Adoptive Parents FAQ

Children are placed in the permanent custody of the county when reunification with their family is no longer an option. Some reasons include:

• Death or absence of one or both parents
• No other relatives or kin willing or approved to raise the child
• Parents not meeting their case-plan goals in order to provide a safe and stable home

It will depend on the age range and characteristics of the child you are requesting to be matched with. The more open you are on your Child Characteristics Checklist, the more opportunities you will have to be matched, resulting in a shorter wait time.

Shortly after being matched, the county will schedule a presentation meeting with you. At this meeting, the child’s complete record will be reviewed, and you will receive copies of all documents pertaining to the child’s case history. After this meeting, you have a 24 hour window of time in which to respond to the county regarding your decision to move forward (or not move forward) with the adoption. If you choose to move forward, a pre-placement visitation schedule and placement plan will be made. At this time, your family picture profile book will be shared with the child prior to your first visit together. The number and type of pre-placement visits prior to placement (day visits, overnights, weekends, etc.) will depend on the age and needs of your child. Once placement occurs, both the Caring For Kids’ post-placement worker and the child’s county worker will make monthly supervisory visits for up to six months. When the post-placement requirements are met, the adoption can be finalized in court.

Caring for Kids will provide you with websites that feature children available throughout the country with the characteristics you are looking for. You can increase your opportunities for a match by keeping in contact with the Caring for Kids’ Public Adoption and Family Liason.

Start by contacting a member of our Public Adoption Program staff for questions regarding public adoption. Other Caring for Kids staff members will also be happy to answer questions that fall under their areas of expertise.

There is not an easy answer to this question. The majority of expectant parents select their adoptive families through viewing family picture profile books and interviews. Due to this, some families are selected soon after being placed on the list, while others remain on the wait list for several years. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict.

Yes, the birth parent(s) receives supportive services from Caring for Kids, both before and after placement. The amount of services is often dependent on when we first become involved with the birthparent(s) as well as the amount of services the birthparent(s) wishes to have.

We work with many expectant parents who want general information about adoption while exploring their options but never move to the matching stage. For expectant parents that are matched, some occasionally change their mind and decide to parent once they give birth, but in our experience, the majority do follow through with their adoption plan.

The birth parent(s) cannot sign a permanent surrender until 72 hours after birth. They can take more time if needed, but not less. Once they sign a permanent surrender, they cannot change their mind.

Caring for Kids likes to show eight to ten picture profile books to each birth parent(s). The books shown are based on the birth parent’s criteria and the adoptive families that best match that criterion.

Caring for Kids has many sample books for families to review, in addition to examples that can be found online. Many local scrapbook stores and consultants are happy to help adoptive families create their picture profile book. Profile books should be a true reflection of your family, allowing the birth parent(s) to see what is important to you.

The birth parent keeps the picture profile book of her selected family and returns the rest. Caring for Kids always tries to retrieve all of the profile books if possible. There are times when this is not possible, at which point we may need to request more copies from a client family.

Most often, we will contact you via phone or email to let you know about a birth parent opportunity and ask if you wish to be presented for this particular opportunity. If you wish to be presented, you will have adequate time to adjust your birth parent letter to address the requests of the birth parent(s). Occasionally, we have emergent expectant parents that need to review picture profile books quickly. In these cases, we will present your picture profile book and general birth parent letter. After the presentation, we will contact you if the birth parent is interested in getting to know more about you.

The information provided on the birth parent summary is as complete as the worker has at the time. If the social worker working with the birth parent(s) is not in the office much or is not available, please allow our support staff to field your call and get back to you with further information. The social worker will do their best to indicate time frames for return calls and decision making by the birth parent(s) in their initial summary.

Yes! Birth parents learn about you through your picture profile book and birth parent letter. Your letter should provide more detail, including what you do for a living, your desired openness level, etc. You should personalize your letter to the birth parent’s requests as much as possible. Please contact us for tips on writing a birth parent letter.

The State of Ohio allows up to $3,000.00 for birth parent living expenses. These expenses must be distributed by the agency or attorney arranging the adoption and can cover rent, utilities, food, cell phone bills, car payments, insurance payments, clothing, etc. Expenses must be distributed by the 60th day after the baby’s birth.

If the money has been spent, the money will not be returned, however, any unused funds will be returned to the adoptive family. Birth parent expenses are not a guarantee of placement, nor are they required to be paid back if the birth parent decides to parent. Caring for Kids is aware and respectful of this fact and attempts to be fair to both the birth parent(s) as well as the adoptive family by, if possible, not exceeding half of the allotted amount before delivery.

Yes, there is an openness agreement between the birth parent(s) and adoptive parent(s). This is considered a “gentleman’s” agreement and isn’t legally upheld in court. Caring for Kids does expect adoptive parents to honor their word and keep the openness agreement developed between both parties. The amount of openness you agree to should be consistent with the level you specify in your birth parent letter. Openness can include pictures, letters, visits, texting, online video conferencing, blogging, Facebook messaging, etc.

Openness in adoption is in the best interest of the child. It can help with identity formation, allowing the child to have a full sense of self. Openness can answer questions like, “Who do I look like?,” “Where do I get my talents or interests?,” and “How/Why did I become a part of this this family?” Openness also allows the birth parent(s) to move forward and heal, knowing that their child is happy, healthy, and loved.

After we hear from the birth parent(s), we will Call or Email and let you know if the birth parent(s) is or is not interested in learning more about you through an interview or a letter. If you are not selected we will contact you when the next opportunity arises.

You'll be sent an email congratulating you on the match, and requesting a retainer for the agency and attorney, as well as all of the birth parent living expenses.

Ohio law states that adoptions cannot be finalized until six months after an adoption placement has occurred. During these six month, the state requires monthly supervision to ensure that the child and adoptive family are adequately adjusting.

The agency does not have any additional expenses as long as the adoption is finalized within eight months. If, at that time, the family is not ready to finalize, monthly visits will be billed separately until the adoption is finalized. During this period, the family needs to hire an attorney to help with the finalization. In order to have paperwork completed and a finalization as close to six months as possible, we recommend that families hire an attorney soon after placement. Adoption attorneys in our area generally charge $1,000-$1,500 plus court costs for adoption finalizations.

The law states that the baby will be covered by your insurance from the date of placement, but many insurance companies cover the baby from the date of birth. Caring for Kids will work with you and provide any paperwork needed to assist you in working with your insurance company. We recommend finding out what coverage your insurance carrier provides as early as possible. If necessary, Caring for Kids will apply for Medicaid coverage for the baby to cover the cost of his or her hospital stay.

If the birthmother has Medicaid coverage, her hospital stay will be covered at 100%. However, if the birthmother has private medical insurance, the adoptive family will be responsible for the deductible or co-pay that her insurance does not cover.