Frequently Ask Questions
You probably have a lot of questions right now. Here are a few answers. Call us to answer any other questions you have.
By working with your Birth Mother Coordinator, you will be provided education and resources to help you know all your options. You will discuss things such as your financial ability, living situation, & support system – just to name a few – which can help you decide if adoption is the best option for you.
Not all birth mothers want to choose the family or even know about them, and that is acceptable as well. YOU are in control of your adoption plan.
After you have decided that adoption is the right choice for you and your baby, you may choose whether or not you want to stay in contact with your baby and their adoptive family. The choice is yours to make and your adoption will be customized based on your personal wishes between open, semi-open and closed adoption. Every mother feels differently about future contact with her baby and their adoptive family. There is no right or wrong decision, only what you as the birth mother are comfortable with. Our agency will help prepare a mutual agreement regarding future contact between you and the adoptive family so that everyone understands what will be expected.
Open Adoption – Open adoptions comes in many different forms. Before your baby is born you will be able to read the adoptive family’s profile, receive letters and photos from them, communicate by telephone, or even meet them in person. Some open adoptions may include the exchange of names and addresses of the birth mother and adoptive family and visitation after the baby is placed with the adoptive family. In some cases, the birth mother may invite the adoptive parents to be present during labor and delivery or visit in the hospital afterwards.
Semi-Open Adoption – In a semi-open adoption, your adoption plans will include reviewing adoptive family profiles, and may include letters and photos, communicating by telephone, or meeting them in-person. You may receive pictures and letters after the adoption regarding the child from the adoptive family through our office one or more times a year until the child is 18 years old. Many families share holiday cards, gifts, and videos. You may also choose for the agency to hold your photos and letters until you feel ready to receive them.
Closed Adoption – In a closed adoption, you would choose to have a confidential, private adoption, meaning that you would not have any contact with the adoptive family before or after the adoption. You and the adoptive parents will know each other’s first names but no other identifying information. Identifying information of both the birth mother and the adoptive parents remains confidential.
A home study must be completed by the adoptive family which includes a minimum of local and FBI background checks, assessment of the physical environment of the home, financial screening, documentation of counseling and education on adoption, and recent medical reports. The adoptive parents will also submit testimonials from their friends and family and be screened in person by the Agency personnel.
After the baby is placed in the home, post placement visits are required to check on the well-being of the baby, bonding, and any other issues related to the adoption. These visits must be done every thirty days until the adoption is finalized, as well as weekly check-ins with their Adoptive Parent Coordinator. A report is written recommending the finalization if everything is going well and submitted to the courts prior to placement.
As a birth parent, an adoption does not cost you anything. You are not responsible for any adoption related legal fees and we provide counseling services at no charge. No legitimate, licensed adoption agency will ever ask you for payment.
Yes. Many expectant mothers receive financial help for the duration of their pregnancy and up to six weeks postpartum. Other services such as counseling are also available to you. The law allows expectant mothers to have reasonable assistance in the following areas: housing, utilities, maternity clothing, basic phone service, food, transportation, insurance, and medical expenses necessary for the health and well-being of both the mother and child.
Yes. If the birth mother is 14 or older, the adoption can occur without parental consent. If the birth mother is under 14, parental consent is required. Call us to talk about your options.
Adoption paperwork is signed at the hospital 48 hours after the baby is born or when the hospital clears you for discharge, whichever comes first. It is a difficult moment, but we will support you through it and make sure you understand every step as you go.
After the baby is placed with the adoptive family, contact depends on the level of openness you choose. This can range from no contact with the baby or adoptive family after birth to letters and photos and possibly meetings with the adoptive family.
The Birth Mother Coordinator is here to help you with all aspects of your pregnancy. She will help you get insurance, find medical care, help you keep up with your prenatal visits, provide transportation to appointments, connect you with community resources, and will be available to listen and answer questions you have along the way. She is here to support you through this process and ensure you don’t have to do this alone.
If you are pregnant and in jail/prison, or you know you are about to go to prison, adoption is still an option. We provide professional, compassionate support and assistance and guide you through the adoption process. We can help you place your child into a private, open adoption with an adoptive family instead of foster care or with a family member who you don’t want to have the baby. We can talk to you about your options to make the best decision for you and your baby.
While each situation is unique, you will still be able to make an adoption plan, choose the adoptive family, receive financial assistance for pregnancy-related expenses, and have contact with the adoptive family if you choose an open adoption.
It is important that you make a plan for your baby before he or she is born. If you don’t, the placement of your baby will be decided for you. When you choose an adoption plan, you can be confident that your baby is going to a loving home with a family who is willing and able to give your baby all the opportunities possible in life.
We are available to speak to you on the phone or visit you at the jail/prison to discuss your option and see if adoption is the right choice for you and your baby.
Beyond Pregnancy Care – Osceola / Orange County, Florida www.BeyondPregnancyCare.com
If this location doesn’t work for you, you can find help across
Florida here: https://floridapregnancysupport.com
You can find help nationwide here: https://www.heartbeatinternational.org/worldwide-directory
You can also find nationwide resources for pregnancy and nonpregnancy related issues here: www.findhelp.org United In Love Adoptions has many hopeful adoptive families waiting for a child. We will ask you exactly what you are looking for in an adoptive family.
