In today’s post, we share the basic steps of the domestic infant adoption process. We outline the essential steps prospective adoptive parents must take to adopt in the US, providing a simple roadmap for navigating this complex journey. In this article, we remind readers that it is crucial to approach this journey with thorough research, emotional readiness, and a commitment to ethical practices, ensuring a smooth and successful adoption experience for the entire adoption triad.
Adopting a child is a life-changing journey filled with excitement, heartache, and often lots and lots of waiting. There are several types of adoption, including domestic infant adoption, adoption through the foster system, kinship adoption, and international adoption. Domestic infant adoption, in particular, involves adopting a newborn or young child within the US, often right from birth. The process involves many steps, including critical legal stages that require careful navigation. At Purl, we specialize in guiding families through this process, ensuring they are well-prepared and supported every step of the way. Below is an overview of the domestic infant adoption process. For a deeper dive into each step be sure to click the links throughout this post and visit our Learn page where we’ve covered this process extensively in our previous articles.
Step 1: Do Your Research!!
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of beginning your adoption journey with thorough research and keeping yourself educated moving forward. You need to understand the complexities, legalities, and emotional aspects of adoption. Read about the experiences of the entire adoption triad: adoptive parents and birth parents and adoptees to gain a balanced viewpoint. This foundational knowledge will prepare you for the steps ahead and help you make informed and ethical decisions.
Step 2: Begin Funding Your Adoption Journey
There is no beating around the bush here: Infant adoption is expensive. Over the last several years we have seen families spending an average of $40,000-45,000, with fees ranging from $20,000 – $65,000. Funding an adoption can be challenging, not everyone has tens of thousands of dollars readily available. Start thinking about how you plan to fund your adoption journey early in your process. Here are some general strategies to consider:
- Budgeting and Saving: Create a strict budget to cut expenses and save money specifically for adoption. Set aside a portion of your income each month to build your adoption fund.
- Applying for Loans: Consider low-interest adoption loans from banks or organizations that specialize in funding adoptions.
- Side Hustles: Consider additional income sources, such as freelance work, selling handmade goods, or offering services, to supplement your savings.
- Grants: Grants can significantly offset the costs. Adoption grant application processes typically require a completed home study, an application fee, and other documents. Many grants are awarded based on specific criteria, such as income, religion, or the type of child being adopted. Thoroughly research each grant organization’s requirements and tailor your application to their priorities. This can be time-consuming but is often worth the effort. Learn more about adoption grants in this article. Note that most grants will be paid directly to the adoption professional you plan to use for your adoption, not to you, and some organizations will not award a grant until you have been matched with a child.
- Fundraising: Organize events or online campaigns to raise funds such as crowdfunding, t-shirt sales, garage sales, craft sales, etc. There are several dedicated Facebook groups for ideas and support in your fundraising efforts. When fundraising, it’s important to approach it with sensitivity, ensuring that you respect the dignity of all involved, particularly the adoptee. Read more about this here.
By mixing and matching these funding strategies, you may lighten the financial burden of adoption and focus on the journey ahead. Find more resources about funding your adoption in our blog post here.
Step 3: Begin Home Study
The home study is a critical step in the adoption process. It involves an evaluation of your home and lifestyle to ensure a safe environment for the child. Finding a reputable local provider for your home study is essential. Look for licensed agencies in your area that specialize in domestic infant adoption home studies. Note that some states allow home studies to be done by a private social worker, while others require the home study be completed by a licensed adoption agency. Home studies typically cost between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the state and the provider. Before selecting a provider, ask questions about their licensing, expected timeframes, and any additional requirements.
The home study process involves background checks, medical evaluations, interviews, and home visits. You will need to gather documentation such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, financial statements, medical records, and references. You can typically complete a home study in 2 to 6 months, depending on the efficiency of your provider and how quickly you can gather the necessary documents. During the home study, you will have several visits with your social worker. The social worker will interview you and your spouse, getting to know your background, and views on adoption, parenting, and discipline. The home study serves as a legal requirement to show your profile to expectant mothers, do any of your own advertising, and finalize the adoption in court. It also reassures expectant parents and adoption professionals of the safety of your home. We delve into detail on the home study process in this article.
Step 4: Hire a Support Professional
We would be remiss if we didn’t put in a shameless plug for our services. Consider engaging an adoption advisor like Purl to guide you through this process. Schedule a consultation or coaching session with us early in your journey, so that you can get started on your adoption journey on the right foot. We provide invaluable support, from providing essential education to selecting ethical adoption professionals, to ensure you are well-prepared and informed throughout your adoption journey.
