by Maura Clegg

Created on: February 08, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

My husband and I decided to adopt because the conventional method just wasn't working for us. I searched the internet and realized that there were tons of adoption agencies out there, and the cost could run into the tens of thousands of dollars. We were stymied. We wanted to add at least one child to our family, but we certainly didn't have the large amount of money needed for most adoption agencies, and I wasn't all that sure about the travel out of the country either.

Suddenly one afternoon my husband called me at work, he had been talking to a co-worker about adoption. The co-worker told him that he had adopted both of his children from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, or DCF. My husband thought this was the perfect way for us to go, not only would we increase the size of our family, but we would be helping out at least one child here in our own state. I made some calls. Then I made some more calls and after an at home interview we were accepted into the licensing classes for Foster and Adoptive Parents here in Connecticut.

We had eight weeks of classes were we learned not only about parenting, but about some of the problems that these special children from DCF could have. Many have had hard lives right from the beginning. There are some children that are born with drug addiction, or they have been the victims of abuse, neglect, or even some with birth defects. This didn't sway us from our path. Although we weren't one of the families that felt we were able to take on a child with any severe disabilities we knew that we wanted to move forward with our plan.

Classes ended and the waiting game began. I called our social worker weekly, if not more often, just to remind him that we were still waiting. Honestly, he must have been sick of hearing from me. Finally though, one afternoon it all paid off. I received a call on my way home from work that there could be a potential placement for us. They had an eight-month old little girl whose foster mother was unable to care for her any longer. This was not going to be a "normal" pre-adoptive placement, but strictly foster-care with the highest level of "legal risk" that there is. Legal risk simply means that the parent, or parents still have all their legal rights to the child.

We discussed it and welcomed a beautiful little girl to our home. It was not exactly what we wanted, we wanted to know that adoption was definitely the outcome, but really who could say no to a baby that needs a home. She

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