Submission of the Paperwork and the Referral

Your home study will be submitted to the child referral agency after completion and approval by our agency. The child referral agency works directly with the birth parents, orphanages or the government entities responsible for the child. Our families may choose a referral agency that works with domestic or international adoption and infant or older child adoption. You are free to select the referral agency that meets your family's needs.

In most domestic adoptions, you will be asked to prepare a family profile booklet. This booklet is used to introduce your family to birth parents for consideration. When preparing your family profile booklet, consider the following tips:

• Keep it simple: It should be eye appealing, but not overloaded with information.
• Pictures are worth a thousand words: Use pictures of your family doing "everyday things." Be sure to include a picture of your home and the family pet!
• Keep it real: You are what you are. Remember, there are no "perfect parents."
• Include a "Dear Birth Parent" letter: Write from the heart, include your motivation to adopt and the reasons why your family should be chosen. You are preparing this booklet for someone who has chosen life for her child. Applaud her decision!
• Let us help you! Before you submit your family profile, let us review it and make suggestions.

International adoption referral agencies follow the specific requirements mandated by the country where the child is located. Every foreign adoption requires the submission of a dossier, which is the forms required by your child's country of origin. Your home study will be part of the dossier, which is submitted to the foreign government. In addition, approval must be given from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, (formerly the INS), before the child enters the United States. The adoption referral agency will be able to lead you through the paperwork required for international adoption.

The time for a referral varies greatly and depends on where you are adopting from and what type of child you are interested in. The child referral agency will be able to tell you approximately how long you will wait. Although we are not responsible for the referral of a particular child, we will continue to provide support and guidance throughout the referral process.