In my last post I started discussing tips on how to get your adoption done as quickly as possible. In this post, I am going to give some specific advice on getting your dossier done as quickly as possible.

For folks who are not quite sure what a dossier is, your dossier is the documents that are required by the government of the country you are adopting from, when you are adopting internationally.

Since the bulk of the work of getting the homestudy done quickly (or not) lies with the social worker or homestudy agency, I am not going to write about that part of the process specifically, but when it comes to homestudy paperwork, most of these tips will be helpful.

In almost all international adoptions, the official wait for a referral or the official wait for the process to begin for an identified child hinge on the dossier being completed and turned in, so if you are in a rush or are trying to push your process along as much as possible, this is a great part of the process to kick some paperwork butt.

- Read directions carefully, and whenever possible, use example letters. Some agencies send you example letters or specific recommended wordings for your documents. If your agency does this, use the examples they give. This will help get things right the first time around.

- Type up letters for people that only need to be signed, notarized and photocopied on to their letterhead. (This works well with employment letters, medical letters, etc.)

- Let people know that these documents are needed for an adoption. Do not be afraid to be a little bit pushy (politely so). Don't assume that people will just get these papers done quickly if you don't let them know that you need or want them quickly.

- Get two originals of everything, and/or make a color copy of every original document. This is not only useful in case something is lost or ruined, but it makes subsequential adoptions a breeze in the paperwork department.

- If you need reference letters for your dossier (or homestudy), let the people you are asking to write the reference letters know that your adoption can not proceed until they get those letters done. Only ask people to write them that you know will be timely about it, and choose people who have an understanding of the process and the difficulty of waiting. That being said, do not just trust that someone will get it done. I cannot tell you how many people I know who had their homestudy or dossier held up by references taking their own sweet time.

- Make a check list of what you need for your dossier, and check things off as you do along.

See my next post for more tips on getting your dossier done quickly..