Step 5: Create Your Family Profile Book
The adoption profile is one of the most important parts of the domestic adoption process. It’s how you introduce yourself to expectant parents considering adoption for their child. We have found that having a professionally-crafted adoption profile is essential. In most cases, you won’t meet the expectant family in person before being chosen. Instead, your adoption profile will be presented to them, showcasing your story, lifestyle, and reasons for adopting. This profile should include information about your family, your home, your community, your extended family, and any pets you have. It should also explain why you are choosing adoption to grow your family. Fun facts and unique details about you and your family can make your profile stand out. At Purl, we can create 16-page magazine-style booklet that are both printed and digital, ensuring they meet the specific requirements of different adoption professionals. While it may be tempting to create your own profile book, professional design can make a significant difference in connecting with expectant parents. Authenticity and a genuine portrayal of your life are key to creating a compelling adoption profile! We talk about how important the profile book is in this blog post.
Step 6: Educate Yourself and Determine Your Adoption Preferences
The next step in the process involves making decisions about what circumstances you are open to and which you prefer to avoid in adoption situations/cases. This step is often glossed over or completely forgotten but it is crucial because it can determine the number of cases you will see and how fast this process will go. Determining your preferences can feel rather daunting. Take your time learning and seeking expert advice. Key areas to research include:
- Drug and alcohol exposure in utero: In-utero substance exposure is very common due to the ongoing drug crisis in our country. If you are not open to adopting a child exposed to substances like methamphetamines, heroin, opioids, or fentanyl in utero, you will see fewer cases. We wrote a blog post about in-utero substance exposure, you can read it by clicking here.
- Race and ethnicity: Assess your openness to transracial adoption and educate yourself on its nuances by learning from adult transracial adoptees. Listening to their experiences and perspectives is crucial for understanding the unique challenges and needs of transracially adopted children. Evaluate whether your family and community are accepting of a child of another race and if they can provide racial mirrors for your child. Read more about transracial adoption here.
- Openness/Level of contact with the birth family: Completely closed adoptions are very rare and often avoided due to the ease of finding biological family via the internet and DNA testing. Research shows that open adoptions typically allow for a healthier identity development for the child, providing them with access to their biological heritage and fostering a sense of belonging. Moreover, ongoing contact with the birth family can lead to more informed medical histories and the potential for positive relationships that benefit everyone involved. Click here to read a variety of articles about openness in adoption.
Your adoption preferences can make or break your adoption journey. We wrote more about this in this article about the current state of adoption and the importance of open preferences.
Step 7: Complete the Home Study
Before you can start presenting to opportunities/cases you must finalize your home study. Ensure you meet all state regulations and obtain the necessary approvals and/or certifications to send to the professionals you are signed up with. Some home study providers will allow you to obtain a copy of your home study to share, others will send your home study in a locked file directly to the professional. Note that the home study will include a section noting the child you are approved to adopt, so make sure that you have considered your preferences early on in your process and so that you won’t run into issues once you take placement of a child.
Step 8: Identify Adoption Professionals to Sign Up With
At Purl, we encourage families to take a multi-agency/attorney approach. This approach allows you to have more irons in the fire, so to speak and can increase your chances of a successful match. It is important to select the attorneys and agencies you plan to work with carefully, even if they have been recommended to you by a friend or even another adoption professional. Research their services, placement rates, overall fees, and support for expectant mothers (options counseling, separate legal counsel, case management, post-placement counseling/support, etc.). Consider joining adoption-related private Facebook Groups, where adoptive families share their experiences about the advisors, consultants, agencies, and attorneys they have worked with. We always recommend connecting with an experienced adoption attorney in your state, as you will likely need them at some point in your adoption journey anyway, and they can be a helpful resource for identifying (or steering clear from) other local professionals. We recommend an attorney who is part of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, as they have been vetted by their board and are experienced in adoption.
