Adoptive Parent FAQ
Domestic Infant Adoption Program
- • What services can Adoption Connection provide for my family?
- • Where are you licensed to work with adoptive parents?
- • Can I work with you if I don’t live in your service area?
- • What is a homestudy and what is involved in getting one?
- • Does Adoption Connection do out-of-state adoptions?
- • Do you work with same-sex couples?
- • How long do clients wait to bring a baby home from the hospital?
- • What is a Dear Birthmother Letter or Parent Profile and how do I write one?
- • How do birthparents find out about Adoption Connection?
- • What is included in Adoption Connection's Outreach Program?
- • What about gender preference?
- • Do you complete trans-racial adoptions?
- • How many adoptions do you complete each year?
- • Do you ever place toddlers or older children in adoptive homes?
- • Does Adoption Connection complete immediate hospital placements?
- • Does Adoption Connection ever complete closed adoptions?
- • Do I need an attorney if I work with Adoption Connection?
- • How do I find out more?
International Adoption Program
- • What are the basic requirements for most International Adoptions?
- • What is a homestudy and what is involved in getting one?
- • How long do I have to wait before I can take a child home?
- • What is the difference between a homestudy agency and a child placing agency?
- • Why would I need both a homestudy agency and a separate child placing agency?
- • How much information will I have about the child's health before I adopt?
- • Is there any restriction on the age of the parents who wish to adopt?
- • Do you help with adopting relatives from foreign countries?
- • Are there healthy babies to adopt?
- • Do foreign countries’ courts and agencies work like ours in the Unites States?
- • Do all adoptions from one country take the same amount of time?
- • Is Adoption Connection Hague accredited?
- • How do I find out more?
Domestic Infant Adoption
What services can Adoption Connection provide for my family?
As a licensed full service agency we can:
- • Conduct your adoption homestudy
- • Consult with you to complete your Parent Profile (Dear Birthmother Letter)
- • Help you find a birthmother and provide her with support and counseling
- • Guide you and the birthmother through the adoption process
- • Handle arrangements for in-state or out-of-state adoptions
- • Provide the required post-placement supervision
- • Assist you with the legal finalization of your adoption
- • Supply both pre- and post-adoption support groups and workshops
Where are you licensed to work with adoptive parents?
Adoption Connection works with birth mothers and their families throughout the United States.
We are licensed to work with adoptive parents in the following 19 counties in California:
- Alameda County
- Amador County
- Contra Costa County
- El Dorado County
- Marin County
- Napa County
- Nevada County
- Placer County
- Sacramento County
- San Francisco County
- San Joaquin County
- San Mateo County
- Santa Clara County
- Santa Cruz County
- Solano County
- Sonoma County
- Sutter County
- Yolo County
- Yuba County
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Can I work with you if I live outside of your service area in California?
If you are a prospective adoptive parent, you must have your primary residence in one of the 19 counties in California listed above.
What is a homestudy and what is involved in getting one?
A homestudy is a written report required by California state law for individuals and couples who wish to adopt.
Adoption Connection is licensed by the State of California to complete homestudy reports.
The homestudy gives Adoption Connection the opportunity to become familiar with clients' readiness to adopt and helps families think through adoption-related issues and the responsibilities of parenting.
During a homestudy the family will provide to us:
- • Autobiographical statements
- • Employment and financial information
- • Personal references
- • Medical Reports for all family members
- • Criminal background clearances
The homestudy will also consist of a series of prearranged visits, one at your home.
The homestudy process takes from one to three months to complete.
If an adoptive family is expecting their birthmother to give birth very soon, an expedited homestudy can be arranged on a case-by-case basis.
Does Adoption Connection complete out-of-state adoptions?
Yes, we have completed hundreds of adoptions throughout the United States and are very experienced. Many of the birthmothers we work with live throughout the country and find us through our Web site. In 2010, 57% of our adoptions occurred with birthmothers living in California and 43% lived out-of-area.
Do you work with same-sex couples?
Yes, we are honored to work with many same-sex couples, and in any given year these couples make up 20% - 25% of the adoptive families we serve.
In California, same-sex couples can legally adopt together if the baby is born in the United States.
In some states, the law is not as clear-cut and we work to make sure that our families adopting a child out-of-state are abiding by all state rules and regulations to ensure the adoption goes smoothly.
