We finally did it. We took a deep breath, filled out our application, put our faith in God, and jumped in. We're going to adopt.

We're not going to adopt a child from China, Russia, Africa, or Korea. We're not going to adopt a baby. These children desperately need homes - and many kudos to the people who step out and provide one for them. But there's another group of children who need homes, and it is these children who are our focus. 

There are many statistics available on foster care and adoption in the United States. In 2006, a study was completed showing that at the beginning of the fiscal year, there were (approx.) 510,000 children in foster care. Of these children, 23% had the goal of being adopted rather than being reunified with their families. This means that about 120,000 children had a goal of being adopted that year. 

Children can enter foster care at any age - from infancy to 18. They can be any race. Out of that 510,000 in 2006, 40% of the children in foster care were white, 32% were black, 19% were hispanic, and 9% were multi-racial. 52% were male, 48% female. 

These are children who have been through a lot in their short lives. They have learned some methods of behavior for their own survival which might not make them very popular with others. They have learned that adults in their lives cannot be trusted, from their own parents on down the line... social workers, foster families, etc. Our system is such that oftentimes these children go back and forth between foster care and reunification with their families many times before parental rights are terminated, leaving them free to be adopted. Helpless and powerless, in some ways matured beyond their years and in others far behind in their maturity, they become a part of a system which inflicts further harm in spite of its effort to help. 

How can we, as a society, let these children spend their formative years with the idea that they are unlovable? For what other idea can we expect a child to have of themselves when they are bounced around from place to place, given new family after new family... with nobody to take them and love them just the way they are? How many of us can stand up proudly and say we are always, or have always been, lovable? The difference lies not in our ability to be lovable, but in the knowledge that we have always been loved in spite of ourselves. 

For some, the idea of adopting through the foster system is frightening because of the state's involvement in their family life. For some, it seems to be unaffordable (after all, we've all heard how expensive it is to adopt). But here are a few things I've learned so far on our journey:

It is possible to adopt from the foster system and use a private agency. The cost out of pocket is in the neighborhood of $1500 - $2000 for a home study - and all the other work they do to facilitate the adoption. Some (or all) of that out of pocket expense can be reimbursed by the state once an adoption has occurred. 

Adopting children from the foster system also allows you tax credits to help with the adoption expenses. Adopting "special needs" children allows you further tax credits. "Special needs" is not code for "most difficult." Some children are classified as "special needs" simply based on their ethnicity or the fact that they have to be adopted with a sibling. 

When you adopt from the foster care system, many children will be adopted with Medicaid for their health care and a subsidy to help with the cost of raising the child. 

To become certified to adopt, you have to take classes. You have to have a social worker in your home to perform a home study. You have to fill out loads of paperwork. You have to prove you have no criminal record. You have to have a physical. You have to jump through hoop after hoop after hoop. BUT... the classes are beneficial. I've only been to three so far and I've learned so much. The social worker comes and visits -- to get to know us. She's not looking for us to be perfect parents or complete neat freaks. But in knowing us, she can better match us to the right child. And while it seems silly to pay good money to obtain proof of that which I already know (I've never been arrested) it also makes good sense to require this. And a physical isn't going to kill me - no matter how much I despise going to the doctor.

So this blog is our journey. Comparing it to a road trip, we've got the car almost packed up and ready to go. Our certification will hopefully be complete by the end of this month. The excitement is there -- and also some trepidation. It is, after all, a big decision. We've packed up the car and are getting ready to go... and we still don't know the exact destination. 

Sounds strange... and exciting, doesn't it?