Step 9: Present to Opportunities/Cases
Once your home study is approved and you have signed on with attorneys and agencies you can start presenting your profile book to expectant families considering adoption. When an attorney or agency is working with an expectant mother on a potential adoption plan, you will typically be contacted by the professional if you match the desires of that expectant family. You are typically given information available on the adoption situation (i.e. cost, health of the baby, race, sex, etc.) and have the opportunity to discuss the situation and determine whether you’d like to be presented to the expectant parent(s). If you do decide to present to an expectant family, you are likely one of 3-15 families being presented, and it is common to get at least a few “no” before you are chosen. This waiting period can be agonizing, but it’s important not to take rejections personally; often, the expectant parent(s) simply connect with another family more. Most Purl families are chosen within a year, though this depends greatly on their preferences and circumstances. The more open and flexible a family is, the more opportunities they will have to be chosen. The process can be unpredictable, and it’s not a reflection of your worth as a prospective adoptive family. Every adoption journey is unique, and remember, it only takes one “yes”.
Step 10: Chosen by an Expectant Family
Being chosen by an expectant family is an exciting and significant milestone in the journey. It is important, however, to go into this step with a balanced perspective. Being chosen means you are one step closer to adopting a child, but it does not guarantee that the child will ultimately be yours. This step indicates that the expectant family is serious about their adoption plan and has chosen to include you in their journey. While it’s natural to feel excited, it’s wise to be cautious about celebrating too soon. Avoid referring to the child as if they are certainly yours, choosing baby names, or having a baby shower for that particular child. Instead, focus on supporting the expectant family, regardless of the outcome. Adoptive parents may be able to communicate with the expectant parent(s) via phone or email, or even meet in person. In some cases, especially if they live nearby, the adoptive parents might attend doctor’s appointments and get to know the expectant parent(s) before the child is born. Emergency situations, sometimes called “stork drops” or “baby-born cases,” are where the baby has arrived and when the expectant parents make an adoption plan after the birth. The chosen adoptive family may need to immediately travel to pick up the child from the hospital. For more about being chosen read this article.
Step 11: Placement
Once the baby is born and the expectant parent(s) choose again to proceed with their adoption plan and execute the necessary consents to the adoption plan, the baby is typically placed with the adoptive parents within a few days of birth. In many states, those consents are irrevocable once signed, provided there is no fraud or duress involved. However, in some states, there is a period during which the expectant parents can change their minds and revoke their consents. This waiting period can be emotionally challenging for adoptive families, but it is crucial to approach it with empathy and understanding for the expectant family, who is going through a heartbreaking process. Adoptive parents should be compassionate and supportive, recognizing the difficult decision the expectant parents are making. Remember, this period is a significant part of the adoption journey, and handling it with care and empathy is vital for all parties involved.
Step 12: Post-Placement and Finalization
Each state requires a post-placement supervision period of anywhere from one to 12 months. During this time the social worker who completed your family’s home study returns to make periodic visits to ensure the placement is going well and provide any needed support for the family before the adoption is finalized.
After the required post-placement supervision, a finalization hearing is held where a judge will sign the final judgment, officially making the adoptive parents the child’s legal parents. The finalization process varies by state, often involving the termination of the birth parent’s rights and the filing of a petition for adoption by the prospective adoptive parents. This process begins a month or longer after the birth parents have signed consents to the adoption. Depending on the state, finalization can take a few months to up to a year, including regular post-placement visits by a social worker to ensure the child’s well-being in the adoptive home. In some states, finalization of the adoption will take place in person at the courthouse, via a web video platform like Zoom, or sometimes the finalization will occur and the adoptive family will just receive confirmation from their attorney.
As part of the finalization process, the adoptive parents’ names will replace the birth parents’ names on the child’s new birth certificate. This is the current legal process and it can feel bittersweet as it symbolizes the disconnection from the birth parents. Maybe someday there will be an additional line added to the birth certificate instead! We recommend asking if you can obtain a copy of the original birth certificate to keep as a keepsake for your child. This keepsake acknowledges the child’s full history, emphasizing that as adoptive parents, you did not replace the birth parents but rather joined the child’s life as an extension of their story. More on the naming and birth certificate process in adoption here.
Embrace Each Step with Support and Care
Well, there you have it. The 12 (not so) simple steps of the domestic infant adoption journey. Understanding each step can help you navigate this complex process with confidence and compassion. We hope this basic guide provides you with a starting point for your adoption journey and encourages you to approach each step with patience, empathy, and unwavering commitment to the well-being of your future child. At Purl, we are dedicated to supporting families through every phase, ensuring that you are equipped with the knowledge, resources, and emotional readiness needed for a successful adoption. Start today by contacting us for support as you embark on your adoption journey!