Not all birth mothers want to choose the family or even know about them, and that is acceptable as well. YOU are in control of your adoption plan.
If you already know who you want to adopt your baby, we can sIll facilitate the adoption. So, if you have a friend
or family member that you would like to choose to adopt your baby, reach out to us so we can ensure that all applicable laws and procedures are followed for a legal adoption and for the protection of you and your baby.
Yes. A birth mother can surrender her baby under what is called the Safe Haven Act. Within seven days of giving birth, a birth mother can drop the child off at a hospital, ambulance station, or fire department and not have to provide any information regarding herself or the child. There is a presumption that the parent who leaves the newborn infant intended to leave the newborn infant and consented to termination of parental rights. The birth mother will not be looked for or prosecuted.
It is important to understand that surrendering a baby through the Save Haven Act means you will not have future contact with or updates on your child and you will not be able to choose the parents. Choosing private adoption instead means you can choose the parents and determine the level of contact you wish to have in the future. For more information on the Safe Have Act, call 1-877-767-2229 for a toll-free, multilingual help line. It’s staffed 24 hours a day and all calls are confidential.
Click here for more information from www.asafehavenfornewborns.com
The important thing is that you disclose what you do know and are open and honest with the Expectant Parent Coordinator. We must take all required steps to locate and notify the potential father.
Florida Law allows for you to protect your privacy and not reveal who the father is of the baby.
In Florida, your legal husband is considered the father of the baby whether he is the biological father or not. The law requires notification and consent to terminate parental rights from your husband, even if you are separated.
There are two types of expectant fathers: legal fathers and named fathers.
In most cases a man is the legal father of a child if the minor was conceived/born while the man was married to the child’s mother, if the baby has been established in a court proceeding to be his child (ex. paternity action), or if the man has filed an affidavit of paternity. Legal fathers must consent to termination of parental rights and adoption is required in writing after the birth of the child. There is a detailed legal process if a legal father does not want to consent to adoption that they must follow to attempt to gain custody of the baby at birth.
A man who is an unmarried biological father (a/k/a named expectant father) has fewer rights and protections in the adoption process than a legal father. In Florida, if able and aware of the pregnancy, an expectant father who desires to establish and/or protect his rights is expected to pay a fair and reasonable amount of the expenses incurred in connection with the mother’s pregnancy and the child’s birth, in accordance with his financial ability, when not prevented from doing so by the birth mother or others. We attempt to locate and contact expectant fathers to see if they will voluntarily cooperate with the adoption and sign a consent or affidavit of nonpaternity.
One of the best resources for birth mothers is the Brave Love website. There you can learn more about adoption, hear stories from birth moms and from those who were adopted as children, and more.
Click here to visit: https://www.bravelove.org
Yes. Many families are happy to care for all types of needs the baby/child may have and are open to many different situations. Just as you have specific things you want in an adoptive family, adoptive families will be open and looking for specific situations as well. Adoptive families are educated on various possible risks, and we will help you find the best family to love and care for your child, no matter what the situation.
By working with our Adoptive Parent Coordinator, you will be provided education and resources to help you learn more and understand adoption. You will discuss things such as your financial ability, living situation, support system and more, which can help you decide if adoption is the best option for you. We will discuss different situations you might face and what you desire for your growing family. We will talk about your expectations and answer your questions to create a customized adoption plan for your family. This may include marketing to find the perfect match for you or matching you with one of our expecting mothers.
While each situation is unique, you will still be able to make an adoption plan, choose the adoptive family, receive financial assistance for pregnancy-related expenses, and have contact with the adoptive family if you choose an open adoption.
It is important that you make a plan for your baby before he or she is born. If you don’t, the placement of your baby will be decided for you. When you choose an adoption plan, you can be confident that your baby is going to a loving home with a family who is willing and able to give your baby all the opportunities possible in life.
We are available to speak to you on the phone or visit you at the jail/prison to discuss your option and see if adoption is the right choice for you and your baby.
We believe all people have the right to have a family. There are no restrictions due to religious beliefs and no blanket restrictions on age or marital status. Each case is handled based on its individual merit and the best interests of the child. Each family must pass a Home Study and all background and physical environment qualifications.
This is an impossible question to answer because each adoption journey is unique. We’ve seen it take days for some, and years for others before a match is made. That said, the average wait time to match with an expectant mother is 18 months to 2 years. The average time to complete the legal process after the child is born is 4-6 months.
We require all of the adoptive parents at our agency to be willing to be in an open or semi-open adoption. The birth mom sets the expectations for pre- and post-birth contact. Every mother feels differently about future contact with her baby and their adoptive family. There is no right or wrong decision, only what she as the birth mother is comfortable with and what you agree to. Our agency will help prepare a mutual agreement regarding future contact between you and the birth mother so that everyone understands what will be expected.
