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1 John 5:1-3 (NIV)
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
How can we show our love for God? We can show our love for God by loving the children of God. What better way to love the children of God, then to provide a home for orphans. We can provide a home for orphans by providing temporary or permanent foster care or by adoption. There are thousands of children in the United States foster care system waiting for families to adopt them. There are also thousands of children waiting in orphanages all over the world for a chance to be part of a forever family.
You don’t have to be rich to adopt a child. Adopting a child from the foster care system in the United States is either free or very inexpensive. Usually, out of pocket costs associated with your adoption of a U.S. foster child are reimbursed by the state of residence of the child. Most states have limits on the amounts of nonrecurring adoption expenses they will refund. You can check these amounts quickly and easily at the NACAC website.
You don’t even have to own a house to adopt. If you have room in your apartment for a child then that is sufficient. If you don’t have health insurance provided by your job, don’t worry. Most older children adopted through the U.S. foster care system get to keep their Medicaid until their 18th birthday. Do you have questions about a specific state? The NACAC website has detailed information about each state.
If you check with the Department of Human Services in your area, there may be free training seminars that you can attend to learn parenting techniques. These techniques can help you respond to situations that arise with older child adoption. You can find waiting children at Adoption.com and AdoptUSKids.org or at your state’s website. Why don’t you check it out and see if there is a child waiting for your family?
Photo credit Julia Fuller 2007
Okay, so I’ve been reading another blog re. the trauma to the family which can occur when adopting older children. In extreme cases (although not as rare as one would think) the parents and sibilngs can live in physical fear of what the enraged child or teen may do. No guessing is needed, as the child has clearly expressed his/her intentions to hurt or kill, and has graphically demonstrated a capacity and commitment to follow through.
As I ponder my desire to add more children to our family, I truly struggle with the potential costs in relationships. finances, energy and time. A truly dysfunctional child can suck weeks, months, or years of focus away from the rest of the family. A truly dysfunctional child will be way past any “parenting techniques” taught in a DHS seminar. The “parenting techniques” I am learning about have more to do with physical selfdefense skills against predators who live in your house, how to handle threats and false accusations of abuse by law enforcement and/or mental health professionals, and the networking skills needed to get (and keep) one’s child in the appropriate mental health setting. Do they teach THOSE skills to pre-adoptive parents? — Rachel
Julia, what timely words of truth! God is certainly IN the process of adoption, and it is an OPEN MISSION FIELD of HARVEST– waiting for obedient and willing servants.
What most “outsiders” (meaning only those who HAVEN’T experienced adoption first-hand yet) don’t realize is that adoption is NOT just “rescuing a poor, unwanted child”, but it is RECEIVING and experiencing JOY unspeakable through that precious child! It’s not only GIVING– you’re GETTING incredible blessings and a GIFT straight from Heaven in the process!
Following God is always like that, I supppose!! Thanks so much for sharing!! Your sister in Oklahoma (who LOVES to write and sing ADOPTION songs around the country!!), Becky Wright
http://www.beckywrightsongs.com
(Concert tour expanding this summer)