What are all the steps to adopting a child?

I am writing a book and the main characters of my story want to adopt. What is the step by step process for adoption? Do you start the home study before or after the lawyer gets involved in the case? Who puts you in contact with the adoption agencies? Who do you have to call first to start the adoption process. I want my book to make sense to the actual adoption process so any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

1) Adoptive family contacts an adoption agency
2) Adoptive family fills out basic paperwork and takes pre-adoption classes (classes cover topics like international adoption, grief and loss, openness in adoption, attachment and bonding, etc. The classes are required by the Department of Human Services)
3) Once classes are complete, family begins lengthy paperwork and a social worker is assigned to do a homestudy.
4) If the family is interested in a domestic adoption the family creates a profile to go into a book that birth mothers can look through to pick a family for her/their child and the family basically waits to be chosen. Once they are chosen they meet with the birth mother so she can decide if they are they people she wants raising her child, then a contact agreement is discussed. (A contact agreement states how open the adoption will be: letters to/from the birth mom, pictures? gifts for holidays? visits? how often? etc) Once the baby is born the birth mom can sign over her parental rights after 72 hours but has 2 weeks to change her mind. There is also a 3 month waiting period before the adoption can be finalized in which the birth father can come forward and claim the child. After this waiting period the adoptive family goes to court and finalizes the adoption.
5) If it's an international adoption, the family starts gathering paper work to prepare their dossier (Dossiers are specific to the country and vary in the requirements but most require birth & marriage certificates, reference letters, health forms, tax statements etc). The dossier is sent to the appropriate country where it is approved or denied by that country's government. Once approved it is sent on to the orphanage/care center and the social workers look through the list of children waiting and match them with parents who are waiting (in most countries, the wait is at least a year but often times more). After a referal is given to the family, they then have to wait for the child's visa to be issued and then can travel to pick up their child.

7rin

Woman gets pregnant. Woman abandons child. Child gets sold off to the next person on the list with enough money to buy the agency's approval.

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