How to Adopt a Child from the U.S.

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Once you have decided to adopt a child, you will begin on an exciting journey. In order to adopt it is important for you to determine how you will find a birthmother who wants you to adopt her baby. Do not make the mistake of assuming that the agency or attorney you hire to handle other aspects of your adoption also offers outreach.

There are several ways to do adoption outreach. The most important thing for you to understand is that adoption outreach needs to be done. This is a piece of the adoption process that many people do not understand. People often sign up with professionals assuming that outreach will be handled, but the truth is - a few agencies and attorneys offer comprehensive outreach programs but most don’t. Ask questions and if that service is offered and has a successful track record you may not have to do anything else. If, however, they do not do outreach here are your choices: hire a professional whose main focus is helping match you with a birth mother; or do your own advertising and networking.

It’s possible to do your own advertising to let as many people know as possible that you are hoping to adopt a child- but you’ll increase your chances of finding a baby or child, and in less time, if you work with an adoption agency, professional or facilitator with a successful outreach program. When it’s time to start looking for adoption professionals who can help you find your special child, you want to understand the importance of adoption outreach programs in relation to your adoption goals.

As you start the process, you may think that all adoption professionals are about the same – but this isn’t the case. One of the most important things you should find out before deciding which adoption professional to work with is the type of outreach program the agency or professional uses. In particular, does the agency or professional have national adoption outreach programs, or regional?

For the majority of people looking to adopt, the common goal is to adopt as soon as possible. In the United States, there are a limited number of women who put their babies up for adoption each year. If you hope to have your baby or child in your arms as soon as possible, it makes sense that you would need to have access to as many birth mothers looking to place their child for adoption as possible to increase your potential of finding your child.

Many adoption agencies and professionals limit their adoption outreach programs to their local area. They may only be actively advertising and searching for mothers who want to place their children for adoption with the local area, and this greatly limits the number of potential birth mothers the agency has to work with. It’s common for these agencies and professionals to only work with just a few birth mothers in a year, but they have hundreds of adoptive parents waiting to adopt a child!

When looking for an adoption agency or professional, it probably makes more sense for you to look for those that have national adoption outreach programs. Agencies and professionals who spend time and effort advertising around the country in search of birth mothers who need to place their babies for adoption are going to have more birth mothers to work with and it will increase your potential of adopting a healthy baby from the United States in a shorter period of time. Agencies and professionals with nationwide adoption outreach programs can work with many birth mothers each month.

Another benefit of working with an adoption agency or professional with a nationwide adoption outreach program is an increased likelihood that you find the baby or child that closely matches your desired preferences. You have more choices and won’t feel pressured to take the first child offered to you for adoption.

For people who are just learning about and considering child adoption, there are a number of concerns that are commonly experienced. Regardless of your reasons for considering adoption, shedding light on the realities of the adoption process can help alleviate the common concerns and provide accurate answers to many of the misconceptions surrounding adoption.

Concern: Adopted children grow up to have psychological problems.

We can probably thank television for this misconception. Most of the research and studies performed regarding adoption shows that adopted children are no more at risk than non-adopted children in terms of their mental health or adjustment. When comparing the issues faced of biological children and their parents with the issues faced by adopted children and their parents – the fact is, both families face similar experiences and it doesn’t seem to make a difference whether the children are biological or adopted, but there are a number of things that parents can do to minimize risks for mental illness.

Concern: An open adoption arrangement means the birth mother can take the child back if she wants to.

Adoption is the legal transfer of parental rights from a birth family to adoptive family, whether it is an open adoption or not. With open adoption, the adoptive parents and birth mother decide how much contact the birth mother and child will have. Open adoption may mean the birth mother can correspond with the child via letters, email, photographs and telephone; or it may allow for face-to-face visitations at the adoption agency, a public place, or at times- in the families home. The level of openness will depend on the adoptive families and the birth mother and what everyone feels comfortable with. Fully open adoptions (those that include visitations with the birth mother) only make up about 1% of adoptions, but there is an increasing number of semi-open adoptions which allow photographs and letters to be exchanged between the birth mother and the adopting family.

Concern: Only very wealthy families can afford child adoption.

The adoption laws require that a home study is conducted to confirm that a prospective family is able to provide for an adopted child’s emotional, physical and financial needs. The average cost for domestic adoption is between $18,000 and $25,000, but it can sometimes be done for less. There are a variety of options available to families of different income levels and lifestyles, including a federal government adoption tax credit for middle-income families. The tax credit can offer $10,000 or more to the adoptive parents. If a family adopts a child that is in the car of a state foster care program, the adoption cost may be waived or subsidized.

Concern: If I choose to adopt, I will be on a waiting list for years before I become an adoptive parent.

The length of time a family waits for adoption can vary depending on a variety of factors- but the average wait time is between six and eighteen months. It does take time to identify a good match between a child and the adoptive family, with factors like health, race, age, and ethnicity playing a role in the decision. People who are hoping to reduce their adoption wait should seek knowledge about the domestic adoption process, establish their adoption goals and then seek adoption professionals that will help you reach those goals. Hiring the wrong adoption agency or adoption attorney could add years to a families wait.

Tags: Adoption, adopted children, adoptive family, adoptive parents