Steps in the Process

If you are a  couple, one of you must be under 45 years of age and you need to have been married at least one year at the time of application. If you are single, you must be younger than 45 years of age at the time of application. You must be in good health and physically able to care for a child.

 

If you already have a completed home study please click here for our home study checklist.

 

Step 2:  Enter the Waiting Parent Program.

 

Once you are approved to adopt a newborn, you will be contacted by our Domestic Family Specialist, who will set up a meeting with you to welcome you into the program. At this meeting, you will complete an Adoptive Family Profile where you specify the kind of child you would like to adopt, and put together  an album an letter we can present to birth parents who are considering adoption.

Placement fee deposit is due at this time.

 

Step 3:  Wait!

 

As we rely upon the preferences of the birth parents in selecting adoptive parents, we have little control over (and cannot predict) the length of time that it may take. We recognize the frustration families may feel during their wait for a child and we are always seeking new ways to make the wait a little easier. We offer monthly support group meetings, a newsletter, seminars and social functions to help the time pass a little more easily. We also encourage families to create their own plan and coach them in the variety of means available to identify potential birth parents.

 

Sometimes birth parents desire to meet the adoptive family prior to the birth or they may choose to wait until the child is born. Occasionally they choose to have the agency make the selection for them, in which case the longest waiting family whose profile matches, is selected.

 

When you have been matched with a birth parent and your new baby is born, the baby can be placed with you as soon as the birth parents indicate they are ready to go forward.  Birth parents in Maryland have 30 days to revoke their consent to adoption. During this time, the adoption is a legal risk, but we encourage placement since it’s best for infants to be in the family who will raise them as soon as possible.

 

The post placement period lasts from 6-9 months in which the agency is still guardian of the baby. During this time, the social worker  who completed your study will visit you to see how you are adjusting to life with a newborn. Also during this time, all the additional legal steps will be completed and you will complete the Parent Preparation training begun during the waiting period.

 

Please feel free to call us at 301-439-2900 if you have any questions about the process or wish to get started. You can also complete out contact form to receive additional information.