The Complete Guide to Adoption in Indiana
Whether you’re experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and looking for a way to put a baby up for adoption, or you’re a prospective parent choosing to grow your family through adoption after a long personal journey, you’re in the right place.
This is our complete guide to adoption in Indiana.
American Adoptions of Indiana has over 30 years of experience helping birth parents and adoptive families connect.
We care about you, your family, and your child, and we’re ready to support you through the entire adoption process. If you need help placing a child or growing your family, contact our offices today.
Indianapolis Office
Indianapolis, IN 46240
+1 (800) 236-7846
Brownsburg Office
Brownsburg, IN 46112
+1 (800) 236-7846
How to Put a Baby Up for Adoption in Indiana
Choosing adoption in the face of an unplanned pregnancy is a courageous, selfless choice. We know that you’re considering adoption because you want the best outcome possible for your child.
Working with American Adoptions of Indiana can remove some of the frustrating legal complexities around putting your child up for adoption; contact us now for compassionate, personalized support.
Step #1: Decide if Adoption is Right for You
Adoption is a life-changing decision and should be considered from all angles. Our counselors will never tell you what to do, or pressure you in any way. We recognize your bravery and will do everything we can to empower you throughout this process.
Step #2: Create Your Adoption Plan
Your adoption plan consists of medical information and your ideal path through the adoption process. Our adoption specialist will help you fill this out.
We’ll need you to sign an Indiana Authorization to Represent. This authorization tells the state you’re allowing us to advocate for you, and helps us secure things like your Medicare coverage. All the benefits go directly to you; the authorization just lets us file paperwork on your behalf.
The rest of the adoption plan deals with what you’re looking for in an adoptive family, and what you’re comfortable with after placement. Your adoption plan will be used to connect you with families with similar goals and expectations as you.
Step #3: Choose an Adoptive Family
Your adoption specialist will provide lists of family profiles for you to review. These profiles are insights into the families waiting for opportunities to adopt. These may include a short video introduction, descriptions of hobbies, careers, beliefs, favorite foods and more.
Browse our waiting Indiana families at any point.
Step #4: Create Your Hospital Plan
Just like with your adoption plan, you’re in control of your hospital plan. You can decide everything about your hospital stay. For example:
- Who would you like with you in the hospital?
- Who would you like in the delivery room?
- How much time do you want to spend with your baby?
There are even more options available to you. You can be as detailed or as broad as you like.
Step #5: Finalize Your Child’s Adoption
Once your child is born, you’ll be able to finalize your adoption. In Indiana, you can legally consent to an adoption at any point after your child is born. A birth father may or may not need to consent to your child’s adoption. Your adoption specialist and adoption attorney can walk you through the specifics of this process.
Step #6: Begin Building Your Life-Long Bond
Adoption doesn’t have to be the end of your relationship with your child and their adoptive family. With open or semi-open adoptions, your bond with your child will only grow in the years to come. Again, it’s up to you to decide what you want these relationships to look like.
Adoption isn’t the end of our services either. American Adoptions of Indiana will be there for you for as long after your adoption as you need. We provide counseling to birth mothers who work with us, and facilitate communications between you and your child’s adoptive family.
How to Adopt a Baby in Indiana
Welcoming a child into your home is a beautifully life-changing experience. You deserve to grow your family the way you want. Let us help you have that experience.
American Adoptions of Indiana has over 30 years of experience, and is licensed in every county in Indiana. Contact us today to begin your adoption journey.
Step #1: Decide if Adoption is Right for Your Family
Adopting a baby will change your family and your life forever. Many families are very aware and excited for this. If you’ve considered adoption and how it will impact your life, your next step is to contact an agency for the type of adoption you want to pursue.
Agencies like American Adoptions of Indiana offer numerous benefits to perspective parents, including knowledgeable and experienced staff members who are ready to help you through every step of your adoption. The earlier in this process you secure professional help the better.
Step #2: Prepare for Your Home Study
The home study process is a three-part safety check to ensure adopted children are placed in a safe environment. They are required for all adoptions and for foster care providers.
Home studies can be difficult to navigate alone. Luckily, you’re not alone. American Adoptions of Indiana is a licensed home study provider in all Indiana counties. This means your adoption specialist can both help you prepare for the home study before hand and be the social worker who conducts it.
Step #3: Complete Your Profile
Your adoptive family profile is the primary way birth mothers will find you. These profiles will start with a video introduction of you and your family, which our video team will help you put together.
You can include anything you want in your profile, but we recommend at very least a short summary of your life so far and information about hobbies and career. The more a birth mother gets to know you, the more information they have to make a selection. Once your profile is complete, you’ll start being seen by prospective birth mothers.
Step #4: Be Selected by a Birth Mother
Once a birth mother selects your family, your adoption specialist will put you in touch.
