There are hundreds of families looking to adopt a baby. By choosing adoption, you are:

• Doing what’s best for your life
• Giving your baby a loving family
• Helping an adoptive family fulfill their dreams

Choosing the best adoptive parents for your baby can be an encouraging and empowering experience. You are given the option to choose what lifestyle you want your baby to live and the type of parents you want them to have.

As soon as today, you can start to look through adoption profiles that show couples who are eagerly waiting to adopt.

You can choose to work with a local adoption agency that will present adoptive families only in South Carolina, or national adoption agencies that provides families from across the United States. Either way, choosing adoption will provide families that are anxious to find a child to adopt.

The steps to find couples looking to adopt may be easier than you thought. Below you will find guide on how to find adoptive parents for your baby.

How to Find Adoptive Parents in South Carolina [In 3 Steps]

Step 1: Picking an Adoption Agency

The first step to find parents looking to adopt a newborn is to choose an adoption agency. Adoptions agencies will vary in the number of adoption profiles that they offer, which can either limit or increase your options of finding perfect adoptive parents.

Local agencies in South Carolina will provide you options of families waiting to adopt in your state. These agencies allow you to research the families they have waiting in South Carolina all across the state. If you choose to work with a national adoption agency, they can provide adoptive families in S.C., as well as families across the United States.

Through every stage of the adoption process, you are in control. Here are some adoption agencies to consider that are licensed in South Carolina:

• American Adoptions
• Quiver Full Adoptions
• Nightlight Christian Adoption
• Hope Embraced Adoption Agency

Step 2: Creating an Adoption Plan

Once you have chosen the agency you would like to work with, your adoption professional will help you develop your adoption plan. The adoption plan will discuss your desires and expectations for type of adoptive family that you want your baby to be a part of.

Your adoption professional will ask you various questions, such as:

• Where would you like your baby to be raised?
• What kind of lifestyle do you want your child to grow up in?
• What kind of family structure do you want for your child? First child for the family? A family that already has kids?
• What kind of beliefs and values are important to you? Religious beliefs?
• Do you want your child to be of the same race and ethnicity as the adoptive parents?
• What kind of adoption do you want? Open adoption? Semi-open adoption?

There are families looking to adopt from all parts of the country with all different kinds of lifestyles and backgrounds. The adoption agency that you choose will decide how many adoption waiting families are available to consider. Once you finish creating your adoption plan, your adoption professional will try look for adoptive families that can match and satisfy your needs.

For more information on how to create an adoption plan, contact an adoption professional today.

Step 3: Deciding on an Adoptive Family

At this point, you can search through adoption profiles to find the adoptive parents you desire for your baby. Your adoption agency will have options of online adoption profiles and in some cases a print profile if that better suits your situation. If you would like to view adoption profile samples, you can look at a few here.

It is normal for the decision to take some time and thought. It is also not uncommon for the adoptive family to jump out to be your number one right away. In whatever time frame you reach the adoptive family that you believe is the family for you baby, an adoption professional will be there to support you.

When you reach your decision, your adoption professional will notify the family to see if they can satisfy your needs. If the match is successful, you have found your adoptive parents to look after and love your child. At any point if you feel like you want to change your mind on the adoptive parents you can do so before you give consent. Remember you get to choose what adoptive family you want for your baby.

Continue reading below to discuss the selection of adoptive families and other questions about choosing an adoptive family.

The Screening Process of an Adoptive Family

Each prospective adoptive family has to complete a screening process to determine their desire and ability to become adoptive parents. The adoption agency that they sign up with has to complete a series of tasks that include:

• Conducting a criminal background check
• Verifying income status and financial ability to support a child
• Complete a home study and inspection
• Discuss why they want to be parents

During the home study process that is required for families wanting to adopt in South Carolina and around the United States, the adoptive families will complete a task that will express what brought them to adoption. For more questions on what all the home study covers in South Carolina, click here.

The adoptive family will discuss their lifestyle, such as their jobs, where they live, what activities they enjoy, their values and beliefs, their family structure and other factors. These factors will be outlined in the adoption profiles where you can decide which family you desire your child to grow up with.

How many profiles can you view? Can you get print profiles?

The amount of profiles you can view will depend on the type of adoption agency that you choose.

If you choose a local agency, your options will be more limited. A national agency, on the other hand, offers families looking to adopt a baby from different states in the U.S. in addition to South Carolina families. Once you select the adoption agency you want to work with, all of their families wanting to adopt are available for you to view.

In addition to the online adoption profiles that are listed, you can also receive print profiles. Print profiles are adoptive family handouts that adoption agencies provide to give supplemental information about the family. You can order as many print profile handouts that you want to help assist your adoptive family selection.

How do I know I can find the right adoptive family?

Finding adoptive parents that fit your every need is important. You are in the driver’s seat throughout the adoption process, and you can get down to the specifics with what you want for your child. Your adoption professional will focus on every detail to customize and guide your adoption experience in the right direction.

Remember that you can spend ample time looking through the list of adoptive families, and you can switch your selection of adoptive parents at any time. This experience can be challenging but also empowering because you are given the choice to pick how you want your child to live.

How do I communicate with the adoptive family?

The most important aspect of choosing adoptive parents is your comfort level with the family. When you are ready to choose your adoptive family, communication is extremely important for a few reasons:

• Transparency of your expectations are clear with the adoptive family
• Online adoption profiles only you show a part of what the adoptive family is like
• Communicating with the family can help you feel more comfortable with the process
• You can establish a lifelong connection with a caretaking family
• Discuss how often you want to be involved in your child’s life
• You can sit down and meet the family face to face to ensure sincerity

If you have found the adoptive parents that you have been looking for, that is the goal all adoption professionals desire for you to find. But, if you decide that the family cannot accommodate your needs and desires, you can change your mind at any time and another family wanting to adopt will.

Do you need help putting together criteria that are important to you for the adoptive parents to have?  Do you want more information on adoption agencies that will work with your adoptive family needs? Contact us today to find the answers you are looking for to help give your child the gift of love and opportunity.