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Heartsent Sacramento Area Office: Southern Ca. Office
All photos on this website feature adopted children |
THE PROCESS of any adoption begins with a home study. At Heartsent Adoptions, Inc. the home study consists of 3 parts- the social worker visits, paperwork gathering, and attendance at our focus classes. Adopting parents begin with an initial interview where they receive information about our international and domestic programs and how the process relates to them personally. Next, they complete application forms to begin the process. Families receive many opportunities to listen to and speak with other adoptive parents in our orientation classes. During the course of the home study, the HAI staff is there to answer questions, guide them through the paperwork gathering, provide resources for each family's needs, and introduce them to the unique issues involved in adopting internationally or domestically. As requirements for the home study are met and the home study is nearing completion, the prospective parent(s) decide which country they will choose to adopt from (USA or foreign). Once this decision is made, applicants gather the paperwork necessary to comply with the requirements of their choice. FAMILIES FROM OUT OF STATE CAN ALSO WORK WITH HEARTSENT Adoptions, Inc. to receive adoption assistance for international adoptions. Heartsent staff provide review services to determine the suitability of the family's home study for international purposes, and assist with source country documents. Along the way, there are different decisions to make about the child's age and the adoptive family's needs. The adopting parent(s) continue to ready themselves for their new family member through focus class attendance, reading, and consultation with staff and other parents. Once a child referral is offered and accepted, an invitation is issued to the parent(s) to travel to the child's native country to meet and bring him/ her home, or to the state where the child is born if a domestic adoption. This is a time of great excitement and anticipation! Heartsent next assists with travel to the child's country or state of birth. The adopting family receives a travel packet and travel meeting, which outline the foreign country or USA travel process. In most cases, a Program Coordinator or adoption professional meets the family once they arrive in the foreign country or child's state of birth. FOR FOREIGN ADOPTIONS, families often travel in small groups, so they have the support and friendship of other adopting families in this process. In the child's home country, the family is issued a Final Decree of Adoption. The child is then issued a passport and visa for travel to the United States. This requires a visit to the American Consulate (or designated equivalent) in the child's birth country. An immigrant visa is issued by the US Consulate there after families fill out an I-600, take the child for a medical exam, and obtain visa photos. This process usually takes about 2-3 days. FOR DOMESTIC ADOPTIONS, families are assisted with the home study, education and support, birth mother and birth father process, and post placement and finalization issues. Travel to the child's state of birth may be necessary, and Heartsent is happy to help with this important step of the process. ONCE HOME WITH THEIR CHILD, parents can still make use of the resources and support of Heartsent Adoptions, Inc. as we believe that this is just the beginning of our ongoing commitment to our families. New parents continue their involvement with Heartsent by volunteering to discuss their own experiences with new applicants in the orientation classes and assist with the educational seminars and classes the agency sponsors.
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