Is it final yet?

In late December, the county talked with the child I have been mentoring about whether he would like me to adopt him and he said, “Yes.” Since then, many have assumed that the adoption is final and many more have asked, “Is it final yet?”

So, I thought I would take a moment to address this question publicly.

So far, he knows that I want to adopt him and he has spent the night at my house twice. He has not yet moved in. We are in the process of “transitioning” from one home to another. There is a meeting this week to decide what the rest of the transition will look like and what timeframe it will encompass.

When the transition is complete and he lives in my home, he will be considered “placed” in this home. State law requires that adoption may not finalize until a MINIMUM of six months from the date of placement. There are often factors that require the timeframe to be extended beyond the six month mark. I have heard stories of families and the associated county staff taking anywhere from 6-60 months before deciding it is wise to finalize.

So at this point, there is no set timeline to finalization. And I don’t expect to have a set timeline for many more months.