Did you know that there were childless couples, single parents, and couples with children are waiting to adopt?
Some of these individuals are waiting to adopt a newborn infant from the United States..
Some are waiting to adopt a child from a foreign country..
Some are waiting to adopt a child with special developmental and/or medical needs..
Some are waiting to adopt a sibling group..
Some are waiting to adopt a child with an open adoption relationship with his/her birth parent.
Some are waiting to adopt an older child from an orphanage.
Parents' adoption wishes are varied and each waiting family's adoption journey is unique.
The one similarity all waiting adoptive parents share is their dream of becoming parents and their hope to share their love with a child.
Families waiting to adopt a newborn child from the United States (which is referred to as adopting domestically) may wait only a few weeks or as long as a few years before they become parents through adoption. There are so many factors that determine how long you wait so there is no definite timeline.
Domestic adoption is extremely unpredictable.
- First birth parents must find families waiting to adopt through an authorized adoption agency (for example, Family Connections) or through a family friend, or online. To view some of our agency's families waiting to adopt click here.
- The birth parent will express their wishes for the type of family they want for their child and then they will be presented with prospective adoptive parents. Birth parents chose the adoptive family for their birth child. It is impossible to know what family the birth parent will connect with and decide to place their baby with. The "right fit" will have to happen for both the birth parent and adoptive parents.
- The family chosen by the birth parent then waits for the child's birth, which is when the birth parent's decision to place him/her for adoption officially occurs. This is called a surrender. * All adoptive families understand that until the child is born, the birth parent is making an adoption plan; only after the child is born can the birth parent make their decision regarding adoption or parenting.*
Nationally, the typical wait for a family wishing to adopt a newborn child is one to five years. Our agency, Family Connections, Inc., has had families who are placed with a child after being approved as a prospective adoptive parent for a few months; we have also had families who have waited for over three years to adopt a child.
Every family's experience is unique & everyone's wait to adopt is different.
Families waiting to adopt a child from a foreign country (which is referred to as international adoption) may wait eighteen months or up to nine years to adopt. The length of wait in international adoption depends upon:
- the country from which you are adopting.
- the gender of the child you wish to adopt. The wait to adopt a boy is always less than the wait to adopt a girl; more international families wish to adopt girls and thus the longer wait.
- the age of the child you wish to adopt. The wait for younger child is longer than the wait for a school aged child, etc.
- the needs of the child you wish to adopt. The wait is longer for a child who has the potential for normal growth and development versus a child with special medical and/or developmental needs. In some countries children with special medical and/or developmental needs are waiting for families and thus once a family is an approved adoptive parent they are asked to consider a child immediately for adoption.
Waiting to adopt a child domestically or internationally is difficult. Waiting families count the days until they can share their love with a child.
If you are pregnant and considering adoption as an option for your child, please contact our staff at Family Connections, Inc. at 1-607-756-6574 or info@adoptfamilyconnections.org to explore your adoption choices and to learn more about the agency's families waiting to adopt.
If you live in New York State and wish to adopt a child, please contact Family Connections, Inc. at 1-607-756-6574 to learn about your adoption options (domestic or international).
We look forward to supporting your adoption plans. To learn more about adoption, please download our agency's magazine "Family Connections" by clicking below. Thank you!
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