Have you learned about independent adoptions as a birthmother? Independent adoptions are facilitated by the birthmother, adoptive family, and a lawyer or legal team. It allows you to place your child with a family you know. You don’t have to search through hundreds of potential adoptive parents to find the right match.

In contrast, agencies provide extra protection you don’t get through an independent adoption. Independent adoptions place most of the responsibility on you to ensure the home is safe. You are also responsible for putting open adoption agreements in place beforehand. You will need to ask a lawyer about adoption laws in your state.

Many agencies are nonprofits and can provide their services free or at a low cost.

Birthmoms often worry about the cost of their adoption. The cost of independent adoptions varies, depending on the lawyer and state laws. It may be less or more than a private adoption agency. If you choose family or close friends as the parents, they may or may not offer to pay for the services. With an agency, however, you typically won’t have to pay out of pocket.

Birthmothers also want to know what rights they have in an open adoption, and how long they have after the birth to reclaim parental rights of their child. Independent adoptions by a facilitator don’t always guarantee rights. They have little oversight from the government, unlike an adoption service. An agency cannot change these rights as they are regulated by the state. They can walk you through the process so you know what to expect.

Independent adoptions often require a lawyer. You must comply with adoption laws in your state, and in the adoptive family’s state if they live elsewhere. Usually this is an easy process. Whether you choose to have an independent or agency-facilitated adoption, the adoptive family will have to do certain things, like have a home study and talk to social services.

Identified adoption is an option.

If you know a couple you’d like to adopt your baby, then you can both go to an agency and request that they adopt your child. Some agencies offer this option to encourage mothers to choose an agency to help them. If you know the parents you want to adopt your child, identified adoption is a great option for you.

Contact Birthmothers Choice if you have more questions about agency adoption.