How Do I Find Adoptive Parents for My Child?

 

If you are seeking to create an adoption plan for your child, you likely have many questions and are seeking guidance and support. Adoption Choice, Inc. can walk you through the process, but if you’re just beginning your research, this article is a great place to start. 

 

I’m Undecided About What to Do

You may be questioning if making an adoption plan and finding a placement for your child is the right thing for you and your family. You have time to make this decision and won’t be rushed by anyone from a licensed adoption agency to definitively choose what you’re going to do. If you are unsure about how this process looks, you can see a step-by-step guide here. However, as a birth parent, your situation could be unique from others and you should be sure to speak to someone about how you hope your placement will look and to answer any questions that you might have. 

 

I am Pregnant and Need Support

You may be considering finding someone to adopt your child because of financial insecurity and you might need help during your pregnancy. There is available financial support and you’ll want to make sure that this is a conversation that you have early on with your adoption agency or social worker. If you are food insecure or lack safe housing options, this should be something you reach out about immediately. They can also help you get your financial documents to reach out to the court to get some expenses covered. However, it is illegal for someone to offer you money in exchange for your child. Though that is unlikely to happen, if someone does broach that topic with you, please contact the authorities. 

 

Seeking Adoptive Parents for Your Child

Your adoption specialist will help you find an individual or couple to parent your child, but this will be your decision. Though they may send you prospective adoptive parents, you get the ultimate choice. Initially, you may just see photos or read more about those families, but you will have the opportunity to meet them to see if you feel that they are a good fit to parent your child. It’s a good idea to consider how open you’d like your adoption to be to begin these conversations as well so that you can reach an agreement that will work for you and your child moving forward. You can learn more about the levels of openness in adoption here. On rare occasions, you might already have a person or couple in mind that you would like to adopt your child. There are still legal situations and conversations that you will want to have with an adoption professional. 

Ultimately, it is up to you how you want to proceed, what adoption will look like to you, and who you would like to adopt your child. If you have more questions that you’d like answered before you reach out to an agency or lawyer, you can find some answers to frequently asked questions here.