How to Adopt a Baby in Indiana [Infant Adoption Explained]

Choosing to adopt a baby is a beautiful and brave decision. Because of you, a child will have a loving home, full of joy and support.

The laws around newborn adoption vary by state, which is why working with an adoption professional licensed in your state is important for ensuring you have everything you need for a successful adoption. Reach out to us today to find out how you can adopt a baby in Indiana.

Continue reading our introduction on how to adopt an infant in Indiana.

What is Infant Adoption?

Infant adoption is the process of adopting a child less than 12 months old. You might have heard this referred to by other terms, like “private adoption,” “newborn adoption,” “domestic adoption,” and more. These terms all mean more or less the same thing.

If you’re only interested in adopting a baby, it’s a good idea to start looking at adoption professionals who can help you adopt a baby in Indiana. Adopting a newborn usually runs through an adoption agency, like American Adoptions. Getting in touch with a professional from our staff can be the first step on you and your future child’s adoption journey.

Contact us for more adoption information .

For prospective parents in Indiana who know they want to adopt a newborn, the adoption process begins by contacting an agency.

Once you speak with adoption professionals, you’ll be shown how to create a profile as part of your adoption application, so that women experiencing unwanted pregnancy can easily find and match with you.

Your adoption specialist will facilitate the connections, and might introduce you to the women before her birth. Once your child is born, your finalization hearing is the last step in the legal process; you and your child will be ready to start your new life together.

How Infant Adoption Differs From Other Types of Adoption

Fortunately, adopting a child in the U.S. is not difficult. Three of the most common kinds of adoption are adoptions through foster care, international adoptions, and infant adoptions. Each type of adoption can be a wonderful and fulfilling experience, however, it is important to consider the differences between the three so you can find the system that best fits your family’s needs.

Infant Adoptions

Infant adoption gives families certainty and control, but carries significant costs. In Infant adoptions, the adoptive family and the birth mother both have a lot of decision making power, enabling them to find a placement that gives everyone involved a degree of empowerment and a sense of belonging. Adopting a newborn often involves significant costs that don’t factor in to foster care adoptions, including medical treatment for the birth mother, agency fees, and legal expenses.

Adoption through Foster Care

Foster care adoption is affordable, but is very uncertain and does not afford adoptive families much decision-making power. The cost of foster care adoptions typically stay under $3,000. If cost is your main obstacle to adoption, this may be the right avenue for you. However, you should keep in mind that the foster care system is designed to eventually reunite children with their rehabilitated parents if at all possible, not to facilitate adoption.

The placement of infants in foster care is not considered common; foster care may place children ranging from under 12 months up to 17 years old. The choice to adopt a foster child is also not entirely up to you; it’s up to Child Protective Services whether or not to extend an offer of adoption, based on circumstances surrounding the child’s biological parents.

International Adoption

International adoption can be fulfilling, but is often expensive, legally complex, and can be ethically ambiguous. There are plenty prospective parents that feel international adoption is the right way to grow their family, and international adoptions are just as likely as any other to result in a happy, emotionally fulfilling family.

International adoptions must conform to both the laws of the child’s country of origin and the laws of the United States, creating complex legal proceedings. There is significant cost associated with international adoption, like travel expenses and agency fees. You should also be very careful to avoid less-reputable organizations, who may try to extort you.

Why Choose Newborn Adoption?

Every family has a different experience with adoption, and chooses different options in their adoption journey. Some reasons that infant adoption might be the best option for your family include: 

Experiencing Raising an Infant

For many families, the experience of sharing your child’s earliest moments and most formative years is incredibly important.

This sense of responsibility goes beyond an emotional need; often a child’s first years convey important health and developmental information that can play a crucial role in the child’s life going forward. Unfortunately, this information is often lost in non-infant adoptions.

The Opportunity to Facilitate an Open Adoption

Open adoption is an arrangement where the birth parent or parents share some level of relationship with your family as your child grows up; a wonderful opportunity that’s usually only available through infant adoption programs that let you adopt a baby.

This relationship might take the form of letters, photos, video calls, or in-person visits, depending on your comfort level. A relationship like this can have significant positive impact on your child, and help them feel loved and supported by a robust, inclusive family.

Supporting Birth Mother Betterment Programs

Many prospective parents view adoption primarily as an opportunity to grow their family. You might also consider the birth mother’s perspective. With other adoption methods, birth mothers are afforded very little in the way of resources. When you adopt a baby through an agency like American Adoptions of Indiana, not only are birth mothers given a chance to keep in touch with their child, but birth mothers can also enjoy a range of benefits.

These are provided by American Adoptions of Indiana to Birth Mothers free of charge, designed to help them achieve their goals and set themselves up for success. For example, take our Birth Mother Scholarship Fund, which helps birth mothers who have placed a child for adoption complete their formal education.

Is Newborn Adoption Right for Your Family?

If your family feels that newborn adoption is the right choice for you, you can start your journey today. American Adoptions offers free, non-committal entry services for adoptive families like yours.

 Follow the link below to set up your free consultation and fill out your pre-application. You deserve to grow your family and share your life with a wonderful child; start your process today.

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