We have a 100% success rate in connecting prospective birth mothers and adoptive families when the families stay active. You deserve to grow your family, and we will do everything in our power to make that a reality.
Once you are selected, the birth mother may want to contact you a few times, or may even ask to meet in-person.
Step #5: Finalize Your Child’s Adoption
As the birth mother’s due date approaches, your adoption specialist will explain to you how you fit in to the birth mother’s hospital plan. This part of the process is highly dependent on the birth mother. Once the hospital plan has completed, in most cases, you’re free to bring your child back to their new home.
In a few weeks, you’ll need to attend your finalization hearing, where you and your adoption attorney will go to a court to complete the adoption. The court will decide how many post-placement visits you’ll need - most courts require at least two visits.
Step #6: Begin Building Your Life-Long Bond
The legal process may be done, but adoption is a life-long journey. You’ll continue bonding with your child as they grow, and if you ever need help, American Adoptions of Indiana will be here for you.
Types of Adoption in Indiana
There are many kinds of adoption to choose from in Indiana. The most common in the Hoosier state are:
Adoption Agencies in Indiana
For the smoothest adoption experience possible, you’ll want professionals helping you navigate the process. Here are a few adoption agencies we recommend working with for the best possible experience:
Private (Infant) Adoptions
American Adoptions of Indianan has been helping build families for over 30 years. Our local experts are certified in every county in the state, meaning no matter where you are, we can help you take care of your child or grow your family.
If you’re experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and are thinking about adoption, get in touch with our experts today for free, unbiased counselling and heartfelt support. Alternatively, if you’re a perspective parent who would like to welcome a child into your home, schedule your no-commitment consultation.
Foster Care Agencies
International Adoption Agencies
Local Indiana Adoption Information
Adoption laws and services can change depending on where you live. Each state has its own laws – but even within a state, there may be differences in cities and counties. If you’re considering adoption in Indiana, click your city below to learn more about adoption in your area:
Indiana Adoption Laws
Each state has the ability to set its own adoption laws. Here we’ll walk you through Indiana’s laws in detail.
Financial Assistance
Under Indiana’s adoption law, a birth mother may receive funds to put towards attorney fees, medical bills and other living expenses. However, there is a monetary cap in place. If you’re working with an adoption agency or attorney, removing this restriction should come fairly easily.
The practice of adoptive parents directly paying birth mothers is illegal. This is to prevent birth mothers from profiting off of adoptions.
Working with a licensed adoption agency for your adoption removes much of the legal barriers around payment. With an agency, adoptive parents are able to pay for a birth mother’s rent, utilities, maternity clothes, medical bills, and other expenses which help make sure the child has the best start possible.
Birth Fathers
In Indiana, Birth Fathers have more limited rights than the birth mother, but may still need to consent to adoption. Cases where you will need to secure birth father consent are:
- If the birth mother is married to the birth mother,
- If the birth father has established paternity through court order, or
- If the birth father has a signed paternity affidavit.
However, these requirements are invalidated in some situations. Read the ‘consent’ section for details on when the birth father may not be required to give consent.
Consent
For an adoption to proceed, consent is usually required from all parties listed below:
- The birth mother.
- The birth father, if they have established paternity rights.
- Any person or entity (agencies and law offices) with legal custody over the child.
- The court with local jurisdiction.
- The child, if they are over 14 years old.
Some of these consent requirements may be invalidated. To have a court wave a consent requirement, you’ll need to work with an adoption attorney to prove one of more of the following. Consent can be waived if:
- The child’s parent has not made consistent or purposeful contact while the child has been in the custody of another person for one year or more.
- The parent’s parental rights were terminated by a court already.
- The parent is seen by a court to be an unfit caregiver already, and has ruled against their ability to contest adoption.
- The biological father failed to establish paternity.
- The child was conceived as a result of assault, if the biological father was not married to the biological mother.
Notice
In Indiana, several persons and entities connected to the child must be notified when an adoption is finalized. These include:
- All parties who were required to give consent for the adoption.
- The presumed biological father, if registered by the state registry.
- The grandparents.
- The DCS office where the child services request was initially filed.
- Any facility, agency or other organization which is caring for the child currently.
ICPC
The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, or ICPC, is a law that regulates adoptions which cross state lines. The ICPC’s purpose is to make sure both participating states’ adoption laws are followed. Here’s what that will look like for Indiana:
If you’re an Indiana Resident adopting a child from out of state, you’ll need to check that state’s ICPC requirements. Once you meet the requirements, the social workers in your child’s home state will need to send an ICPC referral to your social workers or attorneys in Indiana.
If you’re adopting a child from Indiana and are not a state resident, the results of your home study will be sent to Indiana. If the ICPC office in Indiana approves your home, they will grant you a referral and the adoption can proceed.