In today’s post, we share the basic steps of the domestic infant adoption process. We outline the essential steps prospective adoptive parents must take to adopt in the US, providing a simple roadmap for navigating this complex journey. In this article, we remind readers that it is crucial to approach this journey with thorough research, emotional readiness, and a commitment to ethical practices, ensuring a smooth and successful adoption experience for the entire adoption triad.
Adopting a child is a life-changing journey filled with excitement, heartache, and often lots and lots of waiting. There are several types of adoption, including domestic infant adoption, adoption through the foster system, kinship adoption, and international adoption. Domestic infant adoption, in particular, involves adopting a newborn or young child within the US, often right from birth. The process involves many steps, including critical legal stages that require careful navigation. At Purl, we specialize in guiding families through this process, ensuring they are well-prepared and supported every step of the way. Below is an overview of the domestic infant adoption process. For a deeper dive into each step be sure to click the links throughout this post and visit our Learn page where we’ve covered this process extensively in our previous articles.
Step 1: Do Your Research!!
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of beginning your adoption journey with thorough research and keeping yourself educated moving forward. You need to understand the complexities, legalities, and emotional aspects of adoption. Read about the experiences of the entire adoption triad: adoptive parents and birth parents and adoptees to gain a balanced viewpoint. This foundational knowledge will prepare you for the steps ahead and help you make informed and ethical decisions.
Step 2: Begin Funding Your Adoption Journey
There is no beating around the bush here: Infant adoption is expensive. Over the last several years we have seen families spending an average of $40,000-45,000, with fees ranging from $20,000 – $65,000. Funding an adoption can be challenging, not everyone has tens of thousands of dollars readily available. Start thinking about how you plan to fund your adoption journey early in your process. Here are some general strategies to consider:
- Budgeting and Saving: Create a strict budget to cut expenses and save money specifically for adoption. Set aside a portion of your income each month to build your adoption fund.
- Applying for Loans: Consider low-interest adoption loans from banks or organizations that specialize in funding adoptions.
- Side Hustles: Consider additional income sources, such as freelance work, selling handmade goods, or offering services, to supplement your savings.
- Grants: Grants can significantly offset the costs. Adoption grant application processes typically require a completed home study, an application fee, and other documents. Many grants are awarded based on specific criteria, such as income, religion, or the type of child being adopted. Thoroughly research each grant organization’s requirements and tailor your application to their priorities. This can be time-consuming but is often worth the effort. Learn more about adoption grants in this article. Note that most grants will be paid directly to the adoption professional you plan to use for your adoption, not to you, and some organizations will not award a grant until you have been matched with a child.
- Fundraising: Organize events or online campaigns to raise funds such as crowdfunding, t-shirt sales, garage sales, craft sales, etc. There are several dedicated Facebook groups for ideas and support in your fundraising efforts. When fundraising, it’s important to approach it with sensitivity, ensuring that you respect the dignity of all involved, particularly the adoptee. Read more about this here.
By mixing and matching these funding strategies, you may lighten the financial burden of adoption and focus on the journey ahead. Find more resources about funding your adoption in our blog post here.
Step 3: Begin Home Study
The home study is a critical step in the adoption process. It involves an evaluation of your home and lifestyle to ensure a safe environment for the child. Finding a reputable local provider for your home study is essential. Look for licensed agencies in your area that specialize in domestic infant adoption home studies. Note that some states allow home studies to be done by a private social worker, while others require the home study be completed by a licensed adoption agency. Home studies typically cost between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the state and the provider. Before selecting a provider, ask questions about their licensing, expected timeframes, and any additional requirements.
The home study process involves background checks, medical evaluations, interviews, and home visits. You will need to gather documentation such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, financial statements, medical records, and references. You can typically complete a home study in 2 to 6 months, depending on the efficiency of your provider and how quickly you can gather the necessary documents. During the home study, you will have several visits with your social worker. The social worker will interview you and your spouse, getting to know your background, and views on adoption, parenting, and discipline. The home study serves as a legal requirement to show your profile to expectant mothers, do any of your own advertising, and finalize the adoption in court. It also reassures expectant parents and adoption professionals of the safety of your home. We delve into detail on the home study process in this article.
Step 4: Hire a Support Professional
We would be remiss if we didn’t put in a shameless plug for our services. Consider engaging an adoption advisor like Purl to guide you through this process. Schedule a consultation or coaching session with us early in your journey, so that you can get started on your adoption journey on the right foot. We provide invaluable support, from providing essential education to selecting ethical adoption professionals, to ensure you are well-prepared and informed throughout your adoption journey.
