How adoption works in Italy

• In December 2008 we followed a two days of training then we presented to the Court our request of adoption, both for domestic and international adoption.
• In January 2009 we started with a lot of medical exams, as x-rays at the chest, blood exams, sight and hearing tests...
• In March and April 2009 we had eight meetings with the social assistants and the psychologist, they also visited our home and met our son.
• In May 2009 we had a final meeting with the Court and then we started waiting for our dreamed piece of paper: it will say if you're able for international adoption. For the domestic one we have less chance because there are - luckily! - few children and they are usually given to childless couples.
• In September 2009 we got our precious piece of paper: now we must find an Agency that works with international adoptions. Our paper says "one child born not before the 1st January 2008". The date made our dream seeming real! This date was set because our first baby was still little. Waiting for the paper I've already asked at many agencies and most of them said that they couldn't take us because of our first child!
  
• In October and December 2009 we went to the meeting of an Agency that works only in few Regions of Italy, but I liked it at first sight (and the psychologist also spoke very well about it). We were taken!! The better countries available for us would be Burkina Faso in Africa and South Korea. We liked most Korea because we would like to bring our baby boy with us and a journey to Seoul would be safer for him.
• In February 2010 we signed all the papers with the Agency and we're officially starting our adoption to South Korea!

Now all is done? No, we have more waiting: the Agency works only with one Korean group and the waiting list is of 1,5 - 2 years before getting the referral! So now we have to wait the end of 2010 to start with all the papers to send in Korea...
Our love for our baby grows every day of our long waiting!