Starting out!

Well, this is my first post and I will try to bring you up to speed. I have been officially approved today from the last person (the director of the Ethiopian program). The agency is still waiting on their final set of signatures from the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice for their accreditation. Nothing can go forward until that happens but it should be done any day now and I still have a couple of months of paperwork to do anyway. I have kind of been greenlighted to be part of the "pilot" group of about 25 families that can go ahead and do my paperwork and then submit when it's done or the accreditation comes through (whichever is last). This "pilot" group is made up of families thatwill represent America well and build a good reputation with Ethiopia to develop a strong program for future families--something like that! Why I got chosen for this...I don't know. (Dad, I think this had something to do with you because I mentioned in my application that you were planning to come with me and you had been to Kenya twice...they seemed to feel this would be very beneficial to me. So, thanks for laying the groundwork...you never know how things you do will affect things later!).

The next step is to do my home study (no, this does not mean they come in and study my home). This consists of gathering documents that verify my life; financial statements, employment verification, criminal history checks, reference letters, etc. They also have you write an autobiography and question you on things about how you were raised, how you plan on raising a child, how you feel about transracial adoption, etc. After the home study is done, I complete my dossier. The dossier consists of the home study plus all the "government" stuff. Fingerprints, INS clearance, passport, birth certificate, etc. All this has to be quadruple checked, notarized, authenticated, etc etc etc. All this could take 2-6 months. After that, I wait for my referral.

A referral is when a child is chosen for you. They send you a picture, medical profile, and any other info they have (all children are tested for HIV, Hepatitis, TB, and syphilis). If you accept the referral, you fly to Ethiopia within about 2 months to get your kid. Because I'm in the "pilot" program and they have already established their program in the orphanages over there, the referral will only take about 0-3 months!! Usually this take 3-6 (or 12-24 months in some countries). Because I'm asking for an infant girl, it could take a little longer than 3 months.

The Ethiopian government is closed from July to mid-Sept. for break. So no adoptions can be finalized during this time. Referrals can still be issued but children can not leave the country so it looks like it will be at least October or later. Which is not that far away...hope I'm ready!!!!! Then again it could take until next year depending on any obstacles I hit. So, one step at a time.