?
There are many ways to help waiting children without being an adoptive or foster parent. Consider the number of service providers that kids in care come in contact with-day care providers, school staff, recreational groups (ie-baseball, basketball teams), mentorship programs, etc.... Try contacting organizations in your area to find out how you can help. Also, if you truly are interested in helping a specific child, we can forward your contact information to a child's worker and invite them to get in touch with you.