Are you considering adoption in Massachusetts? If so, you might have questions about how to find the perfect adoptive family for your child. Of course, choosing to place your baby up for adoption is a difficult decision, but choosing the adoptive family that’s right for your baby, who meets your needs and expectations, is an essential and empowering decision. This article discusses:
- If you can choose your child’s adoptive family
- What characteristics of potential families are important to you
- What you can expect during the process of choosing the right adoptive family for your baby
An adoption agency and adoption specialist can be a great resource as you look for the perfect family. You can speak with one today by filling out our online form.
Meanwhile, keep reading to learn more about how to find an adoptive family in Massachusetts.
Looking for an Adoptive Family in Massachusetts
As the prospective birth mother, you have full say over which family adopts your child. You might worry about the character of the adoptive family, but any good agency should screen adoptive families. Adoptive families are screened in three ways:
- Home studies,
- Adoption agency screening, and
- Your intuition.
In a home study, adoptive families have federal background checks for criminal convictions and documented cases of abuse. A home study also looks at financial documents and other legal documents like birth certificates. They also have health and psychological evaluations conducted by licensed professionals. After that, a social worker tours the house for safety and baby-proofing.
Although all adoptive families must pass a home study, adoption agencies take things further by including their own round of screening. Adoption agencies set their own parameters for screening, but screening can include:
- Marital status
- Age
- Criminal convictions
As a caring parent, you want to ensure the safety of your child. Adoption agencies share the same concern, so when it comes to selecting the adoptive family for your child, you should consider how adoption agencies screen and screen based on your own intuition and needs as well.
How Do You Choose the Right Adoptive Family in Massachusetts?
Many adoption agencies create adoptive family profiles for expectant birth parents to search through. If you choose an adoption professional or service to place your baby up for adoption, they can serve as a great resource during this step of the adoption process.
Certainly, it’s one of the most important decisions that you’ll make during this process, so it’s important to be thorough. Adoption agencies have built adoptive family profiles for just that reason: it’s important that prospective birth parents considering adoption in Massachusetts know as much as they’d like about adoptive families so that they can make the right decision for themselves and their child.
What to Consider About Adoptive Families
The most important thing for you to consider is what’s most important to you. Is it more important that the adoptive family has a similar cultural background or that they have a certain kind of job? Is it important that the adoptive family lives in Massachusetts? It may be that a family’s story is what matters most to you or simply that you find a loving and caring adoptive family for your child. Every adoptive family is unique, but there are many different types of adoptive families for you to consider after you decide that adoption is right for you. Talking with family, friends, and adoption services might help you understand what values and characteristics are the most important to you.
You should feel free to get to know the family that you choose so that you can feel good about the family that you select. You can ask them any question that you’d like, but you may want to know:
- What future do they imagine for the child
- How financially stable they are
- Do they own a home
- Where do they plan to live in the future
- What daycare and schools are they considering for your child
What Should I Look for in an Adoptive Family?
You can search for a family by all sorts of different characteristics. A few that can help you narrow down your options are:
- Marital status
- Sexual orientation
- Family size
- Age
- Religion
- Parenting style
- Education
- And other lifestyle factors.
We know that’s a bit overwhelming. Selecting an adoptive family that fits your wants, needs, and hopes for your child is what’s most important. By no means is there any exact ‘right’ way to select an adoptive family for your baby, but it may be worth being intentional about the process. While what’s important about the adoptive family is ultimately up to you, it still may be worthwhile to know what characteristics you can select from because there are so many different types of families that adopt.
Types of Adoptions
At the same time, it’s important to be intentional about who you choose as an adoptive family because, depending on the nature of the adoption, it may be the beginning of a life-long relationship. There are open, semi-open, and closed adoptions. If you choose an open or semi-open adoption—which is always your choice—you will spend some time with the adoptive family. Even if you choose, as many great birth mothers do for a number of reasons, a closed adoption, it’s still important that you pick the family that you think is the best fit.
Be Patient
It can take some time to find the right adoptive family for you and your child. You might not even know what’s important to you yet. You might want to know what adoption is like and what things you should think about when choosing adoption for yourself.
Fortunately, there are testimonies from mothers who chose adoption that you can read. If you’re considering adoption for you and your child, then it might be worth looking at different adoptive family profiles to see what feels right and makes sense to you. Every part of an adoption is your choice to make for whatever reason you want to make it.
If you’re having second thoughts after you’ve selected an adoptive family, you can even change your mind about an adoptive family and select another family. If you’re ready to move forward with adoption, then fill out our contact form and get more information about adoption and adoption agencies.
