If you want to adopt, one of the ways you can do so is through the foster care system. Some people believe that this is one of the most difficult ways to adopt, and it can be depending on the child and his or her circumstances. One major hurtle in California comes down to funding, though. If the agencies are not funded well, it can be hard to get a hold of the people you need to talk to for the finalization of adoption or to become a foster parent.

In one man’s story from 2011, he said it took close to two years to be able to adopt a child. He said the problem didn’t come from the private agency but instead the public agency that was lacking funding. Phone calls were not returned, paperwork was processed slowly and that meant a long wait to adopt a child.

California also has a county-specific foster care program. To foster a child from one of the other counties is difficult, and what might be fast in one county is extremely slow in another. That’s a problem for parents and waiting children alike.

If this kind of bureaucracy is holding you back, there are some ways to get around it. Some private agencies have offices around the state, which can help you adopt across county lines. Having an advocate work in your best interests can help, too, since that person — an attorney in most cases — can push for answers and responses to your request to bring a child home. With the right help, you can push to make the process move faster.

Source: HuffPost, “California Adoption — Why Is It So Hard to Adopt From Foster Care?,” Jeff Katz, accessed Sep. 01, 2017