Making an Adoption Plan
When you choose adoption, you’ll get to choose every aspect of your adoption journey and your child’s future family. Your adoption professional will help outline your requests and needs in your adoption plan.
“When it comes to your adoption journey and experience you are in complete control. That means you get to decide what type of adoption plan you and your adoption specialist put together including choose the right for your child,” says Colleen, a birth mother.
Contact an adoption professional today to start creating your adoption plan.
Continue reading this guide to learn more about adoption plans and how an adoption professional can help you create the perfect adoption roadmap for you and your baby.
How to Start an Adoption Plan [And Your Adoption Journey]
All prospective birth mothers get to create unique adoption plans. And if you have a specific future in mind for your child, making an adoption plan can help it come true.
If you want to make an adoption plan, prepare for the journey by reading about the five most common adoption planning steps.
Step 1 to Create an Adoption Plan: Contact an Adoption Professional
If you’re ready to start making an adoption plan, the first step is to contact an adoption professional. You can work with any adoption professional, whether a local adoption attorney or an adoption professional at a national adoption agency.
Give Your Adoption Professional Your Personal History
Your adoption professional will ask you for your recent medical history, social history, and preferences for an adoptive family. All these details will help them create the perfect adoption plan for you and your baby.
If you have questions about the forms, reach out to your adoption professional; they’re here to help! You can also rest assured that any personal information you provide during the adoption will be confidential.
Step 2 to Create an Adoption Plan: Choose an Adoptive Family for Your Baby
Once you’ve found an adoption professional you’d like to work with, the next step is finding an adoptive family for your baby. Finding an adoptive family is one of the most exciting parts of your adoption journey! After all, you’re the birth mom, and you get to choose who will raise your child.
As you’re looking at a variety of adoptive family profiles during your adoption planning, you can ask yourself some adoption plan questions:
- Do you want to find a family that lives closer to you, allowing for frequent in-person visits?
- Do you want to find a family with the same religious background as yours?
- Do you want to find a family that already has children, or do you want your child to be an only child?
Whatever your preferences are, you can find an adoptive family that meets your needs during your adoption planning. You can look through as many adoptive family profiles as you need to find the perfect match. Once you’ve found a family who feels right, you can let your adoption professional know and she’ll arrange a mediated conference call where you can get to know each other.
You can click here to start looking at profiles from a large national adoption agency.
Step 3 to Create an Adoption Plan: Consider Pre-Placement Contact
Once you’ve found the right family for your child, it’s time to start getting to know the adoptive family. You will always have the final say in what kind of contact you’ll have with the adoptive family; they and your adoption professional will always respect your wishes.
The first time you meet the adoptive family will often be through a phone call mediated by your adoption professional. The birth father can also join the phone call if he’s involved in the adoption planning.
After the initial call, you’ll get to know each other through:
- Phone calls
- In‐person visits (depending on where you both live)
- Pictures and letters
- And more
What kind of contact you share with the adoptive family will always be up to you. This will often be decided upon as part of your original adoption plan before selecting a family for your child.
Step 4 to Create an Adoption Plan: Pan Your Hospital Stay
Planning for your hospital stay in advance can help you focus on this big day and the healthy birth of your baby. You’re in charge of everything that happens during your delivery.
You’ll want to consider the following details when it comes to your hospital adoption planning:
- Who will be in the delivery room with you
- How much time you want to spend with your baby after the birth
- Whether you want to take pictures with your baby and the adoptive family
Your adoption professional and adoption attorney will be with you throughout this process, including when you first put together your hospital adoption plan. They will also work with the hospital of your choice to ensure your rights and desires are protected during your delivery.
Step 5 to Create an Adoption Plan: Decide the Post-Placement Contact You’d Like
Signing away parental rights doesn’t mean your connection to the adoptive family and your child ends.
You can choose three different adoption styles depending on the type of contact you and the adoptive family have agreed on in your adoption plan.
- Open adoption: This option is great for prospective birth mothers looking for plenty of communication with the adoptive family and their child. In a full‐disclosure adoption, you can share as much about yourself as you want. No two open adoption plans are the same.
- Semi‐open adoption: Semi‐open adoptions allow for more privacy while allowing you the opportunity to get to know the adoptive family and your child. With this option, your adoption agency can mediate the sending of pictures and letters between you and the adoptive family. If you need additional help mediating contact with the adoptive family, your adoption professional will be happy to assist.
- Closed adoption: Early in the adoption planning process, you may decide that you don’t want to get to know the adoptive family or stay in contact with your child post-placement, and that’s OK. You can always talk to your adoption professional about having a closed adoption.
Work With an Adoption Professional to Create Your Adoption Plan Today
As you make an adoption plan, remember that the adoption process begins and ends with you. Your adoption professional will be able to provide whatever you need to help make your adoption a success, including adoption plan templates, 24/7 counseling, and more.
Contact an adoption professional today to start your adoption journey.