dazed and confused?

Dazed and confused yet?

Some of you who are new to the adoption waiting game might be feeling like you have just entered an overwelming bank of fog as thick as pea soup.  You reach out your hands into the vast abyss and can't even see your fingertips.

You call out with a quavering, hesitant voice, "Is anyone out there who can help me find my way through the adoption maze?"

The answer is a resounding "YES!"

You aren't alone in your journey, we are here for you!

What are the steps you should expect in the upcoming days?  How do you navigate the Match Assistant site?  Can you search on your own through other adoption sites?

All these questions and more may be hovering there, waiting to find a place to throw it out to. AFFEC's, or A Family For Every Child's blog is for all of you, in your various stages of the adoption journey.  We have people, real people just like you, who have gone through the entire journey and have their kiddos, some who are in the middle of their journey, and can answer any questions you might have.

Good news, right?!

Let's start at the beginning and work our way down the long, winding road.  First and foremost, you need to decide if you are going to go it alone and knock on DHS door, or if you are going to find an agency who can advocate for you, help you along the way and offer ongoing support. 

You have to take the Foundations Training classes.  It's a pre-requisite! It doesn't matter where you take them, just take them!  I personally push for the longer classes vs the 'weekend warrior' classes.  You get much more out of them, and the time covered allows more information to sink in.  I have done both, and found I learned much more by taking the longer route. 

Start thinking about your profile.  What do you want to say about your family? Have as many people as you can read it and 'critique' it...caseworkers are all unique individuals and you want your home study to hit as many different types of personalities as you can.

Once you take your class and are finally approved by an agency (DHS or private) you are set to go.  AFFEC uses the OARE site.  (Oregon Adoption Resource Exchange) There are other states who have similar sites, TARE is for Texas, WARE is for Washington and so on.  OARE has kiddos on it that have not yet been released to all states.  Oregon residents get to see them first.  Once they are on the site for a period of time, and have not found a matching family, then they go on other sites.

I was told to submit to as many as we could that matched our criteria.  The more kiddos you submit on, the better your chances of getting your profile out there, and consequently, the better your chances are of finding your child/children!

We are all here to help you walk through the processes you need to take.

TEAM AFFEC! Ready to field the questions! Bring 'em!