How long do clients wait to bring a baby home from the hospital?
It usually takes clients a few months to complete their homestudy and put together their Dear Birthmother Letter or Adoptive Parent Profile.
Adoption Connection clients’ (in our Outreach Program) average wait to take home a newborn is approximately 14 months. Some families will connect in a shorter time (6 months) while others will wait longer (24 months). We believe there is a birth family out there for everyone. Meet our families who adopted with the help of Adoption Connection's Outreach Program. 2010 families can be found in this Flickr Album and 2011 families in this Flickr Album.
What is a Dear Birthmother Letter or Parent Profile, and how do I write one?
A parent profile is a letter that will help introduce you to a prospective birthmother and her family.
Every adoptive family is unique. Adoption Connection will work with you one-on-one and guide you through the process of composing text, choosing photographs, and designing the best letter possible by giving you examples, recommendations, and instruction.
When Adoption Connection starts working with a prospective birthmother, we will present these letters as a way for the birthmother to learn more about our families and choose the right family for her baby.
How do birthparents find Adoption Connection?
- • Our Web site and online advertising
- • A referral from a clinic, social service agency, or hospital social worker
- • National classified advertising and Yellow Page listings
- • Word of mouth
- • Adoptive parents’ networking and outreach strategies
- • A third-party adoption agency or other adoption professional
Besides our Web site, many of our birthparent referrals result from our extensive outreach efforts to pregnancy counseling clinics, teen pregnancy programs, and other healthcare programs and social service organizations.
What is included in Adoption Connection's Outreach Program?
Adoption Connection offers Birthmother Outreach Services as a means of matching our clients with potential birthmothers.
If you choose to participate in this service, Adoption Connection will present your parent profile to birthmothers who contact us, and whose preferences match yours.
Currently, Adoption Connection connects over 80% of our outreach families with their birthfamilies. The remaining matches occur through the help of additional agencies and adoption professionals or through our clients’ own outreach strategies and social networking.
What about gender preference?
Families who have chosen to participate in our Birthmother Outreach Program are open to adopting a healthy infant of either gender.
Do you complete trans-racial adoptions?
Yes, many of our adoptive families are open and excited to adopt a child of a different race/ethnicity than themselves.
To prepare families, we require that they attend an educational workshop on trans-racial adoption.
How many adoptions do you complete each year?
We average about 100 domestic placements per year. This includes placements where we worked as a cooperative agency liaison with other adoption agencies in out-of-area placements.
Do you ever place toddlers or older children in adoptive homes?
Yes, occasionally. Since our domestic program specializes in infant adoption, we usually work with women who are pregnant or have just recently given birth. Occasionally, we work with a woman who wants to place a toddler or sibling voluntarily.
Does Adoption Connection complete immediate hospital placements?
Yes, Adoption Connection receives calls from hospital social workers or birthmothers very soon, or right after, the birth of a baby. Adoptive parents who are interested in this type of instant placement are required to work fast in order to be prepared to take home a baby with very little notice.
Does Adoption Connection ever complete closed adoptions?
Yes, if we are working with a birthmother who desires a closed adoption, we will honor her request; the adoption will be completed without any identifying information exchanged between the birth and adoptive families.
In both closed and open adoptions, written biological and health information about mother and baby are obtained.
On average, we complete one to two closed adoptions per year—very few.
Do I need an attorney if I work with Adoption Connection?
Adoption Connection does not require our clients to obtain an attorney. If you need an attorney for work such as the termination of parental rights of a birthfather during your adoption process, we will advise you of this. Every adoption is different. Some may require the work of an attorney and some will not.
How do I find out more?
Come to our free Domestic Orientation to learn more about our services.
If you are unable to attend an orientation, an individual appointment can be arranged for an hourly fee.
Click here to view the dates of upcoming domestic orientations.
Click here to request a domestic homestudy application and additional information.
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International Adoption
What are the basic requirements for most International Adoptions?
There are a few guidelines:
- • Age: Married couples must be at least 21 years old. There cannot be a difference of more than 45 years between their age and that of their adopted child. Some programs make exceptions. For singles, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) requires that you be at least 25 years old.
- • Marital Status: Married couples or single people can adopt internationally.
- • U.S. Citizenship: At least one parent must be a U.S. citizen.
