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Hi- just found this AWESOME site – Love it!!! Wish we were told about it by SW as it is so very helpful/educational to newbies of the brutally long adoption process.KUDOS to AUK & Members / Posters for sharing their heartfelt experiences & therapeutic information. (Done on such a polite and eloquent level too – Bravo). This website should be a template for adoption forums globally as the issues are the same BUT the suggestions, discussions and reference data on here could be Best Practices used to help children & families anywhere. Well done & Thank you!!!I post this in fear of retaliation from SW/LA when recognized but have so many unanswered questions…Info on US– Me, DH (from UK) & BS (9) are finalizing an int’l kinship adoption started in 2011. We are adopting our niece’s children(2yr b/g twins) from foster care. We are coming over to attend Court, have “intros” and take them back to the USA for 10wk period. Then we return to UK with kids & go to Court for Adoption Order.DH’s big family is big, dysfunctional & has little contact and a lot of denial. It’s been a shocking eye opener but we just want to help the kids and give them a better life. Learned in 2011 that kids were taken in care & offered to help w/o any knowledge of court/care SS system in UK. Also learned that BM had LD and BF had severe LD. They broke up. BF just had baby girl with new LD GF, which was taken away at birth. We have done whatever they wanted in order to get this done. Bureaucratic delays, SW vacation delays, & lack of knowledge on intl adoptions by the LA all caused delays. I should mention that when this started SW had to go downstairs to make intl calls and did not have email. Now she has email & now a lot more parties have also joined the process – CFAB & a US adoption agency for homestudies, UK InterCountry Adoption & USCIS for Hague Convention approvals.We came to UK to see SW in June 2012 (separately due to work & childcare) who requested there us for a week. Met w/SW for 2 days – 2 hrs each and met Guardian ( who is great) 1 day – 1/2hr! Asked why not do this by email or Skype – no. Folk in US ask did you get to see the kids? NO. Also note – the Guardian said you know we need to hurry to move these kids before attachment issues – I said EXACTLY – so she gets it how come no one else?? Never got an attorney as we wanted to cooperate with LA to be done as fast as poss . Asked about SGO – they said not an option. Asked for medical records – no luck. While we get that intl rules are different – we apply to US govt for adoption, then UK approves assessments, then UK release the records to US, approve Visas, etc but … why no info on the kids?? Only thing we found out – BM advised on hospitalizations for each. We were told that the court has agreed that we should get the kids, that once the intl paperwork is done SW will go to Matching Panel & Visas will be issued. “Intros”- SW wanted intros for 3 weeks just us – we said can only do 2 wks as DS has school & we think he has to come with us to be a part of intros. Asked if we can meet FCs (by email or skype) now to start discussions & help us prepare – no reply. I see on this site re planning meetings w/FC & creating family photo books before intros– no mention of this from SW – should we push for this??Sorry. .Wrote too much – please PM me if you have any suggestions. Many thanks!!!