Monday 12 December 2011

Completing the Paperwork

We realized this would be a long process when we made our decision to adopt a child.  We're currently working on the paperwork, which needs to be completed prior to our meeting in January.  The paperwork includes the following:

* Application Forms (Includes References, Family Background, Essay Questions, and Family Planning)
* Structured Analysis Family Evaluation Questionnaire
* Copies of our Birth Certificates
* Copy of our Marriage Certificate (We must be married for more than 2 years to adopt from Ethiopia.  They do not allow for adoptions to couples who are common-law.)
* Intervention Record Checks
* Criminal Record Checks
* Medical Records from our Family Physician (We have a new family doctor and are doing our physical examinations, which started last week and will continue in to January).
* T4 slips from our most recent tax year
* Family budget analysis (We have hired a new accountant and financial planner to help us manage our money).

We have a lot of information to collect over the next month before our meeting and, once the paperwork is completed, we will be taking a course on parenting adopted children and having a home analysis done, to see whether we can provide the right home environment for a child.  The work involved is not discouraging, as this is helping us to prepare and make sure we've thought of everything.  It's also comforting to know that they don't allow children to be adopted by "just anyone" and that if you make the decision to do so, then you have to make sure that you have a loving home and an accepting family and social group.

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