Step 5: Create Your Family Profile Book
The adoption profile is one of the most important parts of the domestic adoption process. It’s how you introduce yourself to expectant parents considering adoption for their child. We have found that having a professionally-crafted adoption profile is essential. In most cases, you won’t meet the expectant family in person before being chosen. Instead, your adoption profile will be presented to them, showcasing your story, lifestyle, and reasons for adopting. This profile should include information about your family, your home, your community, your extended family, and any pets you have. It should also explain why you are choosing adoption to grow your family. Fun facts and unique details about you and your family can make your profile stand out. At Purl, we can create 16-page magazine-style booklet that are both printed and digital, ensuring they meet the specific requirements of different adoption professionals. While it may be tempting to create your own profile book, professional design can make a significant difference in connecting with expectant parents. Authenticity and a genuine portrayal of your life are key to creating a compelling adoption profile! We talk about how important the profile book is in this blog post.
Step 6: Educate Yourself and Determine Your Adoption Preferences
The next step in the process involves making decisions about what circumstances you are open to and which you prefer to avoid in adoption situations/cases. This step is often glossed over or completely forgotten but it is crucial because it can determine the number of cases you will see and how fast this process will go. Determining your preferences can feel rather daunting. Take your time learning and seeking expert advice. Key areas to research include:
- Drug and alcohol exposure in utero: In-utero substance exposure is very common due to the ongoing drug crisis in our country. If you are not open to adopting a child exposed to substances like methamphetamines, heroin, opioids, or fentanyl in utero, you will see fewer cases. We wrote a blog post about in-utero substance exposure, you can read it by clicking here.
- Race and ethnicity: Assess your openness to transracial adoption and educate yourself on its nuances by learning from adult transracial adoptees. Listening to their experiences and perspectives is crucial for understanding the unique challenges and needs of transracially adopted children. Evaluate whether your family and community are accepting of a child of another race and if they can provide racial mirrors for your child. Read more about transracial adoption here.
- Openness/Level of contact with the birth family: Completely closed adoptions are very rare and often avoided due to the ease of finding biological family via the internet and DNA testing. Research shows that open adoptions typically allow for a healthier identity development for the child, providing them with access to their biological heritage and fostering a sense of belonging. Moreover, ongoing contact with the birth family can lead to more informed medical histories and the potential for positive relationships that benefit everyone involved. Click here to read a variety of articles about openness in adoption.
Your adoption preferences can make or break your adoption journey. We wrote more about this in this article about the current state of adoption and the importance of open preferences.
Step 7: Complete the Home Study
Before you can start presenting to opportunities/cases you must finalize your home study. Ensure you meet all state regulations and obtain the necessary approvals and/or certifications to send to the professionals you are signed up with. Some home study providers will allow you to obtain a copy of your home study to share, others will send your home study in a locked file directly to the professional. Note that the home study will include a section noting the child you are approved to adopt, so make sure that you have considered your preferences early on in your process and so that you won’t run into issues once you take placement of a child.
Step 8: Identify Adoption Professionals to Sign Up With
At Purl, we encourage families to take a multi-agency/attorney approach. This approach allows you to have more irons in the fire, so to speak and can increase your chances of a successful match. It is important to select the attorneys and agencies you plan to work with carefully, even if they have been recommended to you by a friend or even another adoption professional. Research their services, placement rates, overall fees, and support for expectant mothers (options counseling, separate legal counsel, case management, post-placement counseling/support, etc.). Consider joining adoption-related private Facebook Groups, where adoptive families share their experiences about the advisors, consultants, agencies, and attorneys they have worked with. We always recommend connecting with an experienced adoption attorney in your state, as you will likely need them at some point in your adoption journey anyway, and they can be a helpful resource for identifying (or steering clear from) other local professionals. We recommend an attorney who is part of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, as they have been vetted by their board and are experienced in adoption.
