Ten Steps to Domestic Adoption
- Fill out Journey of the Heart's application form, domestic adoption questionnaire, and type of child desired form. Send these to Journeys' home office in Oregon with the required application fee.
You can get a domestic questionnaire by email
info@journeysoftheheart.net. Links to the application form are
at the bottom of this page.
| A special service for families in our
Domestic Program: Photolistings and Family letters.
Families in our Domestic Program may
choose to submit content for the web: pictures and
letters to potential Birth Mothers.
You can find an example by clicking
here.
Photolistings and Family Letters
are posted to all four of our sites, where Birth Mothers
from all the across the United States can view and get to
know you better, any time night or day. We find this
to be a power family-building tool.
New!
Journeys of the Heart African American Program
Please Click Here. |
- If you live in Hawaii you should begin the home study process with JOH. Ask for the
contract for the home study, send it in signed and with the appropriate fees. If you live in
another state, contact a local home study agency and start this process. JOH can often help with
suggestions or licensed agencies in your state.
- If you live in Hawaii,
JOH staff will call you regarding a time for your personal interview. If
you live in any other state, JOH staff will call you regarding a time for your phone interview. This
is your chance to ask all the questions you may have regarding this program. It is also a time for
JOH staff to tell you some more of the details about the adoption process. It is after this
interview that you will receive a letter advising if you have been admitted into the
program.
- Submit your home study to JOH. Begin working on your portfolio that JOH staff will show to
birth mothers. JOH can send you ideas on how to do a good job of this album. Only send us one copy
so we can make suggestions on how to improve your portfolio.
- Make five copies of the portfolio once JOH staff has made their suggestions.
- Receive a call from JOH staff that you have been chosen by a birth mother.
- Make arrangements through JOH staff to meet with her.
- Meet with the birth mother and JOH staff. This is the time to let her get to know you. Another
meeting will probably take place to discuss and agree upon the adoption agreement.
- Birth of the child. Come to the hospital ready to be flexible and knowing that the birth mother
still has the right to change her mind.
- Bring the child home from the hospital. Arrange for post placement visit with the social worker
from JOH or home study agency. Make arrangements for finalization with an adoption
attorney.
Want to know more about domestic
adoption? Please email
info@journeysoftheheart.net
Ten Steps to International Adoption
- Complete an application and return it to our
Oregon office (links to the application are at the bottom of this page) with the required documents and application fee. Journeys will assign a social worker to complete our Hawaii home studie. Families residing in other states should contact local agencies to complete their
home study. We may have suggestions for you on home study agencies, based on a prior family's experience.
- Contact the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) office nearest you, to request an I600A packet. You will
want to contact INS as early in the process as possible. Approval can take several months depending on what state you are
filing in.
- When Journeys in Oregon receives your application, required documents, and home study fees, a social worker will
contact you to schedule your home study interview.
- Once Journeys in Oregon has received the remainder of the contract fees (program and coordination fee), we will
forward families detailed written instructions outlining the specific document requirements for your countries program.
- Following the written instructions, families will gather a set of documents, which is commonly referred to as the
dossier. Journeys staff is available to assist you with questions when preparing these documents.
- Authenticating your documents. Prior to authenticating your documents, you should send a copy of the documents to
Journeys for final review.
- Depending on which program you choose we either submit the completed dossier or request an assignment of a child from
the birth country.
- Once the assignment or match is made, we joyfully call you with your referral.
- Once you have permission to travel, we will help to make your travel affordable and expedient.
- Finally, parents will travel to their child's birth country, complete or finalize the adoption (when applicable), and
obtain the child's visa to come home!
Please click here
to learn more about international adoption. |
| Start by sending in your
application The first step in building your
family through Journeys of the Heart is to fill out the agency
application form. You may do this by downloading the form and printing
it out, or by using our on-line application form.
Your application must include the $250.00
application fee. This fee is non-refundable. If you're mailing in your
application form, please enclose a check made out to Journeys of the
Heart and mail it to Journeys' home office at P.O. Box 39, Hillsboro, OR
97123. If you're submitting your application form on-line, you'll also
need to mail in your $250.00 application fee to trigger the start of
your adoption. Please write "application fee" on the memo line of your
check.
Fill out and Submit the Application Online!
Download and print the Application
|
Get 'In Depth' Information On Any Or All
Of Our Programs Including Fees by mail.
Please Click Here. |
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