public adoption advice

Hey everyone! Has anyone here ever adopted publicly? I've always wanted to adopt instead of having a biological baby, and I can't imagine doing a private adoption. So, I've heard that it's much easier to adopt publicly if you have experience in the foster care system. Has anyone here gone through this? How long were you a foster parent before adopting (not neccesarily the child you were fostering)? I want to adopt a child by the time I'm 30. I'm 22 now, so I have time. But if you have to have years in foster care to adopt publicly, I need to work that in to my life plan. Thanks for the help!