The Process of Adoption



I've had several people ask me when we will be going to Ghana to get our child, so I thought I'd share just a little bit about how this adoption process works. This is by no means an extensive explanation, it is just meant to give you a simple picture of what our process looks like.


  • The very first thing we have to do is apply to an adoption agency and get approved - Done!
  • Then we move on to the Home Study - this is an entire process and not just one home visit - we are so close to being done with our part of this process, then we just have to wait for the report to be completed by our social worker
  • Next we have to apply and be approved by the US government to adopt internationally - this form/application is called the I800A for anyone interested in that info :). We have been given the information to go ahead and start getting these documents filled out, but we won't be able to submit anything until our home study has been approved
  • Next, you usually apply to the country you are adopting from, but we've done our process a little out of the ordinary, and we have already applied to the country of Ghana and found out yesterday that we have been approved to adopt from their country!!! Happy dances all around (*disclaimer: this approval is contingent on completing a successful home study).
  • This next step is the BEST PART EVER! This is the part where we are matched with our child. Our agency finds a child they believe would be a good match for our family, we review the information and make a decision on whether or not we want to accept the match, and after we accept, that will be our child (unofficially, the courts have to make it official)! My prayer since we first began our adoption journey was that the very first child that was presented to us would be the right match for us. This step may occur at the same time we are working on our I800A application. As long as our home study is complete, we can accept a match.
  • After the I800A is approved from the US government we have to prepare what is called a dossier to send to the country of Ghana. I don't exactly know what is included in this dossier, but I know it includes, like most everything else, TONS of paperwork, info about our family, financial information, pictures, etc. 
  • Once all of this is complete, the only thing left to do is fly to Ghana, meet and pick up our child, and go to court to make everything legal and complete. However, we have no control and not a whole lot of knowledge on when this last step would take place. Basically once all our documents are complete and everything is approved, we just have to wait for the court in Ghana to let us know when our court date is scheduled. We may know this date a month ahead of time, or we may not know until a week ahead of time!
So how long will all of this take? That's a really good question. Anything that is in our control to complete, paperwork, etc, we are completing as quickly as we possibly can, but as with any adoption, we are working with a lot of other entities and governments, and there are many things not in our control. I would like to say that things will move quickly and we could be in Ghana in the next few months, but in all reality, we really won't know for sure until it is actually happening!


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