As a woman thinking about adoption in California, you want your child to have endless opportunities.

You most likely have a vision of the kind of life you want for him or her, but how to pick adoptive parents to provide your baby with that life? It can be an overwhelming step, which is why American Adoptions has a process in place to help you find a family that is perfect for your baby.

To get more information about how you can find adoptive families for your baby, call 1-800-ADOPTION or fill out our contact form.

You will be completely in control of choosing who will raise your baby.But if you're not sure where to start, your adoptoin specialist will be by your side every step of teh way to make sure you find the perfect match.

Continue reading below to learnmore about finding an adoptive family for adoption in California.

What am I Looking for in a Couple to Adopt a Baby?

Your Adoption Specialist will be with you every step of the way, and the first thing she’ll do is help you determine the answers to a few questions so she can get an idea of the type of adoptive family you’re looking for for your baby. She’ll ask you to consider:

• What kind of lifestyle do I want for my baby? Do you see him or her growing up surrounded by arts and culture? Do you see a more outdoorsy upbringing, with frequent camping trips and hikes?

• Do I want my baby to have siblings? Some women prefer to place their child with adoptive parents who have other children, whether through adoption or biologically. Other women would rather place their baby with a couple who doesn’t have any children yet.

• Do I want my baby to physically resemble the adoptive parents? Naturally, your baby will not be biologically related to his or her prospective adoptive parents. However, is it important to you that you find a family that resembles your child as much as possible? Is it important to you that you find adoptive parents that share a similar cultural background and traditions?

• Where do I want my baby to grow up? As a national agency, American Adoptions works with couples from across the country. Is it important to you to find a family in California? If you’d like your baby to remain in the Golden State, that can certainly be arranged. If you’d prefer that he or she be raised on a farm in the Midwest, in a city on the East coast, or anywhere else in the United States, those are options as well.

You’ll also need to think about what traits and values are important to you in parents looking to adopt a newborn.  Is it important to you that they share your religion? Is a higher education important to you? Whatever you imagine for your baby, you can find an adoptive family to make sure he or she gets the kind of life you’re picturing.

What steps do adoptive parents in California go through to be able to adopt?

While you’re thinking about what you hope to find in families waiting to adopt in California, it’s also important to know what criteria American Adoptions requires them to meet. We will never connect you with an adoptive family that doesn’t meet the following requirements:

• Is fully committed to adoption. Many parents that adopt do so after struggling with infertility for years. It’s a painful process for them, and it’s important that they have thoroughly grieved their infertility before they are introduced to adoption opportunities. We want all of our families to be both emotionally ready and excited for growing through adoption, and it’s difficult for this to be the case if they’re still holding out hopes of having a child biologically.

• Has completed a home study. California adoptive parents are required to undergo a rigorous home study process, which ensures that they are ready to provide a safe, stable and loving home for your baby. The California home study includes a home inspection, an interview process and a documentation phase, which requires background checks, financial information and health records.

• Excited to build a relationship with you. At American Adoptions, we recommend open adoption, which is an adoption situation in which the adoptive parents and birth parents maintain some degree of communication throughout the baby’s childhood. The more communication that occurs, the better for everyone in the adoptive triad. Ideally, you’re gaining two new family members when you place your baby for adoption!

Adoption Profiles in California

After you’ve talked with your Adoption Specialist about what you’re looking for in a prospective adoptive family, she’ll begin to show you two kinds of adoption profiles:

1. Adoptive Parent Profiles. Your Adoption Specialist will send you print profiles of adoptive families that line up with what you’ve expressed interest in. These print profiles essentially read brochures and give information about adoptive families, their home lives, their lifestyle and why they decided to pursue adoption.

2. Adoptive Family Video Profiles. If normal adoptive parent profiles are brochures, adoptive family video profiles are movies. Watching video profiles allows you to actually see a family’s home and environment. You’ll be able to learn about their mannerisms and see what’s going on rather than forming your own picture in your head. With video adoption profiles, you’ll get to know adoptive families before you ever meet them.

As soon as you’ve found a family you think could be right for your baby, your Adoption Specialist will arrange a conference call between all of you. If it goes well, you could have found your child’s adoptive parents!

For more information about how to find adoptive parents in California, call 1-800-ADOPTION to speak with an Adoption Specialist. 

Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. American Adoptions provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.