How Long Does the Adoption Process Take?

The average wait time for adoption with us takes an average of 12 months. Many things factor in to how we minimize our wait times as much as possible to expedite your ability to start life with your new family.

As a full-service, national adoption agency, working with us gets you all the support you deserve on this incredible journey of a lifetime, including an adoption timeline that means holding your child in your arms that much sooner.

Use our online form to learn more about the average wait time for domestic infant adoption and what impacts those wait times.

How Long Does the Adoption Process Take?

Working with us means your average wait time for a domestic infant adoption is 12 weeks. Some of the factors that impact how long you’ll wait to adopt a child include:

• Advertising budget

• Number of active adoptive families

• Your adoption plan

• Understanding you can only do so much

Each step of the adoption process takes a different amount of time, here’s a look at four of those steps and the potential impact on your adoption timeline.

Step 1. Completing the Home Study and Adoptive Family Profile

The home study is a required component of the adoption process and consists of information that can take time to compile, which can impact your average wait time for adoption. Your home study checklist should include:

• ID (such as a driver’s license)

• Birth certificates

• Social security cards

• Marriage certificate (if married)

• Proof of citizenship or proof of legal immigration

• Proof of income

• Proof of employment

• Medical records

• Immunization records

• Pet vaccination records from the vet

• An autobiographical statement

It can take anywhere between 2-3 months for this step to be completed due to the extensive review required to vet them.

Gathering these documents ahead of time can ensure it doesn’t take any longer than necessary.

Step 2. Finding an Adoption Opportunity

As the birth mother is always responsible for choosing the adoptive family for her baby, the average wait time for domestic infant adoption depends on how many mothers see your profile.

Our advertising has the same exposure as the next 25 other agencies working together.

Being flexible with your adoption planning questionnaire in terms of your preferences can lead to lower wait times too.

Step 3. Getting Ready for Placement

Once you’re selected by a birth mother, the remainder of the adoption timeline is dependent on how far along she is.

She could be months away from giving birth or her due date could be in the next few days.

Step 4. Finalization

Before the adoption can become officially official, post-placement visits have to be completed with a social worker. The average wait time for your adoption post-placement visits is usually around six months.

In terms of finalization, the details of your adoption will impact the adoption timeline.

Terminating the birth parents’ parental rights can be anywhere from immediate to 30 days.

The Indian Child Welfare Act takes time to complete and is federal law. Legal proceedings are involved for any Indigenous child who is part of a federally recognized tribe.

If your adoption is between two families located in different states, the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children clearance can take anywhere between 10-14 days.

Minimizing Your Adoption Timeline

We know how long you’ve been waiting to grow your family. Family is forever but your average adoption wait time doesn’t have to be.

We minimize wait times as a result of our:

• Advertising: Higher marketing means a higher chance of a birth mother finding your profile. Low marketing means longer wait times.

• Networking: We work with hundreds of adoption professionals throughout the United States to find matches.

• National Exposure: As a national adoption agency, we work with pregnant mothers across the country.

• Balance: We watch our completed adoptions as well as the number of adoptive families that join our agency to ensure accurate wait times.

Working with us means getting all the services you need to complete your adoption. We know you can’t wait to begin life with your new family and we’ll help make that a reality as soon as possible.

Fill out our form to get more free information about your adoption timeline with us.

Disclaimer
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