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Sleeping Baby

IS ADOPTION RIGHT FOR YOU?

When considering adoption, there are many factors that go into making this big of a decision. You may be drawn to adoption because someone in your life was adopted or because you already have your own adoption experience.  You may have been struggling with infertility, you may have personal or ethical reasons for wanting to adopt or just feel like it’s the right path for your family.

 

This page is designed to help you reflect on whether adoption feels like the right path for you and your family. As you read through these questions, we encourage you to be honest with yourself and open to exploring both the opportunities and challenges that adoption can bring. If you are pursuing adoption with a partner, consider working through these questions both individually and together to ensure you're aligned in your expectations, values, and goals.

 

Adoption can be a meaningful way to grow a family, but it also comes with complex experiences and lifelong responsibilities. Depending on the type of adoption, you may encounter topics such as trauma, prenatal substance exposure, disability, openness with birth families, transracial adoption, and identity development. You don't need to have all the answers today, but taking time to thoughtfully reflect on these realities can help you determine whether adoption feels like the right path for your family and prepare you for the lifelong journey of adoptive parenting.

 

To learn which kinds of adoption Choice offers, check out our Programs Page. (link to Adoption Programs)  

Your Motivation

  • What first led you to consider adoption?

  • Why does adoption feel like the right path for your family?

  • What hopes do you have for growing your family through adoption?

  • What family planning options have you considered or educated yourself on? What do you still need to explore? Here are some adoption and parenting options:

  • Foster adoption 

  • Closed adoption

  • Open adoption 

  • Surrogacy 

  • Embryo adoption

  • ​International adoption

  • Interracial adoption 

  • Older child adoption

  • Infant Adoption

  • Kinship Adoption

  • What are the pros and cons of the different kinds of adoption and parenting options listed above?

  • What kind of family planning option would be ideal for you? What do you need to do to pursue that path?

Preparing for Parenting

  • What strengths do you bring to parenting?

  • What parts of parenting feel exciting? What feels challenging?

  • How might parenting change your daily life, relationships, or future plans?

  • Who will support you throughout your parenting journey?

  • Are you prepared for the emotional, financial, and time commitments of adoption and parenting?

  • If you have biological children, how do you imagine preparing them to welcome an adopted sibling?

Understanding Adoption

  • What do you know about adoption? What would you like to learn more about?

  • Adoption begins with the separation of a child from their birth family. How do you understand the impact this can have on everyone involved?

  • How do you feel about openness in adoption and maintaining some level of connection with a child's birth family?

  • How would you talk with your child about their adoption throughout their life?

  • How do you hope your child will understand their adoption story?

Expectations & Growth

  • How do you typically cope with uncertainty or situations outside your control?

  • Are there circumstances that feel outside your comfort zone? What are they?

  • How prepared do you feel to parent a child who has experienced loss or trauma?

  • How willing are you to continue learning about topics like race, culture, disability, mental health, and prenatal substance exposure throughout your child's life?

Before You Fill Out an Inquiry

  • What questions do you still have about adoption?

  • What would help you feel more prepared before beginning the application process?

  • If adoption ultimately isn't the right path for your family, how would you know?

Want to learn more?

Our team is happy to answer questions about the adoption process, openness, wait times, costs, home studies, and what to expect throughout your adoption journey. Connect with Us!

Ready to get started?

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