Seven Steps to Adoption Without an Agency or Foster Care
Do you want to adopt without using an agency or foster care? These seven steps are necessary. Adoption can be difficult without an agency to guide you through the process, but it is possible to adopt without an agency.
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We have been through the adoption process four times, and no two times have been exactly alike. Two of our adoptions were completely private, and two times the child was in the foster care system. I answer lots of questions about adoption and foster care. By far, the most common questions I am asked are about how to do an adoption without an agency or foster care.
Is Adoption without an agency or foster care possible?
The short answer is, yes, it is possible to adopt without using an agency, but it’s not always easy. It is easier for a mother who needs an adoptive family for her child to go to an adoption agency than to just ask around.
Also, most mothers who are looking for an adoptive family for their child want to make sure that family is a good one. An adoption agency can provide them with profiles of pre-screened families to choose from.
These things don’t work in favor of families who cannot afford an adoption agency, but they still don’t make the idea of adoption without an agency impossible.
There are several things prospective adoptive parents can do to increase their chances of adoption, even without an agency or foster care.
Seven Ways to Prepare for A Private Adoption
Find an Adoption Attorney
Contact a local attorney who is familiar with the adoption process. These attorneys can be found listed under the “family law” tab of your local legal aid or other legal referral service. Once you locate an attorney, they will likely meet with you and require a retainer for their services. Legal fees are the most expensive part of a domestic private adoption.
An attorney who has completed adoptions for other families in your area may also be able to refer you to a Licensed Social Worker who can complete a home study for you.
Get a Home Study
Contact a local adoption agency or local independent social worker who conducts home studies for prospective adoptive families. Just because you use an agency to complete a home study, does not mean you must adopt through that agency. Once you pay for a completed home study, the document itself belongs to you.
A home study is the second most expensive element of a private adoption following attorney’s fees. In most cases, the home study will cost around $2000.
The home study will likely be the most time consuming element of the adoption preparation process. You can find out more about what to expect from the home study process and find a free printable home study checklist here.
Get Training
Most states provide free training for prospective foster parents. Even if you do not intend to foster a child, many times a judge will be more comfortable awarding temporary or emergency custody to parents who have been through the state required training for foster parents.
The training provided for foster parents is often beneficial for parents who adopt children who have behavioral, emotional or medical issues due to drug exposure or other trauma.
Educate Yourself
Do some research about adoption. Meet with support groups of adoptive parents or even foster parents. Ask questions about all phases of the adoption process and about life with adopted children.
Learn about the adoption laws in your state. Most information you need may come from your attorney or from your state parenting classes. There are also some pretty amazing books about adoption out there. Here are a few that I recommend:
The Lucky Few: finding God’s Best in the Most Unlikely Places
Adoption: Choosing It, Living It, Loving It
Carried In Our Hearts: The Gift of Adoption
Tell People You Want to Adopt
Tell your family, friends, work colleagues, church family about your plans to adopt. You never know where the connection will be made to your baby’s birth family. One of our adoption connections came through our church family and the other came through a friend at work.
Make an adoption announcement. See this post for six fun and easy ways to announce you adoption. Use one or all.
Most people want to help others and want to see children living happy and healthy lives. They are more than willing to make connections in order to make this happen.
Have a Plan
Have a plan for bringing your child home. I am not saying to go out and fully stock a nursery. In fact, I recommend that you buy nothing. Some people think you have to have a room prepared for an adoption when, in fact, you only need a room that is available.
I do suggest having a fund set aside for the day you bring your child home. I say this because one of our private adoptions happened when the child was a toddler and we had very little notice. The other we planned for the entire pregnancy of the mother. You just never know what will happen. Also, if you have a fund set aside and an adoption planned adoption does not work out, then you do not have to return items.
Talk to your pediatrician. It is always good to have a medical assessment done as soon as possible after a child comes into your care.
Network
Get connected with groups in your community that support adoptive and pre-adoptive families or join groups like ours on facebook. Either way, get connected to a group that is knowledgable and supportive. Many of your questions can be answered in this way.
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Thanks for sharing some of your knowledge! We’re starting to research adoption in Saskatchewan. Ideally, we would just know a mom who is wanting to allow us to adopt her unborn baby. Extremely rare and unrealistic for me to hope for this, though.
Thanks again!
#sundaylinkparty
Katelynn, hampersandhiccups.com
Hi Katelynn!
I don’t think this is unrealistic at all. In fact, it is exactly what happened with our second adoption. We participated in doctor visits throughout pregnancy and took our baby home from the hospital. It certainly isn’t common, but it can happen.