The Adoption Process in Arkansas
Are you ready to welcome a child to your family? It’s time to learn about the adoption process in Arkansas.
While no two adoption experiences are exactly alike, each family who pursues private domestic adoption will have to go through the adoption process in Arkansas.
This process is designed to ensure that you’re ready for parenting emotionally, financially and physically.
You can keep reading to learn how to start the adoption process in Arkansas, or call 1-800-ADOPTION to speak with an adoption specialist who can help you begin your adoption journey.
What's the Adoption Process Like in Arkansas?
When you’re getting ready to adopt a child, it’s important to understand one question: “How does the adoption process work in Arkansas?”
While each adoption is unique, the steps of adoption are the same.
Step 1: Complete Your APQ
This is the first step of the adoption process for all hopeful adoptive families. During your initial APQ call, you’ll talk with your adoption specialist about the adoption process in Arkansas and what you envision for your adoption.
This is your chance to let your adoption specialist know what type of adoption you’re most comfortable with, what your adoption budget is and what you’re looking for in a potential birth mom.
Step 2: Complete Your Home Study
How long does the adoption process take in Arkansas? Part of that will depend on how long it takes you to complete your home study.
This part of the adoption process in Arkansas includes completing a background check, having a home inspection and participating in a personal interview.
Many hopeful adoptive families feel anxious when it comes to their home study. They’re worried that they won’t pass or that their social worker will judge them when it comes time for the home inspection.
It’s important to remember that your home study is designed to ensure that you’re ready to parent your new baby. Your social worker isn’t checking to see if you’ve been keeping up with your laundry. Instead, they want to know that you have functional doors and windows, that your smoke detectors work and that you’re ready to welcome a new baby to your home.
Step 3: Create Your Waiting Family Profile
Not every part of the adoption process in Arkansas is tedious. In fact, this part of your adoption journey is a lot of fun! Creating a waiting family profile is one of the most exciting things you’ll get to do as you prepare for your child’s adoption.
Your waiting family profile is a way for you to let birth moms know who you are.
When a potential birth mom looks for the perfect family for her baby, she wants to get to know them before deciding. Some birth moms want to know if their child is joining a family who loves dogs, for example, while other birth moms want to know if their baby will have siblings.
Your waiting family profile should offer birth moms a glimpse into your life, as well as the things and people that are most important to you.
Step 4: Match With a Potential Birth Mom
When a birth mom chooses you as the future parent of her baby, this is called “matching.” When you match with a birth mom, you’ll be able to begin building a relationship with them and getting to know them. Sometimes matching happens early in a birth mom’s pregnancy, while other times matching may happen closer to when your baby is born.
Step 5: Placement and ICPC
When you meet your baby, and they are placed in your arms, this is called placement. Sometimes a birth mom may hand you your baby, but other times a social worker may hand you your child.
If you live in the same state where your baby is born, you can simply bring your child home. If you live in a different state, you’ll need to wait for special approval called ICPC. Your adoption agency will guide you through this process.
Step 6: Finalization
The last step of the adoption process in Arkansas is finalization.
During this step, you’ll become your baby’s legal parents, and a new birth certificate will be issued. For most adoptive parents, finalization is one of the most important days of their lives and is something they’ll never forget.
How Long is the Adoption Process in Arkansas?
While the wait time varies based on your circumstances and the type of adoption you pursue, you can plan to wait just 9 to 12 months when you adopt a child with American Adoptions.
Choosing the Right Adoption Agency
When you’re ready to start the adoption process in Arkansas, it’s important to choose an adoption agency that can provide support to you throughout your adoption journey.
Your adoption agency should help you every step of the way.
Here at American Adoptions, for example, we work closely with each member of the adoption triad to ensure that your adoption experience is as memorable as possible.
We work with adoptive families to:
- Help prepare you for your home study
- Ensure you complete a waiting family profile
- Guide you through the matching process
- Learn to communicate with your baby’s birth mom
- Process the emotions of adoption
- And more
Everyone involved in the adoption experience needs support, guidance and care. This is why we also provide each potential birth mom with emotional counseling and support, too.
When a prospective birth mom comes to American Adoptions, she’ll be connected with a birth parent specialist. This specialist will work with each adoptive mom to provide:
Answers to questions about the adoption process
- Guidance in preparing a hospital plan
- Help choosing the right adoptive family
- Medical and financial support throughout the pregnancy
- Assistance in understanding her rights and options
- And more
When you’re choosing a national adoption agency, it’s vital to ensure that you choose an agency that helps each person involved in the adoption process in Arkansas.
Starting Your Adoption Adventure
Are you ready to welcome a child of your very own?
There’s no time like today.
Call American Adoptions today to start the adoption process. Our team would love the chance to help you become a mom or a dad through adoption. You can call us 24/7. We’re ready to answer your questions and guide you through starting your Arkansas adoption journey.
Disclaimer
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