Single and married people are able to adopt both domestically as well as internationally. Some countries have requirements with regard to single people as well as married couples to include length of time married as well as age requirements of each parent. Generally, parent(s) must be at least twenty-five and not older than fifty-five years old. You must also be deemed healthy by your primary care physician, and free of communicable disease and mental health disorders.

Having an arrest does not necessarily disqualify you as an adoptive parent. New Hope’s social workers will talk with you and review records to deem the appropriateness of your ability to adopt.

A New Hope social worker will visit you in your home at least twice prior to completing home study report. We will be looking at your financial stability, your criminal records (CORI and Central Registry findings), a doctor’s examination to see that you are in good general health, that your home has the physical space for an adopted child and that there are no contradictions to adoption.

Yes, the referrals for adoption are for healthy infants/children. You may choose to adopt a special needs child, if you wish.

While there are factors that make this question difficult to answer, whether you are adopting domestically or internationally will impact cost when you factor in travel costs, etc. Many adoptive parents rely on home equity lines of credit, fundraising and/or adoption grants to help offset the costs of an adoption. You should consult your tax professional to determine your eligibility for a tax credit up to $13,400.00 after completion.

Each parent is required to participate in approved pre-adoptive parent training for a minimum of ten hours. You are encouraged to choose programs that best meet your adoption needs (adopting an infant or older child, what to expect if you are adopting a child internationally, etc.)

The adoptive parents and the birthmother/birth parents will decide if they would prefer an open or closed adoption plan. Many open adoptions are very limited to annual letters while some may include visits with the birth family. A closed adoption means that both the birthmother and adoptive parents agree that there will be no contact with one another throughout the adoptees childhood. The option for the adoptee to contact his/her birth family after the age of eighteen may still be possible, if they choose.

This is a very personal decision that New Hope will help you to come to. It is our goal that both the adoptive and birth family are in agreement to what the terms of an open or closed adoption will be. Deciding on an open or closed adoption will not influence the timeliness of your adoption but rather is an important piece of ensuring the adoption plan is the right one for your family.

The re-adoption process is very simple and will generate a birth certificate that includes the child’s legal name and the adoptive parents’ names.

The length of time it will take to complete your adoption can vary. The major influences will be the length of time it takes for you to be paper ready as well as what you are looking for in a referral of an infant/child/children.

Yes, often there are sibling groups and/or two children who have lived together that may be adopted by the same adoptive family at the same time.

Post placement visits are a requirement of every adoption. While there are different standards for each state as well as country of origin, New Hope has a minimum required amount of visits to your home post-adoption.

Each visit includes a meeting in your home with your social worker a complete report addressing the health and disposition of the adopted child, the attachment to the family, a summary of schooling and or other services, and an overall summary of how the placement is going.