My wife and I may be doing this very soon (looks like TPR will happen in September), and was looking for any insights from this pool of knowledge.
Anyone adopted a child from the State (FL)?
- Thread starter seminole97
- Start date
Going through this right now, actually.
We just finished the paperwork for the home study, background check, and application with all references this week and had a surprise DCF home visit this morning. We've had guardianship since August of last year and parental rights were terminated in May. The process has been slow, as we're dealing with DCF in two counties and primary county is Collier County.
We haven't been in a big rush to finalize paperwork as the State continues to cover daycare for about 6 months after the adoption is finalized (IIRC). So once things are final, the countdown will start.
We're figuring adoption will be finalized around late August/early September. Going into it, we knew the process would take a year or so, so no surprises from our side. Most of the waiting was getting to TPR. After that, process is much quicker: Home study, background checks, paperwork, etc.
We just finished the paperwork for the home study, background check, and application with all references this week and had a surprise DCF home visit this morning. We've had guardianship since August of last year and parental rights were terminated in May. The process has been slow, as we're dealing with DCF in two counties and primary county is Collier County.
We haven't been in a big rush to finalize paperwork as the State continues to cover daycare for about 6 months after the adoption is finalized (IIRC). So once things are final, the countdown will start.
We're figuring adoption will be finalized around late August/early September. Going into it, we knew the process would take a year or so, so no surprises from our side. Most of the waiting was getting to TPR. After that, process is much quicker: Home study, background checks, paperwork, etc.
Our situation is going to a little unique, as my wife is a therapist and this child is currently one of her clients. The mom vanished back in November, dad is in and out of jail and remains out of contact by choice. Apparently the entire damn extended family has criminal records, that's why they're not fostering them. The three younger siblings are already in foster-to-adopt homes, but the oldest (turns 5 next month) is with a foster family that already has 6 kids (3 of which I think are adopted) and they didn't intend to adopt.
We're hoping to be able to foster her ASAP in order to go ahead and get her enrolled at the start of the school year and avoid the associated and additional disruption.
Mentally for me its kind of been a zero-60 thing. My wife has been seeing the child since mom disappeared, but it was only this week she learned that DCF is moving ahead with TPR and she brought it up with me night before last.
We had talked about doing this at some point in the future (we have a daughter who will be two in October, and were planning to wait until she was a little older to better understand what is happening), but suddenly it seems that the future is here now, and I don't know what to expect.
We're hoping to be able to foster her ASAP in order to go ahead and get her enrolled at the start of the school year and avoid the associated and additional disruption.
Mentally for me its kind of been a zero-60 thing. My wife has been seeing the child since mom disappeared, but it was only this week she learned that DCF is moving ahead with TPR and she brought it up with me night before last.
We had talked about doing this at some point in the future (we have a daughter who will be two in October, and were planning to wait until she was a little older to better understand what is happening), but suddenly it seems that the future is here now, and I don't know what to expect.
I've got a friend who just adopted their 5th and 6th child if my count is correct. They've always generally done it through foster care except in this last case. They run a program called goFoster which works to find more foster families in the area (We need 1100 right now) and then works with them to become adoptive if desired. I've had a few friends go that route. I really want to adopt a child one day, but the cards aren't in it right now. I could get you in contact with their organization as they have support groups if you want.
My wife and I adopted sisters from the state. They were 5 and two respectively. It can be lots of work.
seminole97, where are they in the TPR process? Have they filed a TPR petition, set a TPR advisory, or trial dates?
If both parents whereabouts are unknown this will drag a few months due to not being served. The OAG will have to complete an ADS, NDS, and then Publication. I think each step is about 8-12 weeks long.
If both parents whereabouts are unknown this will drag a few months due to not being served. The OAG will have to complete an ADS, NDS, and then Publication. I think each step is about 8-12 weeks long.
This was in Georgia, but my brother-in-law's sister and her husband adopted a baby girl and it was an incredibly simple process. She worked as a nurse in a hospital and was tending to a teenage girl who was pregnant and wanted to give the baby up for adoption. It so happened they wanted to adopt and all it took was a matter of having a lawyer draw up the proper papers for both parties to sign and they had their baby girl. I had only heard about the red tape and hold-ups that make the adoption process so difficult until then. I guess sometimes it just comes down to circumstances.
Part of the problem is terminating parental rights. If they are voluntarily terminated and the parents ok the adopting parties, it's relatively simple. When the biological parents don't voluntarily consent and TPR has to happen via court order, the process can be very drawn out as by-law the biological parents will be given priority to reunify with the child over all else if they can prove they are capable of raising the child.
My advice is to have an adoption lawyer walk you through the process. Biological fathers retain rights until their parental rights have been terminated even if they have never been involved in the child's life. If the bio dad was married to the bio mom at the time, it is even more critical that all the steps for TPR are done correctly. I have been defending an adoption agency for the last four years in a case where they were sloppy about handling the adoption. It can be time consuming and expensive unless it is done right.
We sent in the letter last week to make it known to DCF that we would like to foster-to-adopt the child in this situation.
My understanding was that TPR trial date has been set for sometime in September, and that DCF has gone through their 'due diligence' to locate the parents and it is DCF that is moving forward with TPR.
So this weekend we went ahead and started re-arranging furniture to turn 'my room' into the new child's room, get ready for home study, and inform my parents (who babysit for us in the afternoons).
My wife calls me this morning when she gets into her office asking me to come over ASAP. She was several days late and decided to take a pregnancy test. Turns out she's pregnant, and so we won't be adopting anytime soon.
It's her fault because she let her birth control lapse and didn't tell me. I'm just glad this happened now and not 6 months from now.
My understanding was that TPR trial date has been set for sometime in September, and that DCF has gone through their 'due diligence' to locate the parents and it is DCF that is moving forward with TPR.
So this weekend we went ahead and started re-arranging furniture to turn 'my room' into the new child's room, get ready for home study, and inform my parents (who babysit for us in the afternoons).
My wife calls me this morning when she gets into her office asking me to come over ASAP. She was several days late and decided to take a pregnancy test. Turns out she's pregnant, and so we won't be adopting anytime soon.
It's her fault because she let her birth control lapse and didn't tell me. I'm just glad this happened now and not 6 months from now.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
Football FSU adds Wake Forest grad transfer center Luke Petitbon
- Latest: Dr. Seminole
-
-
-
-
