There are no restrictions due to religious beliefs. There are no blanket restrictions on age or marital status, and each case is handled based on its individual merit.

Pursuant to Florida law, a birth parent who executes a consent for adoption involving a child six months or younger, does not have a grace period in which to change their mind. The consent for adoption is permanent and irrevocable from the moment it is signed, and only can be overturned based on fraud or duress. However, in cases where the birth mother is placing a child older than six months, the birth parents have 3 business days to revoke a consent for any reason.

Yes. Florida law permits adoptive parents the actual and reasonable living expenses during the pregnancy and up to a maximum of six weeks following delivery if the birth mother is unemployed, underemployed or suffering from a medically-diagnosed disability. This typically is handled through the agency.

Yes. In the event that you decide to place your file on a hold status (i.e. you are matched with a birth mother via another agency, you choose to pursue fertility treatments, you become pregnant), you must notify the adoptive parent coordinator who will place your file on hold for up to six (6) months. If you do not contact the adoptive parent coordinator before the expiration of the six (6) months to obtain an extension, your file will be closed. Please be advised that the length of time your file is on hold does not count toward your total wait time. If your file is closed and you decide to re-apply to our agency at a later date, you will be responsible for re-starting the process.

No. Such calls are time consuming and take away from the time we have to search for suitable birth mothers. In addition, such calls are largely unproductive as your place on the list is a compendium of many factors and doesn’t necessarily bear a relationship to when you will be selected by a birth mother.

The birth mother usually makes a “dream family list” that identifies the qualities important to her in an adoptive family. She is then presented with several families on our list that meet her requests and who have comfort levels matching her various social and medical history. She then selects from those families. Occasionally, birth mothers prefer us to select the adoptive family, and this is done in chronological order taking into consideration social/medical situations.

The agency will attempt to expedite another match for families who experience
a disrupted adoption.

We have the ability to work with birthmothers from all over Florida and many across the nation. They typically connect with us through yellow page advertising, Internet search engines, and word of mouth referrals.

The costs of adoption are wide-ranging, primarily depending on the birth mother’s living and medical expense needs. Generally, the costs range from $30,000 to as high as $40,000 or more even. You will be able to tell us your adoption budget so we can stay within your parameters.

In matched situations where an adoptive family has already identified birth parents, fees typically range from $7,000 to $13,000 depending on the extent services were provided.

In older child or sibling adoption situations, fees range based on services provided.

In most situations, you will receive a lengthy family, social and medical history compiled by the birth mother, and sometimes the birth father. Where possible, we also obtain medical records from the OB/GYN and the hospital. If requested, we can obtain criminal records or other third party documents. We cannot guarantee the health or medical history of the baby.

Your “Dear Birth Parent” letter and family profile should include information you want your birth mother to know about you. The birth parents may also ask additional questions which will be answered with your approval. It is common, for example, for a birth mother to want to know the first name you select for the baby.

Florida law requires monthly post placement supervision visits for a minimum of 90 days and this is usually done by the individual or entity that conducted your home study. If additional visits are needed, you will be notified. Please be sure to notify your post placement provider when you receive a placement.

These are monies that are collected from adoptive parents, they are included in your fee schedule. These monies are set aside for future adoptions to be used for various reasons, such as: a birthmother may need some assistance before an adoptive family is found, the agency may need to uncover some possible fraudulent adoption plans, or a baby may be born with unexpected special needs and may require additional medical care and services before a family is choosen or exceedes the family’s anticipated budget.

There are many different variables, but our statistics show most birth mothers who have placed their children with our adoptive families are between 19 and 30 years of age, are single parents to one or more children, know the realities of parenting, and are more likely to go through with an adoption plan. Expectant mothers in their teens sometimes choose adoption; however, many decide on parenting or abortion.

Whatever is agreed upon by you and the birth parent(s). It is common for birth parents to want to speak to the prospective adoptive parents on the phone, exchange letters and/or meet at lunch or the time of placement. Almost always, this face-to-face contact is limited to pre-birth and the hospital period, although some birth mothers request a baby dedication or one-time meeting shortly after birth. On-going contact after adoption through pictures and letters is required for a minimum of five years (unless waived by both parties) and in many cases, birth parents request eighteen years. This is done confidentially through the agency or Child Connect, so identifying information is not exchanged.

In Florida, if able and aware of the pregnancy, a birth father who desires to establish and/or protect his rights is expected to pay a fair and reasonable amount of the expenses incurred in connection with the mother’s pregnancy and the child’s birth, in accordance with his financial ability, when not prevented from doing so by the birth mother or others. We attempt to locate and contact birth fathers to see if they will voluntarily cooperate with the adoption and sign a consent or affidavit of nonpaternity.

