Talked to Our Caseworker

I finally talked with our case worker at the end of last week.

Now that everything is completed paperwork and profile wise (our homestudy is officially finished as well and we were approved to adopt :) we are in the waiting stage. She had our profile for 5 days and we had already been shown 2 times! :) As of last week neither birthmother had made any selection, but I am sure they have by now and it isn't us this time around. Our caseworker did once again state that while some people have been chosen the next day, the average is 6-12 months and to not get our hopes up too much. It will happen eventually though. They have a 100% sucess rate given enough time.

We are in the nationwide system to be presented now. On or around (gotta love how specific that is) the 10th of every month we will receive an email with an update of our account. This will include the number of times we were presented, if we were selected as a backup choice (birthmothers are asked to pick and rank 3) and the status of all people we were presented to (have the chosen and if so who, still deciding, changed mind etc...). Any negative feedback regarding the profile will also be shared.

I then asked what the numbers actually mean. I mean, if she tells me we were presented 2 times in the last month - is that good, bad or ugly? Given the filters we have in place and what we have to offer to fit into the filters of the birthmother, she said that something would be terribly wrong if we went a month without any presentations, 2-3 would be a bad month, 5-6 average, 7-8 good and 8-10 great. That at least gives me a reference point now to judge our information off of. It also lets me know that if we have good-great months that we should expect to have to reprint the profile in 5-6 months.

Apparently we are in a good position though. Supply and demand is high in a way. There are more potential adoptive parents than brithmothers wanting to adopt out their child. They currently have 120 people/couples wanting to adopt. Thats a lot. They placed 142 babies in 2011. The odds seem bad, but here is the kicker. While any approved potential adoptive parent can eventually get a match given enough time, there are certain factors that are more desirable than others to the majority of birthmothers (at this agency any way). Of all adoptive parents, the most desirable are in the minority giving them an advatange to being chosen. We happen to be in that group - Caucasian, 2 opposite genders, married for over 5 years, not over 40 years old, no other children, and professionals. So, while we still should expect a 6-12 month wait, generally speaking we should be highly sought after (along with all the other couples like us that are also waiting). Good news in a way.