Open Adoption – Open adoptions comes in many different forms. Before your baby is born the birth mother will be able to read your adoptive family’s profile, receive letters and photos from you, communicate by telephone, or even meet you in person. Some open adoptions may include the exchange of names and addresses of the birth mother and adoptive family and visitation after the baby is placed with the adoptive family. In some cases, the birth mother may invite the adoptive family to be present during labor and delivery or visit in the hospital afterwards.
Semi-Open Adoption – In a semi-open adoption, the adoption plans will include reviewing adoptive family profiles, and may include letters and photos, communicating by telephone, or meeting you in-person. The birth mother may receive pictures and letters after the adoption from you regarding the child. This can be facilitated through our office one or more times a year until the child is 18 years old. Many families share holiday cards, gifts, and videos. The birth mother may choose for the agency to hold the photos and letters until she feels ready to receive them.
Closed Adoption – In a closed adoption, the birth mother chooses to have a confidential, private adoption, meaning that she would not have any contact with the adoptive family before or after the adoption. You and the birth mother will know each other’s first names but no other identifying information. Florida law requires that identifying information of both the birth mother and the adoptive parents remains confidential. As stated, we do not accept adoptive families at our agency who desire only a closed adoption, but if the birth mother chooses a closed adoption, that will be facilitated.
All the information we know about the social and medical information on the birth parents, their family (including siblings and grandparents), and the baby will be given to you. We generally request HIV, drug screening, hepatitis and all the customary OB/GYN tests from the birth mother, and sonograms are also routinely done. There may be charges associated with additional medical testing. You will be given the prenatal and hospital records for both mother and baby with their personal identifying information redacted for privacy protection.
Florida law states a birth parent who executes a consent for adoption involving a child six months or younger, does not have a grace period in which to change their mind. The consent for adoption is permanent and irrevocable from the moment it is signed, and only can be overturned based on fraud or duress. However, in cases where the birth mother is placing a child older than six months, the birth parents have 3 business days to revoke a consent for any reason.
Our Agency journey can facilitate all kinds of adoptions including, step-parent adoptions, kinship adoptions,
adult adoptions, and more. If you are in need legal advice on these adoption issues, or on other legal matters,
please reach out to Barbara Harris, Esquire, HBH Law, via email at barbara@hbhlawfl.com, or call 407-957-9686.
The costs of adoption can be wide-ranging, mostly depending on the expectant mother’s living and medical expense needs. Generally, the costs range from $35,000 to $65,000. You will be able to tell us your adoption budget, so we can work with you to complete your family while staying within your budget.
There are many organizations that offer grants or loans for adoptive families that quality. We can provide a list of potential resources to our adoptive families upon request.
The birth mother will make a list of the qualities most important to her in an adoptive family. We will know what your adoption goals and restrictions are as well. We will then show the birth mother the profiles of adoptive families that match on both sides. She then chooses from those families. Sometimes, birth mothers who prefer completely closed adoptions will ask us to select the adoptive family. We will then choose from our waitlist based on length on the list, taking into consideration goals and restrictions from both sides.
Yes. We will create a family “one-sheet” for our wait-list book. We show these one-sheets to expectant mothers first, then share the family book as she requests. We find this process to be much less overwhelming for the birth mothers. You can have your family book made yourself, by another company, or for a fee we can make the book for you. We ask for two copies to have on hand at the agency. We can give you pointers, guidelines, and even a template if you wish.
All insurance processes very slightly. Once the baby is born you will contact your insurance company to add them. We will help you with any documents needed along the way, including permission to transport the child and receive medical treatment for them. Insurance companies are aware that it takes 5 to 6 months to complete the adoption process in Florida. Most insurance companies in Florida are mandated by law to provide coverage for an adopted child. Coverage can exist from the moment of birth if the adoptive family agreed to the placement prior to the child’s birth. Additionally, federal laws, including the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 “OBRA ’93” (private employers) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 “HIPAA” (governmental employers), prohibit discrimination against adopted children. Therefore, health insurance coverage for adopted children is available to all families covered by group health plans at the time of placement, which is defined as the time when the adoptive family assumes financial responsibility for the child
A Home Study is an independent investigation to verify your suitability as adoptive parents. They are valid for up to one year in Florida and can be updated easily. We can complete the entire home study process with you. The total cost is $1,500.00. Your Home Study must be completed before you can take custody of a child. Typically, a home study is completed within 90 days. We will accept completed and valid home studies from other qualified, licensed agencies.
Florida law allows finalization of an adoption once the 90-day post-placement supervision period has expired; however, the Petition for Adoption cannot be set for final hearing the until 30 days after entry of the Final Judgment Terminating Parental Rights. Finalization generally occurs within five months after placement, but can be delayed by a birth parent’s failure to cooperate or the court’s crowded docket. We will keep you notified of your cases ongoing court dates and celebrate with you on Adoption Day!
Ready to Start Your Adoption Journey?
Click the button to download our Adoption Interest Form. You can bring it directly to our office or email it to info@unitedinloveadoptions.org.
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