Most families considering adoption are not sure what to expect, and have a lot of questions. We believe that the more you know in the beginning of the process, the better prepared you’ll be to navigate any challenges ahead. Find answers to some of the most common questions we hear below. Got a question we didn’t answer? Email us!
No, we are not a national adoption agency. We are located and work in Texas. While we do sometimes work with adoptive families in other areas, most of our prospective parents live in Central Texas and we only work with expectant parents that currently live in Texas.
Adoption Advocates offers a comprehensive fee of $49,500 for the placement of a child in your home. Our comprehensive fee covers administrative costs, professional staff time, adoption educational programs for prospective adoptive parents and expectant parents, preparation of interstate compact documents (if adopting outside of Texas), and post-adoption support services. Also covered is our extensive outreach program to educate expectant parents about their choices available in an adoption plan. Learn more about adoption fees.
Just as expectant parents don’t get to choose the sex of the baby, neither do adoptive parents. Generally, in an open adoption, the expectant parents select the adoptive parents before the child is born. We find that placements happen much more quickly when adoptive parents are willing to be flexible about issues like sex, ethnicity and background considerations. Although we specialize in infant adoptions, we are licensed to place children up to three years old.
Before beginning the adoption process, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is either of us prejudiced against (whatever child you are considering)?
- Are our extended families prejudiced?
- How would they accept a grandchild (niece, nephew, etc.) who is a minority?
- Do we have friends, neighbors and other role models of the child’s ethnicity for the child to grow up knowing?
Interested in exploring adoption with Adoption Advocates? Learn more about the adoption process, our fees and answers to frequently asked questions or request an information packet now.
Meet Some of Our Same-Sex Couples
Adoption Advocates works with potential adoptive parents that meet the following qualifications to adopt a baby:
- Two-year minimum marriage requirement
- Must be emotionally and financially stable
- Flexible about such issues as ethnicity and health history
- Comfortable with open adoption
- Unable to have biological children due to infertility or high-risk hereditary concerns. Exceptions are made for same-sex couples and single parents.
Applicants will be screened through an approval process that includes a background check, interview and home study.
Adoption Advocates believes in building families of all types, regardless of ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. We work with same-sex couples and single parents in addition to married heterosexual couples.
Adoption Advocates is committed to placing a child in your home within 18 months of full acceptance. To be fully accepted in our program, your inquiry, application, and home study must be fully approved. Although we cannot guarantee placement in about 18 months, we accept only the number of prospective adoptive parents with whom we can reasonably expect to place children within about an 18-month period. Your placement might happen much more quickly, or take a little longer. Every adoption plan happens differently, but remember that your child is out there!
Because the expectant parents generally choose the adoptive parents, you should be prepared to be picked at any time after you are approved by Adoption Advocates. The more flexible you are about ethnicity and background considerations, the faster your placement will likely be.
There is currently a Federal Tax Credit available for most domestic adoptions. You can learn more about the federal tax credit eligibility and benefits through the IRS website. There are also a growing number of companies which offer adoption reimbursement, which will help cover the cost of your adoption. Check with your employer to find out if your company offers such benefits.
As part of the process, Adoption Advocates obtains as much information as possible about the expectant parents’ medical history, ethnicity and social background. We also send expectant parent medical information to a genetic counselor for an evaluation based on potential risk factors. We will share all information obtained with the prospective adoptive parents as well as information received from the hospital regarding delivery and newborn medical care.
Open adoption is in the best interest of the child. Adopted children grow up thinking about both sets of parents—their mommy and daddy who raise them and their birth parents. The more you know, the more you can share with your child. Your child can grow up knowing that their adoption was an act of love and an unselfish desire that he or she have a better life. Your child will know that his or her birth parents carefully chose you to be the parents with love and great hope for the future. Your child will learn that the connection to their birth parents is lifelong and always honored. It is much easier for your child’s self-esteem to remain intact if their origin is honored.
Our philosophy is that the expectant mother is making an adoption plan during the pregnancy but the decision is not made until the child is born. In Texas, a mother has full rights to change her mind about an adoption plan up until the time that the relinquishment documents are signed. Texas state law requires that a birth parent cannot sign relinquishment documents any sooner than 48 hours after birth. Once a birth parent signs the relinquishment, it is considered irrevocable.
At Adoption Advocates, we put great emphasis on our expectant parent counseling program, so that they may explore all of their options before making an adoption plan. We hope that through counseling, expectant parents will be emotionally prepared for the feelings they will have at the hospital. We assist them in identifying coping mechanisms to aid in their grief process and lifelong adoption issues.
Adoption Advocates provides an introduction to infant adoption seminar several times a year. Attending these interactive sessions answers a lot of questions about the adoption process and also allows you to get to know us better. These seminars include a panel of birth mothers in order to broaden your understanding of the various lifelong issues of the different types of adoption. Adoption Advocates requires 10 hours of adoptive parent training prior to placement. Learn more about our Adoptive Parent Trainings and see upcoming dates.
Agency adoptions provide benefits and security that other adoption avenues do not. Adoption agencies are licensed by the state and are required to meet specific criteria and follow certain rules. A private adoption agency offers counseling and legal services with support ongoing through finalization. Set fee agencies like Adoption Advocates also absorb costs if the expectant mother decides to parent, meaning you have more protection financially.
