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Home > Adoption > Types of Adoption > Domestic Adoption > Independent/Private (Attorney) Adoption
Independent/Private (Attorney) Adoption
Information and resources on adoptions facilitated by those other than adoption agencies. Facilitators may be attorneys, physicians, or other intermediaries.
The Adoption Process
The Adoption Home Study Process
This fact sheet describes the types of information that will be collected from prospective adoptive parents during the home study process. The following elements are addressed: autobiographical statement, health statement, income statement, child abuse and criminal clearances, and references. Tips for the interview and home visit also are provided.
Adoption Options
This fact sheet provides basic information about adoption options. It focuses on the choices between domestic and intercountry adoption, domestic infant or foster care adoption, and licensed private agencies, independent adoption, or facilitated/unlicensed agencies. A description of how the placement process will vary for each type of adoption is provided, as is a list of resources.
Adoption Options At-a-Glance
This fact sheet, meant to accompany "Adoption Options: A Fact Sheet for Families," provides basic information about adoption options in a table format. It focuses on the choices between domestic and intercountry adoption, domestic infant or foster care adoption, and licensed private agencies, independent adoption, or facilitated/unlicensed agencies. A description of how the placement process will vary for each type of adoption is provided, including agency oversight, termination of parental rights, child characteristics, cost, and potential wait times.
American Academy of Adoption Attorneys
National membership organization of attorneys with expertise in adoption, including a directory with referrals to adoption attorneys in all 50 States.
Independent Adoption
Adoptive Families Magazine (2006)
A guide to independent adoption written by an adoption attorney.
Openness in Adoption
This fact sheet defines open adoption, including information about the laws regarding open adoption and research findings about the effects of open adoption on the adoption triad. It discusses implications for agency policy around adoption openness, foster care adoptions, and when open adoption may not be in the child's best interest. It includes a list of useful web sites, books and articles for both families and professionals, and the pros and cons of each type of adoption (confidential, mediated, and open).
Openness in Adoption
This factsheet describes the benefits of postadoption contact with birth parents and reviews considerations for determining the degree of openness that is most appropriate for the child. It suggests that adoptive parents consult Internet websites, books, counselors, and other parents when making decisions about open adoption. The factsheet includes a chart of the advantages and disadvantages of confidential adoptions, mediated adoptions, and open adoptions.
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Relevant State Laws
Collection of Family Information About Adopted Persons, Birth Parents, and Adoptive Parents
Requirements for collecting information about persons involved in an adoption vary from State to State. Each State has laws that specify the kinds of information that may be collected and shared among the parties. State laws specify the persons or entities authorized to collect information. In most States, information about the child to be adopted and the child?s birth family is compiled by the child-placing agency or the department of social services. In some States, the court may designate another qualified person, such as a social worker or specially trained investigator, to complete the history of the birth family. In ...
Consent to Adoption
Reviews State laws that specify the persons who must consent to a child's adoption, time frames for consent, and guidelines for revocation of consent.
Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families
Postadoption contact agreements, sometimes referred to as cooperative adoption or open adoption agreements, are arrangements that allow some kind of contact between a child's adoptive family and members of the child's birth family after the child's adoption has been finalized. These arrangements can range from informal, mutual understandings between the birth and adoptive families to written, formal contracts. Agreements for postadoption contact or communication have become more prevalent in recent years, due to several factors: -- There is wider recognition of the rights of birth parents to make choices for their children -- Many adoptions involve older children, such as ...
Online Resources for State Child Welfare Law and Policy
Provides links to websites where State statutes and regulations can be accessed and lists the parts of each State and territory's code that contain laws addressing child protection, child welfare, and adoption.
Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?
This briefing reviews State laws regarding parties to an adoption. General information dealing with who may adopt, who may be adopted, and who may place a child for adoption is identified. In order for an adoption to take place, a person available to be adopted must be placed in the home of a person or persons eligible to adopt. All States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands have laws that specify which persons are eligible as adopting parents and which persons can be adopted. In addition, all States, the ...
The Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers
Discusses the rights of the alleged fathers of children born out-of-wedlock and whether States have registries for such fathers.
State Regulation of Adoption Expenses
Nearly all States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories have enacted statutes that provide some regulation of the fees and expenses that adoptive parents are expected to pay when arranging an adoptive placement. Some of the fees and expenses that are typically addressed in the statutes are placement costs, such as agency fees; legal and attorney expenses for adoptive and birth parents; and some of the expenses of the birth mother during pregnancy. This briefing provides general information on birth parent expenses, agency fees and costs, use of an intermediary, and reporting adoption-related expenses to the court.
Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements
All States permit the placement of children for adoption by agencies, either publicly sponsored agencies, such as a department of the State government, or private child- placing agencies that have been licensed by the State. Many people choose to adopt, and many birth parents choose to place their children for adoption, without the involvement of an agency. These placements are known as private placements or independent adoptions. Private placement is often preferred by people who want to adopt newborn infants from the United States and avoid the often years-long waiting lists of adoption agencies. The challenge for prospective adoptive parents ...
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