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 - the 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

This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

• Weekly podcasts
• Weekly articles/blog posts
• Resource pages on all aspects of family building

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