The Adoption Process for Birth Mothers and Birth Fathers
If you would like to explore whether adoption may be the right option for you and your child, Bright Futures Adoption Center is here to help.
We provide non-directive counseling and support throughout the decision-making process, at no charge, regardless of the decision you make.
We will help you understand the different types of adoption and the legal, emotional and logistical aspects involved in making an adoption plan, along with helping you consider all of your options.
We will provide you with an Orientation Packet, which includes information about the different types of adoption, alternatives to adoption, your rights, what working with Bright Futures Adoption Center entails, and copies of forms designed to help you consider your feelings about adoption.
As you consider adoption, a Bright Futures social worker will meet with you and your child to discuss your specific needs, desires and concerns – and what type of adoption might be right for you if you choose to pursue adoption.
The social worker will also help you assess your current situation and make a service plan that addresses your needs. This plan will address issues such as counseling, living needs, financial and legal assistance, and medical care for you and your child.
Your social worker will also gather as much information as possible about your child and his or her health, development, needs, likes and dislikes.
Making an adoption plan also includes thinking about what information your child might need or want in the future. So Bright Futures Adoption Center will provide to you a Medical Information Form and a Social and Family History Form, and will help you complete them as fully and accurately as possible.
The information in these forms will be provided to the adoptive parents, if you choose adoption, so they can make it part of their family history and so it is available to share with the child as he or she grows older.
Once we have a sense of your child’s needs and what type of adoptive family you want for your child, we will provide you with pictures and information from prospective parents who have been approved by Bright Futures Adoption Center and reflect your needs and desires (including racial, cultural or religious identity, level of contact, finances, etc.).
You will then have the opportunity to select a family that you would like to get to know better. After you have had sufficient time to ask questions and speak and/or meet with the prospective parents, you will let us know if you would like to move forward with those parents to plan an adoption.
If you are not comfortable with those parents, you will have the opportunity to review additional families until you find one that feels like an appropriate match.
Bright Futures Adoption Center is legally required to make the final determination about any adoptive placement, to ensure that it’s in the best interests of the child. We rarely suggest a choice other than the one you make, and you are entitled to change your mind about the adoption if you don’t feel comfortable with it
Once you have identified prospective parents, you can begin to build a relationship with them and assess whether you would feel comfortable having them raise your child.
If you and those parents feel “right” to one another, Bright Futures Adoption Center will help you develop an adoption plan that is comfortable for all parties.
This will include discussion of all the details relating to the adoption, including how you would want to introduce your child to the adoptive parents, what kind of transition plan makes sense for all involved, and what degree of openness and contact you would like to have after placement.
During this process, Bright Futures Adoption Center will always be available to provide counsel and to assist you in managing your relationship with the prospective adoptive parents.
In order to place your child with the adoptive parents you have selected, you will need to relinquish your right to parent your child.
This means you will be asked to sign a “consent” or “surrender” form that says you voluntarily give custody of your child to Bright Futures Adoption Center for the purpose of adoption.
Before signing such a form, you will meet with your social worker to confirm that you truly, voluntarily wish to proceed.
In Massachusetts, once you sign the relinquishment, it is permanent and irrevocable. This means you may not change your mind and decide to parent your child, unless you discover that fraud was involved.
The form is signed in front of witnesses and a notary public, who will verbally confirm that you are signing voluntarily and that no one has coerced you to do so.
If you do not live in Massachusetts, the rules will differ about when a “consent” or “surrender” can be signed, what the form might say, where it must be signed (some states require oversight by a judge), and whether you have a right to change your mind after signing.
Bright Futures Adoption Center will help ensure that you have a knowledgeable attorney in the state where you and your child live.
After you sign the relinquishment, your part in the legal process is complete, and your child can be placed with the adoptive parents you selected.
In certain situations, it is possible to make that placement prior to signing the form, as long as the adoptive parents understand your decision is not final – meaning you could still decide to parent your baby – until your signature is on that document.
Rules vary from state to state about how long a period then must pass before the adoption can be finalized in court.
The law of the state where the adoptive parents live will usually control the post-placement period and legal finalization process. If they live in Massachusetts, the post-placement waiting period lasts for six months.
During that time, a Bright Futures social worker will visit with the adoptive family once a month to assess how the placement is going.
Based on these visits, we will complete a monthly report describing the child’s developmental milestones, the family’s adjustment to the role of parent(s) and adoptive family, and the social worker’s conclusions about the appropriateness of the placement.
At the conclusion of the six-month period, a Petition for Adoption can be filed with the Probate and Family Court. At the hearing on the Petition for Adoption, the judge will confirm the commitment of the adoptive parent(s) to raising the child and sign a decree finalizing the adoption.
Making an adoption plan is a complex and difficult decision. Many say it is the hardest thing they’ve ever done.
It is natural to experience grief and loss, and many other feelings, no matter how right you may believe the decision is for you and your child.
Bright Futures Adoption Center is not only here to help you through the decision-making process, but also to provide support after placement.