- • U.S. Residence: Both parent(s) must officially reside in the United States throughout the adoption process.
- • Clearances: Parent(s) must pass the state and federal fingerprint clearances, and the state Child Abuse Index check. It can be very difficult to adopt with a felony record.
Please Note: International adoption laws and regulations are always changing, depending on country laws, practices, and unforeseen situations. For complete information about a specific country, contact us.
« Back to TopHow long is the international homestudy process?
The homestudy process takes two to three months.
How long do I have to wait before I can take a child home?
This depends on the age of the child you wish to adopt and the foreign program and country involved. Generally, adoptions are finalized within 12 to 24 months of a completed dossier for most programs.
What is the difference between a homestudy agency and a child placing agency?
A homestudy agency is a local adoption agency that is licensed in the area where the adoptive parents reside (this is Adoption Connection’s role in international adoption).
A child placing agency is an agency that places children abroad with adoptive families in the United States.
Child placing agencies are located throughout the United States and it is common for adoptive families to choose an agency that is not close to where they live.
Adoption Connection can assist you in selecting a reputable child placing agency that has a program in the country you wish to adopt from.
The two agencies will work cooperatively to ensure that all the country’s homestudy and dossier paperwork requirements have been met.
Why would I need both a homestudy agency and a separate child placing agency?
Many families choose to work with a child placing agency that is not headquartered in Northern California; or they choose an agency that completes placement of children, but not international homestudies. When this occurs both agencies will be needed and will work together to complete the necessary requirements. Adoption Connection can work as the homestudy agency to complete the family’s homestudy and post-placement services.
How much information will I have about the child's health before I adopt?
Adopting parents will learn the medical histories for children once their child placing agency receives this information. Due to the many variables surrounding a child's arrival at the orphanage, medical history may be limited or unknown.
A child's medical condition is usually based upon a local physician's examination and is made known to the adopting parents, but it may contain some inaccurate information. We refer you to doctors who specialize in this area so that they can evaluate the child’s medical information.
« Back to TopIs there any restriction on the age of the parents who wish to adopt?
Every country and child placing agency will have their own age requirements; the majority of countries placewith parents up to 50 years of age. However, parents over 50 may still be eligible to adopt an older child.
Do you help with adopting relatives from foreign countries?
Yes, but you will need to call our office and speak with the international program about what specific information is needed and what the process will be. We recommend that you DO NOT apply with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) until you have spoken to someone in our international program.
Are there healthy babies to adopt?
Yes, but many children available for adoption internationally have lived in institutions.
Almost all of these children are there because their biological parents could not take care of them. Living in an orphanage has some affect upon the mental, physical, emotional, and developmental well-being of children. The orphanages do the best they can, but sometimes children are undernourished and often under-loved.
Expect that most children will have some degree of physical, emotional, or behavioral problems that will take time and work to resolve.
« Back to TopDo foreign country's courts and agencies work like ours in the United States?
Differences in cultural mores and political systems lead to different expectations of what is considered ‘expedient' processing of paperwork and granting of approvals.
Americans cannot demand that their expectations of service be met. A foreign agent may say, "I'll get right on it," but this may mean tomorrow, next week, or next month. Sometimes, we are told by foreign governments after-the-fact that conditions have not been met concerning various features of the homestudy documents (the type of seal has been changed, a specific person must be named, a particular phrase must be included or avoided, etc.). Other times, additional documents are unexpectedly required. Demands for paperwork by the foreign government may continue until the child is in your home.
« Back to TopDo all adoptions from the same country take the same amount of time?
No. Sometimes two families from the same town are seeking a child through Adoption Connection from the same country. One will get their child four months after completing their dossier. The other family compares notes and concludes that their child should arrive within the next two weeks. They become very disappointed when it takes 10 more weeks. Due to the differences between each family (the state of their dossier), their expectations of what kind of child they want (age, gender, medical condition, etc.), and the conditions of the child (family, legal status, personal history), each adoption is unique. No one adoption can be directly compared to another.
Is Adoption Connection Hague accredited?
As a homestudy agency, we are exempt from the Hague accreditation process; however, we are fully Hague compliant.
If you are adopting from a Hague country, we work under a cooperative agreement with your child placing agency to complete all of the necessary Hague requirements.
How do I find out more?
Come to our free International Orientation to learn more about our services.