Can Bipolars Adopt? Yes!

Part 3: My Story - My Children (Page 2)

This is pretty much the way it went:

1. I take xxxx meds for bipolar depression.
2. I have been stable for xxxx years.
3. I have been seeing and still see a pdoc for med management every month.

Age limitations on adoptive parents? If you want to adopt a "white" baby or internationally, yes. Agencies are clear on age requirements for male and female prospective adoptive parents. Age requirements differ for prospective fathers and mothers, and vary according to desired race of child. if you are interested in adopting a light ("white" - Euro-American, Asian) infant or baby, there are stringent age limits. Also, the "screening process" may be a bit more detailed and invasive, or so I have been told. If you are adopting a brown ("black") baby there are very few age limitations.

When we adopted, a person could be in his/her fifties and still adopt a brown infant. Also, it costs less to adopt an African American child. That was very helpful for us - but at the same time, I thought, How's that for putting a price on race, on love?

If any of you are interested in adopting through foster care - please investigate! Our daughter was removed from her family of origin and became a ward of the state when she was eight months old. She had one foster family before us. There is no absolute guarantee that you will be able to adopt the foster child you parent. But having worked in foster care as a social worker's assistant, I have seen children become legally free for adoption more frequently than they have been returned home to their families of origin. Sometimes it takes a long time - I know of several families who waited several years before they could adopt their foster child(ren). On the flip side, I have also seen foster care adoptions occur within months - if not sooner- after a child is place with a family. The chance of adopting an older child or sibling group is greater than adopting an infant or toddler. Also there are many more waiting African-American children than there are Euro-American children. But the longer a child is in foster care, the more scars he/she accumulates. Having a lack of permanency hurts. There are so many children who wait too long for a place to call "forever home," for someone to call "mom" or "dad"!

Part 1: I want a child, but ...
Part 2: Look Before You Leap