Children.
Adoptions Plus places babies and children of all ages directly from
their birth families into adoptive families. Most often a woman or
couple will make a decision to place their child for adoption during
pregnancy and the child will be placed at the time of birth. Sometimes
due to other issues an adoption plan will be made when a child is older.
Choosing to place one’s biological child for adoption is a difficult
decision. We get as much information as possible about the biological
family’s medical and social history and you are given full disclosure
when you are matched with the child. We place children of all races and
backgrounds.
Parent Qualifications.
The minimum age to adopt from this program is
twenty-one. There is no upper age limit. For children under two years
old, this program is open to married couples only. This is usually the
preference of birthparents.
The Wait. Our
waiting list for this program is kept small. We put the best interest of
the child first when matching with a family. We include the biological
parents’ wishes as much as possible. We take into consideration the type
of child you feel best able to parent. Therefore a child might match
with you very quickly or it may take some time. Most of our families are
matched within a year, some as quickly as just a few months and some as
long as two or more years.
The Fee.
$12,000 for a domestic agency adoptive placement.
It is due is three parts.
*A $300 tax-deductible donation to the Child
and Birthparent Fund is due after the acceptance of your homestudy and
the submission of the Domestic Program contract. This minimally covers
expenses related to counseling and working with birth families that may
or may not choose adoption. This donation is non-refundable.
*$3000 is due when you are matched with a
birthmother and agree to the placement. This minimally covers some of
the expenses occurred prior to placement. If the placement does not
happen, a refund of any portion of the fee that has not been used can be
made, or applied to the next placement.
*$8700 is due when Adoptions Plus places the
child with you. This fee may include as needed: birth family outreach,
unlimited pre and post adoptive counseling for the birthparents,
reasonable pregnancy expenses and personal assistance during labor, some
maternity care and delivery expenses, hospital plan and coordination,
most birth family legal fees, preparation of paperwork, adoption plans
and preparation, birthfather searches, matching and liaison,
post-placement services, filing and mailing necessary paperwork and
finalization reports.
This fee does not
include:
Application
Homestudy fee and related costs
Homestudy transfer fee
Medical and maternity expenses
Birth family legal fees over $600
Birth family living expenses
Travel outside Albuquerque or assigned social workers area
Out of state postplacement supervision and reports
Adoptive parent attorney fees and court fees
Financial responsibility for the child at the time of placement
The Process.
After completing the homestudy, you will make a photo album of your
family and home to be kept at our office. We will also need several
two-page picture profiles to give to birth families and to send to other
agencies. You will be presented to birth families and other agencies
based on the type of child you wish to adopt. If a child is out of your
stated consideration yet we think you might be interested, we will
contact you. We ask that you be willing to meet a birth family. If you
are chosen we make placement arrangements that will best meet the
child’s needs. We think it is important for the bonding and attachment
process that a child go directly from the biological family or hospital
to the adoptive family; and coordinate with the hospital staff so they
are informed. We try to do this whenever possible. You will need your
own attorney to finalize the adoption. We will coordinate with that
attorney and provide him or her with necessary information. Finalization
takes at least six months.
