Adoption Process
All adoptions need to adhere to the legal process in their state, following all the adoption statutes in the state where the child lives and also all laws/adoption statutes of the state where the new adoptive family lives.
During the adoption process, both the placing family and the adoptive family have legal representation in their state (county). If the two families live in different states, then before the child can move from their current home to the new adoptive home, each state (ICPC) must give their approval for the child to be placed for adoption. This is done by their review of all paperwork for the adoption.
Either Love and Hope Adoptions or the attorney for the placing family will file the ICPC paperwork. The ICPC approval process for the new adoptive placement, typically, takes a week or two.
All disrupted adoptions are finalized in court just like any other domestic adoption and after the supervisory period (3 to 6 months after the placement has occurred). The time for supervisory visits varies depending on the state where the adoption is being finalized.
For Families Placing for Adoption
At this time, we are not accepting children who need full-time medical care or full-time behavioral supervision because they will be best served in a residential facility/girls’ home/or boys’ home. Our adoptive parents typically work and have other children and therefore cannot commit to full-time medical care.
Placing families will have the opportunity to read about prospective adoptive families to select one or two families that they can also speak to, text with, and video chat. This process allows for greater information exchange and the confidence that the best family for the child is being selected.
Transitioning the Adopted Child
Once a match is made, the child will be transitioned with the help of their therapist, video chats with the new adoptive family, open conversations with their current legal/adoptive family, and visitations with the new adoptive parents.
Once both families feel ready for the placement, adoption consents can be signed with the attorney, ICPC can be filed, and upon ICPC approval the placement can occur.
Placing for Adoption
Please email Marian, (everything is confidential), marian@loveandhopeadoptions.org to share about the child you are placing for adoption and why a new adoptive placement is best for the child. After some email communication with Marian, you will begin your intake process.
For this step, you will need to provide the following documents in one email or two emails. This step needs to be completed before moving forward beyond your inquiry. No match can occur without these documents for review.
Documents
The child’s adoption finalization document (court paperwork signed by the judge).
The child’s birth certificate.
The latest physical and immunization record for the child.
Most current school report cards and an IEP if the child has one.
A copy of the home study used when you adopted this child.
Copy of your DL and if married both of your DL documents (both sides of the DL).
Marriage license if a married couple.
If you adopted the child internationally, other documents will also be requested.
How much does it cost?
For families who are placing a child for adoption, after you have emailed marian@loveandhopeadoptions.org and provided the required documents, all information will be reviewed for free. After an interview with Marian, you will be transitioned to the intake phase. There is an intake fee of $500.
Once you have selected/matched with a new adoptive family for the child, there is a placement fee of $2,000 paid directly to Love and Hope Adoptions.
During the child’s transitional period and visitations with the new family, your portion of the legal fee will be due directly to the attorney for a minimum of the following processes: your adoption consent, filing your voluntary consent for adoption with the court, requesting/filing your voluntary consent for the termination of parental rights with the court, legal representation, ICPC filing, etc.
Families Seeking to Adopt
***Families seeking to adopt will need a CURRENT, approved, home study (less than one-year-old) and background check results (less than a year old) before they can be matched for adoption.
**If seeking to adopt a child, your home study must have been completed by a licensed adoption agency and cannot be expired. ***If the study was completed by your state agency for foster care licensing or foster adoption, IT CAN NOT BE USED FOR A PRIVATE ADOPTION and a new home study needs to be completed by a private/licensed agency before you can be matched.
Prospective adoptive families will be provided with the child’s school records, medical documents, and psychological documentation for review to gain a better understanding of the child’s needs. If the child was adopted from foster care originally, then any of those available documents are also required.
Access to this information helps prospective adoptive parents evaluate their ability to parent the child before the match is made. Love and Hope Adoptions can help match the child with an adoptive family that has the experience and resources to best meet their need.
Email Marian (marian@loveandhopeadoptions.org) for inquiries, providing your home study, and background check results, providing your family profile, etc.
All inquiries require your current home study and background check results.
After an interview with Marian and review of your documentation (which is free), you will be transitioned to the intake stage. The intake fee is $500 so you can begin the matching process.
To be considered for an adoptive placement, you must provide along with your inquiry:
Your current (not expired) home study
All background check results
Your profile book
Copies of both sides of the DL (if married both DL)
If married, copy of the marriage certificate.
If licensed to foster, a copy of that license.
Once matched there is an agency fee paid directly to Love and Hope Adoptions and during the child’s transitioning process and visitation period with you, your legal fee will be due directly to the attorney. The legal fee includes a minimum of the following processes: your legal representation, working with the other family’s attorney, with our agency, working with ICPC when necessary, with your home study agency, adoption finalization in court, and more.
You must also remember that if the child lives in a different state than where you reside, there will be travel expenses to visit with the child as part of getting to know you and transition.