We are with you from The Big Yes to Finalization and beyond. Here are the steps in the typical adoption process:

1. Affording Adoption

Adoption begins with a home study. It’s not as scary as it sounds.

WHAT TO EXPECT

You will fill out a lot of paperwork, which along with personal interviews and a few visits to your home, will be combined into a large report that outlines why you are good candidates to be an adoptive family.  Some of the information included will be personal profiles, your thoughts about parenting and relationships, and basic financial information.

The social worker writing the report is not trying to prevent you from adopting – in fact, their work is key to you moving forward in the process.

If you live in the Kansas City, Kansas metro area, our staff can do your home study. If you live elsewhere, you can get a home study done locally.

2. Profile Preparation

A family profile is a birth mother’s first glance at your family.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Like immigration papers or family trees were to our grandparents, these will be some of the most important documents in your adopted child’s story…but unlike those official documents, you generate your own profile.

Typically, an expectant mother will look at 3-5 hand picked profiles as she makes her decision.

It’s daunting to try and accurately summarize your family into a few pages, and so we help you with a profile guide and advice regarding what expectant parents look for in a profile.  You can choose to assemble your profile on your own, or utilize an experienced adoption profile service.  

3. Match

This is where the dream becomes reality.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Almost every adoptive family can tell you where they were the moment they got the call.  They heard a voice on the other end say the words that changed their life.  “She chose you….”.

In an instant, everything is different.  All the paperwork, the worry, the fund raising, it all fades away as you focus your thoughts and prayers on a young woman who has made a very brave choice.

A match happens after an expectant mom looks at several profiles that we help select. We narrow the choices based on her preferences so that she’s only looking at a few rather than fifteen or twenty.  If your profile is presented, it’s because we believe you are within the parameters of the profiles we would like to see.

Before being presented, you will know a little about the expectant mother as well.  You’ll know her due date, some health information, and other things that she may share.

We rarely match families with expectant mothers until late in the second trimester. By this time, we know her well and have a better idea of her hopes for adoption.  This means the information you get is more accurate and reliable than if we were to match at 9 weeks.

4. Placememt and Interstate Compact (ICPC)

Your journey is nearing fruition. You’ve survived the mountain of paperwork, you’ve assembled a profile, you received the phone call and have been matched.

It’s time for the baby to be born.

Adoption Placement

There are many different ways for this to go. We will coach you through the process, but the thing you need to remember is to be flexible. While the baby will be in your family, the birthing process belongs to the expectant mother, and no two feel exactly the same about this.

You may come to the hospital after the baby is born. You may be invited to wait with family members in the waiting room. Once in a while, an expectant mother even wants the adoptive mother in the room when the baby is born. Your role at this point is to be supportive and gracious as you wait.

Generally speaking, the expectant mother will sign consent for adoption the day or two after the baby is born. At that point, the baby is temporarily placed with you and if you live in the state of placement, you can go home. If you’re from out of state, you need to wait a few days as we complete ICPC before you return home with your baby.

ICPC For Interstate Adoption

ICPC refers to the Interstate Compact, a mechanism that allows adoption across state lines by satisfying the requirements of both states.

The Zoe’s House team will be with you through these days, checking on you in person or via phone, and we’ll be available through finalization!

5. Adoption Finalization

This is the final stage that seals the deal in the courts!

WHAT TO EXPECT

Finalization is the legal process that seals the deal. It is a court process that many people find very moving as the baby becomes irrevocably yours.

It usually takes 3 to 6 months to reach the finalization phase. Between placement and finalization, the social worker who did your home study will do periodic home visits to insure everything is going well. Usually, this only happens two or three times.

At finalization, your child officially takes your name, making the adoption process complete. Congratulations, Mom and Dad!