Dossier Paperwork

The other day Jon and I had an hour meeting on the phone with our AGCI caseworker - we officially now have our own caseworker!!!  She discussed our Dossier paperwork that WHOLE time. The Dossier is what will be sent to Ethiopia. It will include our homestudy (which includes a bunch of other paperwork), our education hours, and then a bunch of forms such as birth certificates and criminal checks. We have 6 months to complete all of this work. We can get it done sooner as well, but some of it depends on how quickly we get things back in the mail, or how quickly our homestudy caseworker writes things up.

For anyone interested, especially those who are thinking about adoption, here is the paperwork checklist to be sent in with all of our paperwork. There are 26 items...

1. Notarized & State Certified Power of Attorney Form   2. Notarized Power of Attorney Form   3. Statement of Reason to Adopt (Application Letter)   4. Notarized Photocopy of USCIS Favorable Determination Letter   5. Notarized Photocopy of US Passport for Father   6. Notarized Photocopy of US Passport for Mother   7. Official Passport Photos (2 photos per parent)   8. Photographs of the Family  N/A 9. Photographs of the Family’s Home   10. Home Study w/Copies of Social Worker & Agency License   11. Letter(s) of Employment for Father   12. Letter(s) of Employment for Mother   13. Financial Statement   14. Birth Certificate for Father   15. Birth Certificate of Mother   16. Certificate of Marriage   17. Medical Form for Father   18. Medical Form for Mother   19. Local Criminal Check Letter for Father   20. Local Criminal Check Letter for Mother   21. Letter of Reference from Family Member   22. Letter of Reference from Friend   23. Obligation of Post Placement Reports   24. Two Complete Copies of Entire Dossier   25. Fees due w/Dossier Submission   26. Proof of I600A Submission to USCIS  

Notice how just about everything must be notarized!? We even have to have our medical/physical exams notarized - so if our clinic doesn't have their own notary, then we have to bring a notary public along to our clinic!  The night of this meeting I had a reoccurring dream that everything was being notarized, but then we were making mistakes on paperwork so things had to be notarized again and again and again... let the adoption dreams begin!!!

Next week we have our first adoption education class to attend. It is a meeting with other parents in the process of adopting. It will be a full day. I'm looking forward to meeting other people in our area that are in this process. We will also begin doing some on-line coursework and we have a workbook to start filling out together as a couple.

I'm still making lots of Owie Owls!!!  Keep spreading the word, as they have been a GREAT fundraiser for us! I enjoy making them!  :)

Alright, off to play Candyland with my son... he is currently singing "You, you, you, You can Trust God..." one of his favorites. I love it when he sings this, as it is such a good reminder for me too!

In Christ,

Mara