Are you thinking about adoption or foster care? Are you unclear if this is right for you? Do you have questions or need to verify answers you have gotten and are not sure what the real answer is? Families Like Ours is your independent advocate regardless of which placement agency, or state program you're working through. We're here to help. We are families-helping-families. We provide a full range of pre and post adoptive and foster care family planning counseling* to help guide you through the process, answer your questions, and provide you with resources and support.

The next step is to decide which type of adoption works for your family. This is something that is not set in stone; you can actually choose several directions to pursue at the same time. Some typical types of adoption:

• adopt-foster - adoption of a child in foster care
• open adoption - adoption of a child from a birth parent with their cooperation
• kinship adoption - adoption of a member of your extended family
• second parent adoption - adoption of your spouse or partner's legal child
• international adoption - adoption of a child from a country other than the one in which you reside

For example, many of the families contacting Families Like Ours choose child placement agencies that can provide them with adoptable placements from the state foster system, but still keep them available for private placement adoptions. If you would like to be open to different types of placements, make sure you discuss that with your agency and find out if that is possible.

A foster care home study is not the same as an adoptive home study, and international or private placement home studies are often different as well.

If adoption of a child in the Washington State foster care system is your choice, Families Like Ours can provide you with your required Adoption/Foster Care P.R.I.D.E. training [upcoming trainings].

Remember, education is your most valuable tool. These are some of the questions that families tend to ask. This is not a complete list, there is never a complete list of what you should know. Use your best judgment and add and take away items as the need fits. Your instincts will actually guide you to the right people to work with more than anything else. Also, remember that Families Like Ours is always here to help.

• Itemized list of costs
• Schedule of all parts of process
• How long placements have been taking in last year or so