Esther Brady Crawford - faintstarlite

Many people fear the application – the length, the depth – but think of it as a learning process. The application is helping you weed through potential issues in your own life that may be obstacles to a successful placement – whether they’re financial or emotional. What’s nice is that filling out the application takes time and if you’re married, it requires both people participate which makes sure that you’re on the same page.

Baby Jude is excited to show his new sister or brother how to eat cake

It’s one thing to talk theoretically about bringing another child into your life, but it’s another thing to sit down and fill out the necessary paperwork that officially starts the process and the time clock.

Here in Wisconsin, once an application for foster adoption is received the state is now working towards licensing the individual or couple within 120 days. So, filling out an application means you’re ready to commit to potentially being placed with a child in four months.

Being placed with a child doesn’t mean the adoption process has ended – in fact, placement is when it just begins. Foster adoption requires that the family foster until the termination of parental rights (TPR) has occurred, which usually takes between 6 – 22 months.

What to expect in the foster adoption paperwork

The application came to us in multiple parts. We thought the original 10 pages or so was the full application, but in fact, that was only the first part. In total, we probably filled out about 20 pages of paperwork – although some of it turned out to be repetitive information.

Each state’s application looks different, but here’s the questions you can expect:

• General information about the household with questions about contact information, education and income.
• Your family’s history with drugs and alcohol and psychiatric treatments – not just your household’s history but those in your extended family as well.
• Marriage and relationship history – about divorce, co-habitation, and to some degree, your sexual history.
• Whether child neglect or abuse allegations have ever been filed against you or a family member.
• Financial worksheet that details what you are worth and how much you spend. This includes all monthly expenses and how much is in your various bank accounts 401(k), investments, and what your properties are worth. It also includes questions regarding debt on mortgages, loans and credit cards.

In addition, along with the application you’ll submit:

• Health reports. Every member of the household needs to see a doctor who will fill out a health report detailing if you’re all got the required immunizations and are in good health.
• Fingerprints. Each member of the household above 18 will have to participate by submitting to an extensive background check that includes finger printing that gets cross-checked in the state database as well as the FBI database.
• Copies of all birth certificates, marriage certificates, Social Security cards, and driver’s licenses.
• Copies of recent pay stubs and tax returns.
• Releases so that previous counselors or social services workers can be interviewed.
• Autobiographical questions about your relationship with your immediate + extended family, details about childhood experiences + traumas, and reasons for deciding to go the foster adoption route.
• Several references who have known you for several years and can speak about your character – including a reference from your employer.

AdoptUsKids.org – an excellent resource also adds that applicants are responsible for:

• Being open and honest in filling out the paperwork
• Cooperating with the criminal background check and protective service checks
• Asking for help if you don’t understand something
• Agreeing to maintain confidentiality about the child and their birth family
• And agreeing to provide nurturing, safe and affectionate care for the child

Watch the video to hear what to expect from the adoption application process:

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Step 1: Getting The Facts + Going To An Informational Meeting

Thanks to Johnson & Johnson’s Health channel on YouTube for sponsoring the series!