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Why Choose Domestic Adoption

The Truth about Domestic Adoption

It is truly possible to adopt a healthy child in a reasonable amount of time (usually less than 12 to 18 months) through a domestic adoption agency.  Domestic adoption agencies provide services for birth mothers who make adoption plans for their babies often because of a lack of resources. Expectant mothers are married women, single women who are not prepared to parent right now, single mothers with other children in the home, college students trying to finish their education, teenagers and women who are pregnant as a result of an assault.  Reputable domestic adoption agencies make sure that adoptive parents receive copies of expectant mothers’ social and medical histories so they can make informed decisions when cases are presented to them.

Contrary to popular myth, families who adopt a child domestically do not have to worry that the birth parent(s) will come to take the child back.  If you use a reputable adoption agency and attorney, the birthparent(s)’ parental rights will be terminated in a legal process that is irreversible and you will be the legal parents of the child.  Once an adoption is finalized, the law in every state recognizes you as the child’s parents.  Despite what you may have seen in the media, revocation of an adoption is very rare and usually the result of poor legal practices.

Adoptive families, who choose domestic adoption, do not have to be concerned about being forced into contact with the birth parents.  Our agency allows you to decide what level of contact you want with the birth parents.  Your profile will be shown to those birth mothers who want the same level of contact you desire.  You and the birth parents will have a contact agreement before the baby is born.  Our agency does require that adoptive parents agree to send pictures and letters to birth parents during the first three years of the child’s life.  However, we ask that you send the photos and letters to our agency so that we can forward them to the birth parents.

Families who adopt domestically can expect to spend far less than they would for an international adoption.  There are no international air fares and living expenses for long stays in other countries.  With a domestic adoption, adoptive families do not have to worry about the sometimes unreliable and inconsistent adoption processes of foreign governments.  Adoptive families who choose to use an adoption agency in their state of residence generally will have fewer costs than if they use an out-of-state or national agency.

Why Choose an Adoption Agency

Adoption is an important life decision.  Anytime you engage in a life-altering event, you benefit from using professional services.  You use professionals for their expertise and experience, and, oftentimes, to make sure that everything is legal.  When you need surgery, you use a surgeon’s services.  When you marry, you have a licensed minister or person perform the marriage ceremony.  If you have complicated taxes, you hire an accountant.  When you decide to sell your home, you seek out a professional realtor to handle the advertising, transaction, closing, title transfer, and other details.  The same is true of adoption.  In the adoption process, you will need a professional with the experience and expertise to make sure that things are done right.  It is probably better to become involved with adoption professionals early in the process.  Adoption is simply too important not to get it done right.

When you choose to work with an adoption agency, you have assurances and security that you would not have otherwise.  There is a liaison between you and the birth parents.  An adoption agency can assist you with a birth parent contact agreement.  If confidentiality is important to you, an adoption agency can help keep your identity confidential.  In working with an agency, you reduce your risks of becoming the victim of fraud by women who pretend to be pregnant and are scamming multiple prospective parents for money.

Why Choose Adoption Bridges of Kentucky

Adoption Bridges of Kentucky is a non-profit full services adoption center licensed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a child-placing agency.  We focus on adoption because we believe that every child deserves a stable home with loving, nurturing parents who have the resources to provide for the child and guide his/her development to adulthood.  As a non-profit, our agency exists, not to make money for investors or owners, but to benefit children.  We are not owned by any one person, a group of persons, or a law firm.  We are not part of state government.  We are advocates for adoption.  We belong to the Kentucky Adoption Coalition, the North American Council for Adoption, and the American Pregnancy Association.

Adoption Bridges of Kentucky is accountable. Each year, our finances are audited by an independent Certified Public Accountant.  The annual audit report is filed with the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General.  Our agency records are monitored annually by the Kentucky Office of the Inspector General.  We are a member of the Better Business Bureau and the Center for Non-Profit Excellence.

