Adoption - Los Angeles,CA

You need to contact the local Foster Care Agency that has the baby's case. They would be the ones to direct you.

Definitely contact the foster agency. Since you are family, you should be able to have the baby placed with you pending an adoption.

You need to schedule a home visit from a social worker ASAP. This person is not coming to see if your house is perfect and perfectly clean she WILL want to talk to EVERYONE who lives in the house and ask how they feel about a new baby. I hope things go well and this little baby does not need to stay in foster care,

Contact the foster agency for guidance. Are you also considering adopting or fostering your other cousin, the younger brother of the baby's mother? It would be a shame to leave him in the foster system, when he could be with family, too. Being raised with his sister's baby might also give him some comfort. He is, after all, the uncle...young as he may be.

I don't know how to go about adopting your cousin's baby, I'm praying that everything works out. It sounds like you would really care for this little one.
God Bless!!!

Good for you their are peaple in goverment who can help you look in the telephonebook you sound like a wonderfull person good luck A. no hills

Hello, You should speak with an attorney. I would say that because you are a relative, you could be considered as someone the courts would place this child with. Then once you have her in your home, you can file for permanent legal guardianship. Once you have done that, you should be able to file for adoption. We had guardianship of one of our grandsons several years ago. He eventually was returned to his parents and they and he are now living in my home. Worked out fine. Anyway, it wasn't that hard to gain guardianship. Then you can decide about the adoption. There are advantages to both.
Good luck with your journey to gain custody of this precious child.
K. K.

Definitely call the Fostering Agency and go from there. You have the opportunity to make a very real difference in the life of this child. Good luck and God Bless.

You are very brave. I wish there were more people like you, but right now you need to consult an attorney who specializes in adoptions to see what you need to do to get the process going. Good luck to you.

I work with a girl in a very similar situation. She was persistent with her niece's social worker. After winning over the girls assigned social worker it was much easier for her to get it thru the system. The state would always rather place a child with family if it is possible but you still have to go thru the red tape. Contact her social worker and express your feelings. They may not be able to grant an adoption right away but they can award you guardianship. This is the first step in the process. They will continue to visit your home to make sure it's a healthy environment. Are you the only family aside from Grandma? Does the child's father or his family want to have her? These things may get in your way. All you can do is be persistent and show that you have a loving home that is a wonderful healthy place for a girl who's been thru so much. It is a very sad story and for the girl's sake i hope it works out so she can be with family who loves her. Good luck to you and don't give up on this girl. It sounds like too many people in her life already have.

Contact the foster agency that has him and tell them your wishes.

Most likely, you will have to qualify as a foster parent first and then they can place the baby with you. In the meantime, maybe you can arrange visitation with the current foster family.

After the child is placed with you for a certain period of time, I think a year, you can then notify the county or agency that you want to adopt the child.

It is their goal to get permanent placement for the child, so they should help you.

Good luck.