Expedited Adoption MAPP Training

Roads to Adoption

There is a very good chance that by the time you made it to this web site you are thoroughly confused. Unless you have previous adoption experience you may not have known there were so many paths you could take.

By the fact that you are considering taking this training I understand that you are most likely looking at local or interstate adoptions from the system of care, so I will focus on what this process often entails. However, I will also touch upon some of the other pathways to adoption.

Adopting Foster Care:

Historically this was the domain of your local child welfare department or social services. Depending on your state and county, if you were interested in adoptions from foster care you would first contact your local Child Welfare office. They would in turn schedule you for an orientation class. If you were still interested they would then sign you up for a ten week training program (most commonly MAPP or PRIDE). After completion of the parent training program, you would then be assigned a care worker who would schedule time with you to develop a homestudy. Once the homestudy was completed, you simply waited until a child or children from within your local county became available who’s “needs” matched your “strengths” as outlined in your homestudy. (There is a bit more to the process, but these are the basic steps in a nut shell).

A New Option

This is still the most traveled path for pursuing adoptions from the foster care system. However times are changing and there are other options now. Private adoption agencies, which historically have focused on infant and international adoptions, are now increasingly becoming the avenue of choice for families interested in foster care adoptions.

Now you may be asking, “Why would someone go to a private agency when they could do the same thing through their local child welfare agency?” Glad you asked. The fact is that both have their strengths and drawbacks.

Local Child Welfare agency

Cost No money out of pocket.

Private Adoption Agency

Amount depends on the agency. Many agencies note that the Federal Adoption Tax credit will often cover the cost associated with adoption. See note:

www.NACAC.org Shares the following information regarding the adoption tax credit:Credit for 2020. For adoptions finalized in 2020, there is a federal adoption tax credit of up to $14,300 per child. The 2020 adoption tax credit is NOT refundable, which means taxpayers can only use the credit if they have federal income tax liability.

Training Requirements
In most states the family is required by child welfare to attend a parent training course (often MAPP or PRIDE) one night a week for ten weeks. If one of the prospective parents miss even one night they often are required to catch the night they missed when it is offered again in the next training. specific parent training programs.

Depending on the agency usually accomplished much quicker. In Florida the actual state requirement is a 21 hour parenting preparation course. Private will often ask families to take MAPP, Pride or similar course because most states have laws requiring specific parent training programs when adopting from foster care.

Home Study
No cost – however once completed the study actually belongs to the child welfare agency. If a family is dissatisfied and chooses to use another agency the home study remains with the agency.

Cost can run from $1,100 to $2,600 depending on the agency.
The completed Homestudy is property of the family.

TimeMay take several months. A family usually will not even be considered for available children unless they have a current valid homestudy.

Often very quick. Some agencies will have homestudy and background work completed within a few short weeks.

Professionalism
Having worked within the child welfare system for many years I know many amazing professionals. However, commonly the focus of Child Welfare care workers is not on the prospective adoptive parents but the children in their care. Adoptive parents often fall in second place. High worker turnover within child welfare may also impact the process.

Not all agencies are the highest caliber. However, the agencies survival depends more on customer satisfaction. For this reason they are as a rule very adoptive parent focused.

The Children and the Matching Process When a family goes through a local child welfare agency, the agency tends to see the prospective adoptive parents as “Theirs.” Meaning they hang on to the families paperwork until they come across a child within the local county whose needs “match” the adoptive families strengths. So if no prospective child is available nothing happens. The local child welfare, as a rule does not look outside their local county.

The private agency is not restricted to one particular county. They are usually are open to prospective matches for children across the state or even across the nation. With the assistance of the agency the adoptive family is encouraged to be actively involved in the search and matching process.

Requirements

Whether a family chooses a local Child Welfare agency or a Private Adoptions agency, the qualifications under Florida State Law are the same. Some of which are:

Married couples or the Single adult can adopt, with few age restrictions, other than younger than 65 years and older than 21 years, with less than 50 years difference to the child. No more than three previous divorces are acceptable and parents must not have a major criminal record. Applicants must not have a major life threatening medical illness or severe mental health diagnoses at the time of the application. Household income must at least $30,000 or more.

At least one of the adoptive parents must be a U.S. Citizen or have permanent US resident status. Most child welfare agencies require the prospective adoptive parents to take a mandatory 30 hour state sponsored MAPP or PRIDE course for training in parenting children who may have been exposed to abandonment, neglect or abuse, alcohol or drug use, and violent situations.

Other Roads to Adoption:

Relatives: The highest percentage of adoption (other than step-child adoptions) are by far relative adoptions. Relative adoption can be as simple as two relatives coming together and meeting with an adoptions lawyer.

Private Newborn Adoptions:

Choosing to adopt a new born baby through private adoption programs in the United States is a great option for people who can afford the fees which are usually in the $28,000 to 35,000 range including legal and social services and birth mother expenses. Hope for Families has a Newborn Adoption Program with a short adoption waiting list and most of our adoptions occur within a year. Adopting in our own country is increasingly becoming more popular as international adoptions have become much more difficult and expensive. Infants born in the US are generally in good health and prospective parents commonly have an opportunity to review the medical reports of the new born baby before final commitment.

International Adoptions:

Many couples over the years have amazingly wonderful stories of international adoption. Sadly, International programs are very difficult at this time and the implementation of the Hague Convention has made things much more difficult and costly. Many countries have closed or are experiencing 3 year delays in providing referrals. Generally adoptable children are older and are living in orphanages without proper resources or care. Medical records usually are meager for international adoption as there is rarely substantial information on the birth parents. Alcoholism and drug exposure is more likely in some countries and reactive attachment and post traumatic stress disorders are common. Children have commonly experienced neglect and abuse. Emotional detachment issues are common as orphanages often lack adequate staff to care for the children.

Generally in most international adoption both spouses will have to travel to whichever country the child is located and stay anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months but there are some be much longer. The length of stay for adopting parents in the country of their child will greatly vary depending on the country chosen. In some countries, families are required to travel twice or have one longer visit that is impossible for some occupations. It should be noted that adopting single parents and in the case of a married couple, at least one parent must be a U.S. citizen in order to adopt internationally and obtain a visa to bring the child back into the U.S. as an immediate relative. The children have medical examinations by the orphanage’s doctor but these examines are generally not up to American levels of professionalism.

At this time, due to so many negative factors, it is becoming more difficult to give a positive recommendation for International Adoption. If your heart is set upon international adoptions please research carefully the adoption agency you partner with, as their experience and professionalism will be the key to your success.

I hope this brief look at some of the options available to you on your adoption journey.

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