Others
Here are some other Indiana-specific laws that may apply to you:
- Open adoptions are legal, and can be made informally or via the court
- Informal open adoption agreements can only be made if the child is less than two years old, and are not considered enforceable.
- Formal open adoption agreements may be enforced, but violating the terms will not invalidate the adoption.
- If you are married, Indiana law requires you to adopt jointly with your spouse. Otherwise, single adoption is permitted.
- There is no restriction on gender, sexual orientation, religion, or age to adopt a child in Indiana – however, individual adoption agencies may set their own standards for these factors.
- The birth mother is given 30 days after giving consent in which she may revoke consent. After that, consent is irrevocable. All other parties waive their right to revoke their consent when they sign the consent form, provided the form contains the correct legally binding language.
Indiana Adoption Requirements
Adoption is a legal process that prioritizes the safety and sustained support of adopted children. Because of this, you must meet several requirements to be eligible to adopt a child in Indiana. However, there are no requirements for birth mothers considering adoption for their child.
The Indiana Adoption Requirements for adoptive parents are as follows:
You can use this article to learn more about Indiana’s adoption requirements.
How Much Does it Cost to Adopt in Indiana?
Average adoption costs in Indiana typically range from:
- Private domestic adoption: $20,000 and $60,000
- Foster care adoption: $3,000 and $5,000
The costs of adoption can be a tricky thing for families to navigate. The best thing you can do to set yourself and your family on the right track is to find an honest agency with transparent pricing to work with. At American Adoptions of Indiana, we can help you budget for your adoption.
Domestic adoption is made up of smaller fees, including:
*When working with American Adoptions of Indiana, these costs are bundled into one flat fee, which prevents unnecessary duplicate charges.
Most foster care adoption expenses are taken care of by Indiana. You may still be responsible for legal fees and costs of a home study, depending on your county.
Financial Assistance for Adoption in Indiana
Pregnancy and adoption are both resource-intensive processes. There’s no need to take these on alone. Many resources exist to help adoptive families and women with unplanned pregnancies.
Financial Assistance for Unplanned Pregnancies
Carrying a child to term is an expensive endeavor, but there are resources to help.
This support is meant to alleviate some of the financial pressure you may face during the adoption process. These resources are designed to help you and your child stay safe and healthy while your pregnancy continues, and after.
First, you should be aware that placing a child for adoption should never cost you money. If an adoption specialist asks you to pay them for placing your child, they may not be a partner. These facilitated payments can help you with
Depending on your specific situation, you could qualify for public assistance programs. Many people who qualify for these programs never receive their benefits because of the complex application processes, but with American Adoptions of Indiana representing you, that won’t be a problem for you. Programs you may be eligible for may include:
There also may be local assistance programs available only to citizens of your county or city. Look through local programs in these cities by following the links below.
If none of these cities are in your county, you may want to check in at your local hospital, city hall, or public library, and see if a professional there can help you find out about assistance programs near you.
Finally, working with American Adoptions of Indiana also carries unique benefits. We offer birth mothers counselling before and after adoption. After adoption, birth mothers can also apply for our ongoing education scholarship.
Financial Assistance for Adoptive Parents
The legal complexities and logistical challenges can unfortunately make an expensive endeavor. However, there are several avenues available to finance an adoption.
One of the first things you can consider is applying for federal or state assistance. This likely won’t cover the entirety of the costs, but many of these programs provide a tangible start, and may be easier to secure than other kinds of funds. Some programs you can look into are:
Adoption grants are a vital resource for many parents. There are adoption grants available for anyone looking into adoption, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or marital status. Here are some you can consider applying for:
There may be more grants available to you based on your community ties. For example, if you’re part of a faith community, there may be grants available to members of your religion. Remember, the key to successfully securing grant funding is to apply for as many as possible.
Adoption loans are another financing option you may want to explore, though you’ll typically want to exhaust your grant options before looking into them. You can ask your adoption specialist more about loans and financing during your free consultation.
There also may be local assistance programs available only to citizens of your county or city. Look through local programs in these cities by following the links below.
- Indianapolis
- Fort Wayne
- Evansville
- Fishers
- South Bend
If none of these cities are in your county, you may want to check in at your local hospital, city hall, or public library, and see if a professional there can help you find out about assistance programs near you.
Other Adoption Professionals in Indiana
Adoption looks different for everyone. For some, that could mean finding support from professionals who are not affiliated with an agency. Some of the common instances of this include:
Start your Adoption Process
Your family’s adoption journey can begin today. Even if you aren’t ready for concrete steps, and simply need more information, we can help. We have knowledgeable, local staff members ready to help you plan your process out. You don’t need to wait any longer to begin your adoption journey; start building the family you deserve with American Adoptions of Indiana.
Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. American Adoptions provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.