We are accessible.  Our agency office is located in Louisville.  You have the opportunity to meet with us face to face about one of the most important aspects of your life.  We provide you with personalized and friendly service.  Our staff is here to guide you through the adoption process and offer our emotional support.  We are fortunate to have contract staff scattered throughout Kentucky to provide support services for adoptive parents and birth parents.

Our agency builds bridges between birth families and adoptive families for the sake of providing good homes for children.  At Adoption Bridges of Kentucky, you become part of our adoption family.  We cherish the birth parents and adoptive parents whom we serve.  We love our birth mothers for their courage to make a decision in their children’s best interests.  Our adoptive parents are special to us for the joy they experience in enfolding a child into their hearts and homes.  There are no words to express the deep feelings we have for the babies.  Our office walls are decorated with pictures of babies we have placed with loving families.  When a baby and the adoptive parents come for a visit, our staff spends time with the family.  Those visits make us smile and remind us of why adoption really is a miracle.

In 2009, we successfully placed 26 infants with adoptive families.  On average, we place twenty to twenty-five infants annually.  We have a history of placing newborn babies with relatively few disruptions.  Although it is impossible to completely eliminate adoption disruptions, our well educated and experienced counselors help reduce disruptions by working closely with birth parents to prepare and support them emotionally for adoption.

Adoption Bridges of Kentucky’s Board of Directors is composed of adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth mothers.  As the agency’s guiding force, the Board of Directors understands what adoption means to both birth families and adoptive families, as well as to the children.  They have chosen agency staff who are committed to adoption and have the empathy and understanding needed to assist you through the various stages of the adoption process.  At a minimum, all of our staff have bachelor’s degrees in social work, psychology and other human services fields.  Many hold master’s degrees and have extensive experience.

Our agency is accessible to expectant mothers 24 hours a day.  Our birth mother counselors can be reached around the clock.  They are available to help women who are facing an unplanned pregnancy, considering adoption, and exploring their options.  Our birth mother counselors, who are located throughout the state, meet with birth mothers in person and get to know them.  They understand each birth mother’s situation and are there to provide services to meet her needs.  Every birth mother, who receives services through our agency, receives counseling.  Our birth mother counselors meet the birth mother and the adoptive families at the hospital during the baby’s delivery.  They are there to discharge the baby to the adoptive parent(s).

At Adoption Bridges of Kentucky, adoptive families have their own adoption advocate who provides information, education, and support throughout the adoption process.  We want you to have the best possible adoption experience.  We want to rejoice with you.  However, we also know that the road to adoption can sometimes be rough.  We will be here for you with comfort and support if the road is temporarily blocked.

Our agency very carefully monitors our adoptive family waiting list.  We steadfastly avoid accepting more families on our waiting list than we can place babies with in a year.  Our staff regularly reviews the waiting list and searches it for criteria that meet each birth mother’s preferences.

Adoption costs at Adoption Bridges of Kentucky are explained in detail even before you start the adoption process.  Adoptive parents are provided with a copy of the fee schedule.  Rather than requesting the entire adoption fee up front, fees are due as services are provided.  The greater part of money is due when adoptive parents are matched and when the birth parent(s)’ parental rights are terminated.

One of the advantages of working with our agency is that we manage the monies paid for birth mothers’ expenses.  During the initial phases of working with the birth mothers, our counselors review their financial needs and make a financial assistance plan.  Birth mothers are instructed to call the agency with financial emergency requests outside of that plan.  You do not have to respond to a birth parent(s)’ direct request for additional funds and worry that the adoption may be lost if you deny the request.

Adoption Bridges of Kentucky spends a significant amount of time in outreach to birth mothers.  In addition to listings in more than 50 telephone directories in Kentucky, we send information to community resources, such as schools, hospitals, clinics, and obstetricians’ offices, where birth mothers go for services.  We also have a Facebook page and a site on YouTube.

You are welcome to call us and ask about our services.  You can also e-mail us with questions at lindadavis@adoptionbridgesofkentucky.org.