Introduction to Domestic Infant Adoption

Are you considering adopting a baby? Join us today to learn more. Our guests will be Karlee Wagner, a Program Supervisor for Infant Adoption and Birth Parent/Pregnancy Services at Children’s Home and LSS in Minnesota (CH/LSS); Erin Quick, the Founder and CEO of PairTree, an organization dedicated to helping families navigate private adoption in the healthiest way possible and mom of two through adoption; and Courtney Lott, the owner and founder of Faithful Adoption Consultants, a consulting service that seeks to walk adoptive families through the adoption process from beginning to end. She is a mom to eight children: six through adoption and two biologically.

In this episode, we cover:

How many domestic private infant adoptions happen in the US each year?
Average cost of adopting a baby in the US.
Average length of time prospective parents wait for an adoption match.
- Creating a Family article: Adoption in the US: How Many? How Much? How Long?
What is the domestic infant adoption process at your agency or organization?
How does the process differ when using an adoption attorney rather than an adoption agency?
How do domestic infant adoptions today differ from how many people think about adoptions?
What type of expectant mom considers adoption for their child?
How many adoptive parent profiles are usually shown to an expectant mom?
What do you see that expectant moms or couples look for when choosing adoptive parents?
Is it harder for single women to be selected by expectant moms or couples?
Is it harder for same-sex couples or singles to be selected by expectant moms or couples?
After an expectant mother or couple chooses an adoptive family, what is the next step?
What type of counseling is available for expectant parents both before and after the adoption is finalized?
What are the ways that different adoption agencies and attorneys handle birth parent expenses?
How early in the pregnancy do adoption agencies and adoption attorneys match expectant moms with adoptive families?
What does open adoption look like?
What percentage of domestic infant adoptions in the US are open?
What are some typical “special needs” that prospective adoptive parents may be faced with in matches? What situations are the hardest for adoptive parents to decide about?
How much information will adoptive parents have in deciding whether they should accept a match?
What factors influence the cost of adoption?
What factors influence how long families wait for an adoption match?
What’s your best advice if someone has applied to adopt an infant and is not getting selected by an expectant mom?
Failed Adoption Matches: How Common? How Costly? How to Survive