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We
live in another state. Can you still help us? Do
we need access to the Internet to use your services? Where
do your birth parents and children come from?
Birth parents and children come to us from all over the U.S. We advertise in the Yellow Pages in many states, and many come from seeing our site on the Internet. Many of our referrals come from personal referrals, hospitals, physicians, newspaper articles, TV appearances, radio shows, yellow pages, nationwide out reach programs and counselors. Who is eligible to adopt? Almost any married couple who can provide a healthy, stable family life can adopt. We are in need of African American and bi-racial families who may have African American relatives or be of African American descent. We will review your application; if we have any questions, we will call you to discuss your needs and ensure we can help you adopt. We have had a high success rate because of this screening process. Our center has fewer restrictions than many adoption agencies. Do you have age requirements for adoptive parent(s)? Adoptive parents must be at least twenty-one years old. We have had adoptive parents in their late 50's and early 60's. Most of our birth parents are looking for loving families that are healthy and who can provide their child a loving and supportive environment in which they will thrive. We review your application to see if we are able to help you, and will not accept your fee if we feel we can't help you adopt. We have children already, can we apply? Yes. We have found families with less than 3 children, either biological or adopted, do best. The choice of the adoptive family is made by the birth parents most of the time. Is there a fee to apply for your program? There is no fee to fill out or submit your application. We feel it is important to first determine if we can help you in building your family through adoption. What about the baby's health? We request a medical release and health information; we provide you with all documentation we receive from the doctor. In addition, many hospitals will routinely do a toxicology screen on all newborns. Most of our babies are healthy and have been cared for in inutero by loving birth mothers. What happens in the event the baby is born and there are medical problems we feel we can't handle? It is very rare in this age of medical technology that we are unaware of medical issues prior to birth, but it does rarely happen. We have other families waiting who have requested special needs children that are prepared for the long-term needs of a child with disabilities. It is our policy to find homes for all our children and prevent them from going into the foster care system. In regards to your adoption, you would continue to be presented to birthmothers and be matched with a birth mother as soon as possible. There are no additional fees paid by the family in this scenario. Can we come and meet the staff we will be working with? Yes. You are more than welcome to come to our center and meet the staff at any time during the week. Some adoptive families like to visit if they are in the area or live in California. The majority of our families are out of the area. Our program is set up to work with families that are not in our area, most of the paperwork is done by mail, fax and e-mail. It is not mandatory to travel to meet us, unless you would like to. The choice is yours. Often we are able to meet our families when they are coming to pick up their child if the adoption is in California. This is an exciting time for everyone! If you are unable to come to visit, you can still speak to us by phone. After you receive notice that you have been accepted into the program, you are then given the choice to schedule a phone conference with an adoption coordinator to answer your questions about our program. There is no cost for this. We want to make sure all your questions are answered. What is a home study? The home study is a written report required by each state for all types of adoptions; its purpose is to satisfy the courts that an infant or child is being placed into a suitable and safe home environment. Conducted by a trained social worker over two or three meetings, one meeting must take place in the home. Home studies can be conducted by your state adoption division or by a private agency licensed in your state. A typical home study may include: personal information, employment, financial disclosure, health and medical history, insurance coverage, a criminal background check, references and the social worker's recommendation. Each home study must meet the general requirements as prescribed by that state's law, although the process, contents, cost, and time it takes to be complete may vary from state to state and between the organizations conducting the study. On average the home study process takes three to six months to complete, and in most states completion is required prior to child placement in the adoptive home. A family does not need to have a completed home study before contracting with our Center to begin their adoption search, and we can refer families to social workers and private agencies in their home state to work with them on this important component of their adoption. Normally this information is given at the time we begin to work together with a family. What is open adoption? Open adoption can mean many things from only speaking on the phone or a single meeting with your birth mother who receives your resume to ongoing contact or visits. Some birth mothers will not want any further contact until the child is 18 years old. The choice is as much the birth parents as it is yours and would be a consideration in the matching process. Click here for more on open adoption. Can we reach you after hours and on the weekends? We provide our contracted families with a number of ways to contact us. We have cell phones, pagers, e-mail, 24 hour answering service and fax. For emergencies, unlike most organizations, our staff is available on call 24 hours a day and on holidays to take calls from birth mothers; this is a time when most other organizations are closed. We are also available for emergencies and birth mother calls on the weekends and evenings, 7 days a week. This can be very important if your birth mother goes into labor after hours. If I adopt a newborn, how old is the baby when I receive him/her? Usually 24 hours to three days for newborns - most adoptive families will bring the baby home directly from the hospital. Very few states require temporary foster care before placing the baby with the adoptive family, but this is not the norm. Once you have been mutually matched with a birth mother, it is easy to obtain the requirements in her state, our staff can advise you with details. 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American Adoptions Online, #1 in black adoptions across the country.
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