The Adoption Process

THE PROCESS FOR MAKING AN ADOPTION PLAN:

Are you considering adoption for your child, but would like to understand how the process works? We will walk you through every step of the process and explain what you will need to do and how we may to assist you in completing your adoption.

• Step 1 - Is Adoption right for me & my child?

  Many women that have faced an unplanned pregnancy were unsure if they were ready to be a parent. The decision you make whether if it is to parent or make an adoption plan must be your decision and no one else's. Every situation is different and you are the only one that knows what is best for you and your child.
  
  There are many women each year that choose adoption for their child. The main reason is because they love their child and want their child to have a life filled with love, stability and opportunity. Listed below are some other reasons women chose adoption for their child:

  • Want a two-parent home for their child
  • Not financial stable to raise a child (or another child)
  • Not ready to parent, either because of their age or simply because they wanted to pursue school or other goals before motherhood. Or perhaps they have other children and know from experience how challenging raising a child can be.

• Step 2 - Becoming aware of your feelings and educating yourself on adoption.

  When a woman is considering adoption, very few are 100% confident when they begin the process. For those women who choose adoption, this uncertainty begins to fade away as they receive more information about the adoption process and about their adoption choices, and later, get to know the adoptive family.
  
  Below are some questions women have had who were considering adoption. Once their questions were answered, they felt much more confident about their adoption plan.

  • What do adoptive children think about being adopted?
  • What will my child think about me for choosing adoption?
  • When will I feel better and more confident about my decision?
  • Will the adoptive family love my child as much as a biological child?
  • o If I choose adoption, will I regret take out some day my decision?

• Step 3 - How ABL Adoptions Can Help

  You won’t find another agency like ABL Adoptions. Our staff is passionate about adoption for many reasons. We have staff that have adopted, been adopted and also have made an adoption plan for their child. So many of us have truly walked in the shoes of those going through adoption. Whether it’s a birth mother needing to make an adoption plan or an adoptive family wanting to adopt ~ ABL understands what you’re feeling and what you will feel in the coming days and weeks. We are here to help you each step of the way.
  
  Because we literally “live” adoption, our personal and professional experiences provide us with a better understanding of what each woman considering adoption is experiencing and expecting throughout the adoption process. This has allowed us to offer the following services that are important to prospective birth parents, many of which are unique to our agency:

  • This is your adoption plan and you can choose the family that you feel would be the best for your child. Whatever type of life you envision for your child can become a reality by choosing the perfect family. By having many families to choose from enables you to select the right family for your child.
  • We are available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can call at any time of the day, and we will assist you!
  • Adoption Counseling – Receive counseling prior to, during, and after your adoption. There is no fee to you for counseling.
  • Financial Assistance – During your adoption plan, you may be able to receive living assistance. Every state’s laws are different. We can typically help with medical and living expenses (such as rent, utilities, maternity clothes, cell phone, food, etc.). Please call us to learn more about how we can assist with your adoption expenses.

• Step 4 – Choose Your Adoption Plan

  At ABL Adoptions, your Adoption Coordinator will work with you to create your adoption plan. This can include selecting the type of family you want, the level of openness you would like ~ either closed, semi-open or completely open. You can also create your hospital plan and detail if you care for the baby or the adoptive family does, and whom you want in delivery, etc. You need to feel 100% comfortable with your plan and we can help you through the process.

• Step 5 – Select the Adoptive Family

  ABL Adoptions is a Licensed Child Placing Agency in Louisiana and Indiana. We work with many adoptive families from those two states, however we also work with many other families from across the U.S.A and Canada. So you can feel confident that you will find a family that completely matches your adoption plan.
  
  Our agency completes a thorough evaluation on prospective adoptive families, and they must meet the following guidelines in order to adopt:

  • Have a strong relationship and are committed to adoption.
  • Have the ability to financially provide for a child.
  • Shows a genuine interest in getting to know their birth mother, based on the amount of contact you are seeking.
  • A completed and current Home Study. This involves criminal background checks, health clearance, financial status, personal references and face-to-face interviews with a social worker.
  • Understand what is important to you in your adoption plan.
  • When you are ready to select an adoptive family, we can either meet with you and review the adoptive family profiles together or we can email/mail the profiles and so you can review in privacy. We will provide you with as many profiles that you may need until you have found the right family for your child.

• Step 6 – Bonding with your Adoptive Family

  Over time, many adoptions have become more open. This has given both birth parents and adoptive families the opportunity to spend time with each other prior to placement. By doing so, this can help you feel more comfortable with your selection.
  
  If you are interested in getting to know the adoptive family, the following are the most common forms of contact:

  • Conference Calls
  • E-mail Exchange
  • Pre-Placement Meetings
  • Interaction at the Hospital

• Step 7 – Hospital Plan

  Your hospital plan is much like your adoption plan in that you have full control over what happens during delivery and after the baby is born. Your Adoption Coordinator will help guide you in creating your hospital plan.

• Step 8 – Post-Placement Contact

  Post-placement contact can be as much or as little as you want; again, it all comes down to your adoption plan.
  
  The most common form of post-placement contact is pictures and letters. Over 90 percent of our adoptions see the adoptive family send pictures and letters remove periodically to the birth mother of her child.
  
  Other forms of contact birth mothers have chosen are emails, phone calls and future face-to-face visits. There is always an adoptive family who wants the same adoption relationship that you are seeking. By telling us what type of relationship you would like to have with your adoptive family will enable us to select family profiles that would like the same.

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If you have any questions about the adoption process, please call us at 1-866-650-5683. We would be happy to send you some free adoption information or arrange a personal meeting. In no way does contacting us commit you to an adoption plan; it simply allows us to provide you some information to help you make a decision in you and your child’s best interest.