A Child's Waiting Adoption Agency works with birth parents
and other adoption professionals from around
the country, not just in Ohio. Our Adoption
Program welcomes families from around the
United States to join our program. An approved
adoption homestudy from the residential
state is required to be considered for
acceptence to be an adoptive family. Additional requirements are
listed below.
Application Process
Enclosed with this information is a preliminary
application form. If you are interested
in applying to A Child's Waiting adoption program please
complete the Preliminary Application and
return it with the application fee of $175.00.
(non-refundable). At application, ACW will
assess your family and determine if we
can be of assistance in your child adoption search.
Once accepted, we will need a copy of your
valid adoptive homestudy and three photo resumes.
In order for an adoption agency to actively begin searching,
adoptive families must complete all required paperwork
and have a phone interview by a staff member.
This helps ACW get to know you and all of the adoption information needed, so that
we can match you with potential situations.
There is a $1500.00 non-refundable processing
fee for adoptive families interested in an infant
placement to actually begin your search. Please DO
NOT send this fee until you have been
accepted into the adoption program. No other fees
are required until such time that your
family is matched with a child.
Training and Education
Should have been completed at the time
of homestudy.
Adoption Homestudy
The adoption homestudy must be a current Ohio Department
of Job and Family Services approved study
for Ohio adoption families, or the equivalent in
the state of residence.
This is a state required assessment completed
by a certified adoption assessor/social
worker.
Matching
At the time of acceptance, the adoptive
family should prepare for circulation of
their adoption homestudy and profile. We will need
3 color copies of your profile for our
records. The profile must be in color and
be no larger than 8.5" x 11".
It must be bound and able to fit in a 10x13
envelope. (no three- ring binders or padded
scrap-book style photo books will be excepted).
Depending on the adoption program selected, your
profile and/or homestudy may be circulated
to public adoption agencies nationwide, to attorneys,
other private custodial agencies, or to
birthparents. It is a practice of
our domestic infant program to allow birthparents
to select the adoptive family. Families
will be presented to birthparents based
on the criteria established by each party. Some
adoptive parents will be interviewed by
birth parents by phone or in-person.
Other adoptive families families may only be viewed by a photo
profile and birthparent letter.
Some birth parents will take a few days
to select, others may take several weeks.
Families are not obligated to search only
with A Child's Waiting adoption agency.
They are encouraged to seek additional adoption information and
resources for placement. In the event
that a placement is received from a different
adoption agency or attorney independent of ACW the
application fee and administration fees
are not refundable.
A Child's Waiting will also seek out possible
placements outside of our custody.
In the event that A Child's Waiting matches
your family with this type of situation,
fees from the custodial agency, or attorney,
will apply in addition to any match fees.
Applicable ICPC compliance fees will be
added if needed. Match fees for non-ACW
birth parents will start at $4000 and depending
on the difficulty in matching the child.
The fee will be quoted at the call for
profiles.
Adoption placement fees for ACW birth
parents in Ohio or out of state will range
from $5000-$15,000 depending on the situation.
All projected fees will be quoted at the
call for profiles. Please see program outlines
for more information.
The following
Services are offered as part of your
agency adoption
- Pre-adoptive training
- Adoption homestudy compliance review
- Assistance in completed adoptive applicant
photo profile and birthparent letter
- Birthparent services to include case
management, counseling, state required
assessments, education, etc.
- Communication with legal representatives
or either party
- Acceptance of permanent surrender (when
ACW is custodian)
- Court appearance for permanent custody
(when ACW is custodian)
- Acceptance of physical custody of child
from hospital, foster or parental care
and transfer physical custody to adoptive
couple.
- Post-placement supervision for up to
6 months, includes 7 visits. Additional
visits are $125 per month
- Facilitation of payment of medical bills
and legal bills, if necessary.
- Intermediary communication between birth
parents, adoptive applicants, legal counsel,
health care and social service providers,
and other custodial agencies, if necessary.
- Coordination of services required for
adoption legalization/finalization.
Post Placement Services
For Ohio Adoption families, A Child's Waiting can provide
post-placement supervision for the adoptive
parents from the date of placement through
the date of finalization.
A family is not permitted to finalize an adoption
prior to six months after placement in Ohio. Adoption
rules may vary by state. These
visits are required to insure the child is
being well cared for, and that the adoptive
family is adjusting to their new parenting
roles.
Special permission is required to have another
adoption agency complete post-placement visits within
the state Ohio for a custodial child of ACW
or if ACW received your interstate. Families
not using ACW post-placement services must
notify A Child's Waiting of whom will be completing
services and receive written permission to
do so from ACW. A post placement maintenance
fee of $125 a month until your adoption finalizes
if ACW does not supervise the placement in
Ohio. Out-of-state families are required to
complete post-placement visits in their own
state. The number of visits required
will be determined by the sending adoption agency or
dictated by adoption law within the receiving
state. For ACW custodial children being placed
out of state, there will be a post placement
maintenance fee of $125 a month until your
adoption finalizes. This is billed up-front
at placement.
A Child's Waiting adoption agency will refer adoptive families
to an attorney experienced in adoption at the
time the family should be petitioning to finalize
the adoption. In the event that a family
wishes to finalize outside of one of our counties,
or wish to use an attorney of their choice,
they must discuss this possibility with one
of the Executive Directors.
A Child's Waiting shall remain available
to birthparents, adoptive families and adoptees
to provide counseling, education and support
after the placement occurs. In the
event that A Child's Waiting is unable to
provide the birth parents with necessary
service they will be referred to agencies
and/or service better equipt to manage their
needs.
A maximum of $750 in counseling/psychiatric
expenses per birthparent may be billed to
the adoptive family after placement (this
only occurs in private adoptions, not for
birthparents of children coming from foster
care).
A Child's Waiting will continue to facilitate
communication between birthparents and adoptive
parents, as applicable.
Post-Finalization Services
A Child's Waiting shall remain available to
birth parents, adoptive families and adoptees
to provide counseling, education and support
after the finalization occurs. Contact
ACW for information on services offered. Families
in Programs III through V are required to provide
to A Child's Waiting letters to the birth parents
and photographs of the child for 3 years after
placement according to the schedule set in
the picture contract (Quarterly the 1st year,
bi-annually the 2nd year and bi-annually
the 3rd year) . After the third
year, yearly pictures are required either around
the child's birthday or the winter holiday
seasons. This "good faith" agreement
between the birth parents and adoptive couples
should be upheld.
Families who do not comply with photo agreements
will not be permitted to complete additional
adoptions through our program. If a family
attempts to transfer their file to another
adoption agency lack of compliance with the photo contract
will be noted.
All families are subject to post-finalization
fees.
Post finalization for adoptive families will
be billed according to the services requested.
Fees Schedule
A Child's Waiting offers numerous adoption search programs.
There can be varying fees for each program and
at times it can be confusing as to which may
apply to your family. Please call A Child's Waiting
Adoption Agency if you have any questions at all.