For unmarried biological fathers who are located and will not cooperate, the Florida law has mandates that we serve them with a notice of the birth mother’s intended adoption plan. The notice gives the potential father a period of 30 days within which to indicate his intent to contest the adoption by taking certain specified actions which include that he register with the Putative Father Registry, file an affidavit with the court committing to certain obligations with respect to the child, and provide physical and financial support to the unborn child. If the unmarried biological father fails to timely complete the required actions, we seek a court determination that he has no rights to the child. If the unmarried biological father timely completes the required actions, he preserves his right to notice and his consent to the adoption is required as if he had been married to the birth mother or was otherwise established to be the child’s legal father. In such cases, his failure to provide financial support to the birth mother during her pregnancy remains a basis for the court to waive his consent and the judge will determine if he provided the pre-birth support necessary to veto an adoption. All placements are at-risk.

This means you may have to return the child, should termination or finalization be denied by the court. Additionally, birth parents and legal parents have a period of 1 year to challenge termination of parental rights and any subsequent adoption, measured from the time the termination of parental rights order is entered. Arguments may be made to extend these time frames if there is fraud or other misconduct.

You should focus on being yourselves, letting the birth parents get to know you and establishing a comfort level. We want the birth parents to have concern and empathy for your situation, and for you to understand theirs. You should not be interrogative, ask for personal or confidential information or question medical history. If you have a question in this regard, let your adoption caseworker handle the matter.

We request routine newborn testing and where indicated, HIV, drug screening, and hepatitis testing.

We generally request HIV, drug screening, hepatitis and all the customary OB/GYN tests. Sonograms are also routinely done. You can usually request any other type of testing or additional sonograms, excluding amniocentesis which the doctors will only perform for a medical reason. There may be a charges associated with additional medical testing.

Pursuant to Florida law, the consent will be signed no sooner than 48 hours after delivery unless the birth mother is being discharged earlier by her doctor. With a c-section, the wait may be slightly longer as we must ensure that the birth mother is free of narcotic medication.

We have the birth mother sign a financial agreement, which obligates her to repay such monies if the match fails. In reality, very few birth mothers have the resources to do so. The financial agreement may allow you to write off such losses as a bad debt. In addition, you can pursue a judgment against the birth mother, which is valid in Florida for 20 years (and renewable for another 20). An attorney that specializes in creditors’ issues can then handle pursuit and enforcement of the judgment.

Most insurance companies in Florida are mandated by law to provide coverage for an adopted child. Coverage can exist from the moment of birth if the adoptive family agreed to the placement prior to the child’s birth. Additionally, federal laws, including the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 “OBRA ’93” (private employers) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 “HIPPA” (governmental employers), prohibit discrimination against adopted children. Therefore, health insurance coverage for adopted children is available to all families covered by group health plans at the time of placement, which is defined as the time when the adoptive family assumes financial responsibility for the child. Health insurance plans that are individual plans (not employer-sponsored) are not subject to federal regulation. If you are covered by an individual plan, you should check the laws of your state to determine your rights. We suggest that you contact your insurance company as soon as you have a match so that you can ensure your coverage is in place for the child’s birth.

Yes. Please discuss with an adoption case worker how this could have an effect on timeframes for various situations. It may be necessary to have a Power of Attorney drawn up to include wording of “adoption related decisions.” Please speak to your caseworker regarding the specifics of your case.

Yes. We work with families residing outside the United States, but many international families should be aware that the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption may govern their adoption. If so, a referral to our sister agency, Heart of Adoptions Alliance, Inc. will be made. Additionally, the adoption laws of the adoptive family’s country of residence must also be followed as well as citizenship and/or permanent resident cards must be up to date and meet all regulations.

Yes. We process many Interstate Compact adoptions and assist in reconciling the conflict of laws that often exists between states. Please feel free to discuss specific regulations/requirements of ICPC with an adoption case worker.

Yes, we will file a Notice of Intended Placement with the Court and you will receive a copy of the Court’s Order confirming the placement of the child with you. This Order may also assist you with obtaining insurance for the child. Typically, the Order is mailed to you from Court within 14 business days. At the time of the discharge, you may also receive a statement on agency letterhead confirming you have temporary custody of the child pending finalization.

Upon discharge, we will request the birth mother and child’s hospital records. It can take up to four weeks for processing; the records will be forwarded to you upon receipt.

Post placement supervision should begin within the first 30 days so please be sure to notify the individual or entity that did your home study. Florida law requires monthly post placement supervision visits for agency placements for a minimum of 90 days. If additional visits are needed, you will be notified.

Florida law permits finalization once the 90-day post-placement supervision period has expired; however, the Petition for Adoption cannot be set for final hearing until 30 days after entry of the Final Judgment terminating parental rights. Finalization generally occurs within five months after placement but can be delayed by a birth parent’s failure to cooperate or the court’s crowded docket. We will notify you when your final hearing is set.

You can visit www.irs.gov and follow their directions to apply for a Taxpayer Identification Number for your child.