Need Help in Florida

[Tessa]

undefinedundefinedundefinedHi. My husband and I currently have power of attorney over our soon-to-be adopted daughter. With the help of a paralegal in our county (St. Lucie), we filed what we thought to be the correct forms and papers for an individual adoption. We filed a consent and waiver, and we filed a petition for adoption. This is a rape case and so we don't have any info on the father. We received a notification back from the courts stating it was dismissed due to some deficiencies. It said the homestudy was not complete and there was lack of proof for diligent search for the father and it also said we have to do a motion to take parental rights from the birth mom. Now, I called our self-help coordinator and she said she could not tell me what papers we were lacking as far as the homestudy and she could not tell me what we needed to do in the case of the father. I have read online that in a rape case the father's consent is not needed. But how do we present that in court and how do we find out what is lacking in the homestudy and how do we get parental rights taken? The baby has been with us since birth and the birth mom gave her our last name. She is currently under physician's care for several medical reasons and has already been involved in therapy for a few months now in our home. We can't even apply for a social security number for her until the adoption is complete because that's the standard rule for the Social Security Administration. I called our county legal-aid and they don't handle adoptions. Is there a low panel lawyer in my area? As we are able to financially provide for the baby we are able to put out a lot of money for a lawyer. Is there any information you can provide on the needed documents or give me a lead as to who I can call. Our power of attorney runs out in July and we need to get complete as soon as possible. Thank you to anyone who can offer any help.