The pandemic has slowed things down with less and less expectant mothers making adoption plans and more hopeful parents interested in adopting than ever before. However, this isn’t a sprint to the finish line. It’s a marathon that requires training, strategizing, mental strength, and perseverance.
The adoption process is NOT one you can just speed through. Let me take you through the steps necessary to keep your stamina.
TRAINING
When it comes to training for the adoption process, the key is to educate yourself on each step of the journey. To finish a marathon, you will need to practice to reach perfection. This video walks you through RG Adoption Consulting’s proven 4-Step Roadmap Model. Visualizing and understanding the journey that lies ahead will prepare you for what’s to come.
To take that training a step further, begin to educate yourself on the complexities of adoption. Find books and podcasts that highlight the adoptee and birth mother perspective. Join a Facebook Community to listen to and ask questions of other hopeful parents in your shoes. Make it a team effort!
STRATEGIZING
You need to be putting your best foot forward. As adoption agencies across the country become more inundated with hopeful parents applying to be a “waiting family,” they have begun to close their lists to any additional families.
The name of the game now is to be prepared with your home study complete and adoption profile book in hand so that when agencies do re-open their lists, you will be ready to apply!
Get on as many agency lists as possible so that your odds of connecting with an expectant mother are higher. To follow this strategy you will need to find agencies with lower upfront costs ranging anywhere from $0-$3K.
This may turn out to be a cross-country run, meaning you likely will end up adopting your child from another state because you’re not using the agency in your backyard. Interstate adoptions happen all the time, so don’t let this part of the strategy keep you from making it to the finish line. Our multi-agency approach is the ultimate game-changer now that COVID-19 has slowed down the process.
PERSEVERANCE
No one ever said running a marathon was easy! Much like the adoption process, there will be obstacles for you to overcome. Stay in your lane and remain focused, hopeful, and driven by your dream of parenthood.
Here are a few obstacles that may get in your way and how you can overcome them:
1. Agencies might not be the best at communicating, as they typically do not have many people working for them. They are likely busy supporting expectant mothers, and will eventually make their way down the list of inquiring hopeful parents. Don’t allow this to be a deterrent, instead take it as an opportunity to practice patience.
2. If you begin to lose hope waiting for a match, lean on your community. You may hear a lot of “no’s” from expectant mothers or perhaps you aren’t presented with a ton of potential adoption situations. Don’t give up! Confide in friends and family, an adoption therapist, or an online Facebook group of other hopeful parents that are dealing with the same things.
3. Once you make it to the home stretch of this marathon and an expectant mother chooses you, you might feel the need to be in constant communication with your agency. If they don’t get back to you right away or seem like they may be ignoring your questions, ask to set up weekly or biweekly meetings. That way you won’t “bug” them in between and can still get your questions answered in a timely manner.
Keep your eye on that finish line and take everything in strides. The adoption journey will be the most rewarding marathon you ever run.