Considering an Adoption Plan

If you are expectant parents experiencing an unplanned pregnancy or if you are wondering if adoption is the best option for your child, you may consider making an adoption plan. In its broadest sense, an adoption plan involves arranging for your biological child to be raised by adoptive parents as a full and permanent legal member of their family. An adoption plan is not an official document, but rather a process of gathering information and clarifying your decisions. The plan is developed with the assistance of an adoption professional and can help you determine your preferences regarding the adoptive family and the type and level of postadoption contact with the child that is in his or her best interests (for example, letters, emails, phone calls, personal visits). This section includes resources to assist in considering adoption options for your child and resources ensuring expectant fathers' rights.

Adoption: Considering Your Options and Making a Plan

Series Title	Factsheets for Families
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 339KB) Order (Free)
Disponibilidad	Ver Versión para imprimir (PDF - 356KB) Ordene (Gratis)
Year Published	2020

Provides information and guidance for exploring parenting and adoption options and about making an adoption plan. It points to resources that may help those contemplating adoption come to a choice that feels best for them and their child. Others who are affected by adoption decisions, such as relatives, also may find this factsheet useful for answering some of their important questions.

Adoption Interview Questions: What to Ask Adoptive Families or Birth Parents
Considering Adoption
Poses questions for birth parents and potential adoptive parents to ask each other when developing an adoption plan, including questions about religion/values, work and hobbies, parenting styles, and more.

Birthparent Rights
American Adoption Congress
Outlines eight rights to which expectant parents considering placing a baby in an adoptive home are entitled.

Consent to Adoption: What Biological Parents Need to Know
FindLaw
Guides prospective birth parents on the process of providing consent to place their child for adoption, including national and State-specific legal requirements, waiting periods, and revocation processes.

Frequently Asked Questions About Adoption
American Pregnancy Association (2019)
Answers questions prospective birth parents might ask about types of adoptions, fathers' rights, legal aspects of adoption, and more.

Getting Started
American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA)
Lists AAAA-affiliated adoption agencies and adoption attorneys and also explains the process of adoption, choosing between private vs. agency adoption and open vs. closed adoption, birth parents' rights, and more useful information.

Guidelines for Choosing a Family
American Pregnancy Association
Compiles questions that prospective birth parents may want to consider when searching for an adoptive family for their child.

How Do I Start an Adoption Plan?
Adoption.org
Provides information to expectant parents considering adoption, from researching options and what to consider to how to prepare for interviewing potential adoptive families.

The Impact of Adoption

Series Title	Factsheets for Families
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 314KB) Order (Free)
Disponibilidad	Ver Versión para imprimir (PDF - 795KB) Ordene (Gratis)
Year Published	2019

Provides an overview of the seven core issues in adoption and how they may affect the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of children and adults who have been adopted, birth parents, and adoptive parents. Although adoption is often a joyful and exciting occasion, it can also give rise to lifelong challenges for members of the adoption constellation. Awareness of these issues can help families better understand each other and the personal effects of the adoption experience.

National Foster Care and Adoption Directory
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides contact information for a variety of adoption organizations and services, including support groups for birth parents.

Regulation of Private Domestic Adoption Expenses

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 1,038KB)
Year Published	2017

Provides an overview of State laws regarding the regulation of the fees and expenses that adoptive parents are expected to pay when arranging a private adoptive placement. Some of the fees and expenses that are typically addressed include placement costs, such as agency fees; legal fees and attorney expenses for adoptive and birth parents; and some of the expenses of the birth mother during pregnancy. Requirements for reporting adoption-related expenses to the court also are addressed. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.

What You Should Know About Choosing Adoption
National Council for Adoption
Answers a variety of questions for expectant parents considering adoption, including explaining the different types of adoption, the legal process, the associated cost, the role of an adoption agency, contacting prospective adoptive families, grieving the loss of the child, and more.

Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 478KB)
Year Published	2020

Summarizes State laws regarding eligibility for becoming an adoptive parent (in terms of marital status, age, residency, and more), eligibility for being adopted as a child or adult, and authority to place a child for adoption. Summaries of laws for all States are included.

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Ensuring Expectant Fathers' Rights

Birth Father Rights
Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys
Explains the different categories of birth fathers, the rights of birth fathers, involvement in adoption plans, and more.

Birth Father Rights in Adoption
Adoption Network
Discusses the expectant father's role and rights when considering placing a child for adoption, including States' definition of a father, an unmarried father's constitutional rights, paternity registries, alternate ways to establishing paternity, and more.

Considering Birth Fathers: Ensuring Rights and Inclusion for Fathers Before Adoption Placement
Shaw (2016)
Adoption Advocate, 96
Advises on the rights of expectant fathers to be involved in adoption, including the Federal and State laws that govern the involvement of fathers, as well as recommendations for fathers and for professionals working with birth parents considering adoption.

Parental Rights: Unmarried Fathers and Adoption
FindLaw
Provides information on unmarried fathers' rights in adoption and how to gain them, including acknowledging paternity, demonstrating a commitment to parenting, objecting to placing the child for adoption, and more.

The Rights of Unmarried Fathers

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 914KB)
Year Published	2018

Provides an overview of State laws related to the rights of unmarried fathers and the methods by which a man may establish a legal parent-child relationship with his child. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional protection of an unmarried father's parental rights when he has established a substantial relationship with his child. The circumstances in which a man may be presumed to be the father of a child, the use of putative fathers' registries, the use of genetic tests to establish parentage, and the right of rescission of paternity claims also are discussed. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.

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