Once you've decided you want to adopt, you're probably anxious to get started, but you should begin to make emotional, financial, and material preparations before you are matched with a child. These preparations will ensure your adoption adventure is a rewarding experience for you, your family, and the child you will raise to independent adulthood. The process is complicated because it involves so many variables, many of which are hard to predict. This unpredictability means you must deal with emotional highs and lows, subject yourself to scrutiny, and above all, put your potential child's needs first.