The Basics of Adopting (from Ukraine)

Over the past week I have had many questions from friends and families. I decided it would be a good idea to just have a post answering some of the most common questions - to the best of my ability.

Are the boys brothers? No, they are not brothers...yet. They were born exactly 8 months apart, have grown up together and are very good friends. 

Will we have to pick them up? Yes, we will go to Ukraine to pick them up. But it is not as simple as that. Once in Ukraine, we will have appointments, visits with the boys, and court to finalize the adoptions. We will be there a minimum of 5 weeks and potentially up to 8 weeks.  Our goal is to be in Ukraine this summer to bring the boys home.  

How long is the process to adopt from Ukraine? We have been told it takes 6 - 9 months. Really praying for the 6 months! 

What is a home study? A home study is a screening of the home and life of prospective adoptive parents prior to allowing an adoption to take place. Our entire family has had physicals, fingerprinting, background checks, and on and on. Even had to provide proof that our dogs are up to date on their shots! An average home study takes about 3 - 4 months to complete. We are within 2 weeks (we think) of completing ours. 

  

Then what happens? Once we have our home study in hand, we will file I-600's for each boy. This is a petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative which will allow Sasha and Vitalik to enter the U.S. This will take approximately 2 months to process. During this time, we will be getting forms required by the Ukrainian government to our facilitator in Ukraine. He is busy handling everything on that end for us and answering our endless questions. Once we are in the country, he will go with us to appointments and will translate for us. Basically, he will hold our hand through the process in Ukraine. Thank goodness! 

What is the cost of adoption from Ukraine? This is a tricky question. You can choose to go through an agency or adopt independently. Adopting independently a single child or a sibling group usually costs approximately $25,000. If you choose to go through an agency, we understand the cost approximately doubles. We are doing an independent adoption, but the boys are not siblings. So, from what we understand, it will cost approximately $35,000. Hence, the upcoming fund raisers! 

Will 8 be enough? We feel like as long as we are physically able and there is an empty bed in our house, we are willing to accept children into our home. We are keeping our foster care license up to date to keep that available as an option as well. So, no, we are not limiting our family. If God calls us to more, we are willing since we want to live our lives in His will. 

We are always happy to answer questions about foster care and adoption. Never hesitate to ask! And if we do not know the answer, I have great resources where we can get answers. (Thanks Leslie for always being willing to answer mine. :) )