Step 9: Present to Opportunities/Cases
Once your home study is approved and you have signed on with attorneys and agencies you can start presenting your profile book to expectant families considering adoption. When an attorney or agency is working with an expectant mother on a potential adoption plan, you will typically be contacted by the professional if you match the desires of that expectant family. You are typically given information available on the adoption situation (i.e. cost, health of the baby, race, sex, etc.) and have the opportunity to discuss the situation and determine whether you’d like to be presented to the expectant parent(s). If you do decide to present to an expectant family, you are likely one of 3-15 families being presented, and it is common to get at least a few “no” before you are chosen. This waiting period can be agonizing, but it’s important not to take rejections personally; often, the expectant parent(s) simply connect with another family more. Most Purl families are chosen within a year, though this depends greatly on their preferences and circumstances. The more open and flexible a family is, the more opportunities they will have to be chosen. The process can be unpredictable, and it’s not a reflection of your worth as a prospective adoptive family. Every adoption journey is unique, and remember, it only takes one “yes”.
Step 10: Chosen by an Expectant Family
Being chosen by an expectant family is an exciting and significant milestone in the journey. It is important, however, to go into this step with a balanced perspective. Being chosen means you are one step closer to adopting a child, but it does not guarantee that the child will ultimately be yours. This step indicates that the expectant family is serious about their adoption plan and has chosen to include you in their journey. While it’s natural to feel excited, it’s wise to be cautious about celebrating too soon. Avoid referring to the child as if they are certainly yours, choosing baby names, or having a baby shower for that particular child. Instead, focus on supporting the expectant family, regardless of the outcome. Adoptive parents may be able to communicate with the expectant parent(s) via phone or email, or even meet in person. In some cases, especially if they live nearby, the adoptive parents might attend doctor’s appointments and get to know the expectant parent(s) before the child is born. Emergency situations, sometimes called “stork drops” or “baby-born cases,” are where the baby has arrived and when the expectant parents make an adoption plan after the birth. The chosen adoptive family may need to immediately travel to pick up the child from the hospital. For more about being chosen read this article.
Step 11: Placement
Once the baby is born and the expectant parent(s) choose again to proceed with their adoption plan and execute the necessary consents to the adoption plan, the baby is typically placed with the adoptive parents within a few days of birth. In many states, those consents are irrevocable once signed, provided there is no fraud or duress involved. However, in some states, there is a period during which the expectant parents can change their minds and revoke their consents. This waiting period can be emotionally challenging for adoptive families, but it is crucial to approach it with empathy and understanding for the expectant family, who is going through a heartbreaking process. Adoptive parents should be compassionate and supportive, recognizing the difficult decision the expectant parents are making. Remember, this period is a significant part of the adoption journey, and handling it with care and empathy is vital for all parties involved.
Step 12: Post-Placement and Finalization
Each state requires a post-placement supervision period of anywhere from one to 12 months. During this time the social worker who completed your family’s home study returns to make periodic visits to ensure the placement is going well and provide any needed support for the family before the adoption is finalized.
After the required post-placement supervision, a finalization hearing is held where a judge will sign the final judgment, officially making the adoptive parents the child’s legal parents. The finalization process varies by state, often involving the termination of the birth parent’s rights and the filing of a petition for adoption by the prospective adoptive parents. This process begins a month or longer after the birth parents have signed consents to the adoption. Depending on the state, finalization can take a few months to up to a year, including regular post-placement visits by a social worker to ensure the child’s well-being in the adoptive home. In some states, finalization of the adoption will take place in person at the courthouse, via a web video platform like Zoom, or sometimes the finalization will occur and the adoptive family will just receive confirmation from their attorney.
As part of the finalization process, the adoptive parents’ names will replace the birth parents’ names on the child’s new birth certificate. This is the current legal process and it can feel bittersweet as it symbolizes the disconnection from the birth parents. Maybe someday there will be an additional line added to the birth certificate instead! We recommend asking if you can obtain a copy of the original birth certificate to keep as a keepsake for your child. This keepsake acknowledges the child’s full history, emphasizing that as adoptive parents, you did not replace the birth parents but rather joined the child’s life as an extension of their story. More on the naming and birth certificate process in adoption here.
Embrace Each Step with Support and Care
Well, there you have it. The 12 (not so) simple steps of the domestic infant adoption journey. Understanding each step can help you navigate this complex process with confidence and compassion. We hope this basic guide provides you with a starting point for your adoption journey and encourages you to approach each step with patience, empathy, and unwavering commitment to the well-being of your future child. At Purl, we are dedicated to supporting families through every phase, ensuring that you are equipped with the knowledge, resources, and emotional readiness needed for a successful adoption. Start today by contacting us for support as you embark on your adoption journey!
