As a prospective birth mother considering adoption for your baby, you want to find the best adoptive family. You may have looked at many waiting families in your area, but you think you might want to place your child for adoption in another state.
You may have questions, like:
- Can you give your child up for adoption in a different state?
- Can people from another state adopt my baby?
- What is interstate adoption?
Placing your baby for adoption in a different state is an option for you. With the right help and resources, you can find the right adoptive parents for your baby in a different state.
In this article, we’ll discuss interstate adoption, the reasons many birth mothers go this route, and explain the process for how you can place your baby for adoption in another state.
You can contact us online today if you’d like to be connected with an adoption professional to learn more about interstate adoption and what you need to do to begin the process.
Reasons for Choosing a Family Out of State
Whether you’ve chosen interstate adoption for your child or you’re still only considering the idea, know that you’re not alone. While there are prospective birth mothers who choose to place their child for adoption in their own state or hometown, there are many birth mothers who chose interstate adoption for their babies.
There are many reasons why choosing another state for your baby’s adoption might be better for you, such as:
- You want more potential adoptive parents to choose from
- You’ve already found adoptive parents and they live in a different state
- You don’t feel that your community is the best place for your child
- You want your child to benefit from growing up in a different part of the country
- And more
The most important reason to consider choosing an adoptive family in a different state might be that first one — more options for you.
This is a big decision. You want the best for your child, and that means choosing the best adoptive family. But, if you only look nearby, you are limiting your options. Choosing a family from a different state gives you the ability to consider as many families you want until you find the perfect one.
As a birth mother, adoption is a truly selfless and loving decision. Every step you take along the adoption process — from deciding what type of post-adoption relationship you want with your child to whether you want to spend time with your baby in the hospital — is about making a better future for you and your child. That includes choosing the adoptive family that will raise him or her.
Even if you feel comfortable in your community, you may still feel that choosing a family in a different state is going to give your child the most opportunities in life. That is OK. Whatever your reason for choosing interstate adoption for your child, you can take comfort in knowing that you’re choosing the best opportunities for your baby.
Adoption Agencies [How They Can Help]
If you decide interstate adoption is the way you want to go, then you’ll need to work with something called a “national adoption agency.”
There are several types of adoption professionals you can work with, but national adoption agencies are going to be best equipped to help you.
Whereas local and regional adoption agencies focus on birth mothers who want to keep their adoption local, national adoption agencies are built to work across state lines. This means they are already working with a larger number of hopeful adoptive parents all across the country.
Having more adoptive parents to choose from can also mean that you’re more likely to find the best family for your baby in a shorter amount of time. You’re also able to receive more resources and adoption-related services due to the higher volume of families that national adoption agencies work with, which can help make your adoption process easier.
Since national adoption agencies complete more interstate adoptions, their adoption specialists are well-educated on all of the unique aspects and steps of interstate adoption.
Here are some national adoption agencies to consider contacting about learning more on interstate adoption:
How Can People from a Different State Adopt My Baby?
The adoption process for interstate adoption placements is not much different from the general domestic infant adoption process. Regardless of where you and the prospective adoptive family live, you will still be able to:
- Make your adoption plan
- Review waiting adoptive family profiles
- Get to know the family through pre-placement contact
- Create your hospital plan
- And more
Working with a national adoption agency is going to be your best option at finding an adoptive family who wants an interstate adoption.
As you work through your adoption plan with your adoption specialist, you can decide first thing if you know you want an out-of-state adoptive family for your baby. This will help you adoption specialist find profiles of waiting adoptive families who are from a different state for you to review.
Once you’ve chosen the prospective adoptive parents for your baby, you have the option to get to know them before you go to the hospital for the big day. Even if the family is from another state, your adoption specialist can set up a phone call or video call so the meeting feels a little more personal than just through email — whatever makes you feel the most comfortable.
The adoptive family will also meet you at the hospital when the time comes. It’s up to you whether you want them in the delivery room with you, or if you want to wait until after the birth to spend time with them. They will respect your decisions.
This is why it’s important to create your adoption plan as early as possible. The earlier your adoption specialist and the adoptive family know your plan, the easier it is for them to accommodate and help you feel comfortable and confident in the process.
After the adoption is complete, you can still stay connected with the family and your baby. This will depend on what type of post-adoption relationship you chose when you created your adoption plan.
If staying in touch with the family and your child after the adoption was a priority for you in making your adoption plan, open adoption and semi-open adoption are ways you can continue your relationship with them.
Start Your Interstate Adoption Today
Whether you already have adoptive parents chosen from a different state or you need help finding the right adoptive family in another part of the country, there are so many resources and professionals out there who can help make your interstate adoption a reality.
We encourage you to contact an adoption specialist today to learn more about the interstate adoption process or to find out what options you have available. We can connect you with a specialist who can help you get started on your adoption journey.
