How to Adopt A Homeless Baby in the United States

If you are considering adopting a homeless baby in the United States, then it's important to understand what is involved. Adopting a baby can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. It can also be stressful with plenty of risks and challenges. Understanding the process and what is involved makes the whole experience easier to endure.


Baby or "Infant" adoption is the most common type of adoption, and many couples opt for healthy babies for adoption with similar backgrounds. This is a popular strategy because it allows the parents more control over when and if they tell the child that he was adopted. However, it can also be a longer adoption process, since there is such a long wait for babies in the United States.

Instructions

    • 1

      Consider your options. The two most common types of adoption are "private" and "open" adoptions.

      With a private adoption, there is no contact made between the birth parents and the adopting parents. This sometimes makes it easier for both sides, depending on the circumstances. However, there can also be a lot of anger and pain from the child when they are old enough to understand that they were given up for adoption.

      An open adoption is one in which the birth and adopting parents know each other, interact with each other and may even share custody of the child.

    • 2

      Understand the risks involved in adopting a homeless baby. There is a risk in any and every adoption that it will not make it through to finalization. In some cases, the adoption process can be quite lengthy, lasting as long as two years or more.

      Risks may include a change of heart by the birth parents, that legal and required documents get rejected, a different set of parents are chosen ahead of you, or even sometimes illness or death of the baby.

    • 3

      Schedule an appointment with either a public or private adoption agency. If you choose a public agency you may find the costs are generally a lot lower but wait times can be extremely long, lasting years in some cases, without any assurance that a placement will ever be made. Private agencies are recommended if you want to avoid this wait time, but you will have to pay agency fees which can total thousands of dollars. However, you'll also face fewer bureaucratic delays by dealing with private agencies.

      Private agencies also specialize in christian adoptions, gay marriage adoptions, single parent adoptions, interracial adoptions, and international adoptions.

      During your initial interview, the agency will go over the adoption fees, risks and processes and you will get an approximate idea of how long your waiting period will be.

    • 4

      Fill out the baby adoption application. Expect to find some very personal questions regarding your personal life and medical history. You will also need to go through a criminal background check as well as provide personal references.

    • 5

      Have a home screening with a social worker. Your home will be assessed to make sure it is a safe and nurturing environment for the adopted baby. This is also known as a "home study".

    • 6

      Take parenting classes. You will be required to complete parenting classes once your home assessment is completed and approved.

    • 7

      Get matched with a suitable baby. This process can take several months, even years for a match, especially with babies in the United States. Your agency will have more information regarding the wait.

    • 8

      File a legal petition to complete the adoption once a baby has been found for you. Legal petitions need to be filed and can sometimes take a few months, especially through a public agency. This is the final stage in the adoption process.

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