What is the legal process to do an open adotion?

Question

What is the legal process to do an open adotion?

I want to adopt, i need to know if anyone has any info or websites i can visit to find out....i will be an open adotion. And does anyone know if it will cost me any and if so how much?

I live in KS and the baby is from GA.

Answer 1

Open adoption is no different than any other type of adoption from a legal and procedural standpoint. The only difference is that identifying info is exchanged and that the two families may choose to keep in touch. Neither KS nor GA offers legal enforcement for open adoption agreements, so it will be between you and the bio family to committ to the agreement and hopefully feel it is morally binding even if not legally binding.

You will still need at least one attorney (make sure he/she is well versed in Interstate adoption procedures and ICPC regulations) in your state, called the receiving state, and you may want a second attorney in the child's state, the sending state, and it's best that the birth-mother have her own attorney to ensure all of her rights have been explained to her. You can also choose to have an agency process it for you, called a "directed agency adoption" since you have already identified a child.

You also need a valid homestudy to adopt in any state, have you gotten one yet?

Expenses may include the homestudy fee, agency or attorneys fees, birth mother expenses as allowed by state law, travel expenses and can be several thousands or even 10's of thousands of dollars

Answer 2

Where I am from (Canada) you contact community resources (social services) they have adoption workers there. They will take in all your information and come out and do a homestudy with you once your name is released from the adoption registry. Keep in mind that even this could take awhile as there are thousands of people wanting to adopt and not very many kids. If you wish to adopt a teen or toddler your chances of this happening sooner are a lot higher because they are harder to find families for. If you are waiting for a baby....it can take a long time becuase the majority of people are waiting for babies. The other option is international adoption...this will cost you money, and stress because the paper work has to be sent back and forth and sometimes has to be translated. Anyhow this way you can adopt an infant and it will happen sooner than a local adoption. You will have to pay to pick your child up and return the child home with you. It can cost up to $10,000 in Canada. The most popular place that Canadian parents adopt from is China, mainly because the chances of your baby having FASD is a lot lower. When you adopt a child....especially locally, you have to remember that not all of them will be perfectly healthy, little bundles of joy. Some of them come from a mother who drank, did drugs etc. and can have serious complications. You will know all the risks up front though if you go through social services. OF course there are some wonderful people who chose to give their child up for adoption and take care of themselves while pregnant....but this is the baby that the thousands of other adoptive parents want too! of luck to you, it can be a long and frustratin journey but trust me, its all worthit in the end!

Answer 3

Each state has it's own laws on adoption, including open adoption. It is also dependent on the type of "open" adoption the agency may require or what the families decide they are comfortable with.

We used Adoptions From the Heart. Their website is www.adoptionsfromtheheart.org.

Good luck to you. Adoption is a beautiful journey!