Types of Adoption
One of the first steps in the process of adoption is exploring what type of adoption is right for you. There are four main types of adoption today: domestic infant adoption, embryo adoption, international adoption, and foster care adoption. All four of these types of adoption require a prospective adoptive family to obtain a home study through a licensed adoption agency or county. New Life Adoptions is licensed for domestic infant adoption and embryo adoption.
Domestic Infant Adoption
Domestic infant adoption refers to adopting a child whose birth parents are placing the child voluntarily within the United States and directly from the birth parent(s)’ care. Most domestic infant adoptions occur shortly after a child’s birth. New Life Adoptions can work with both the birth parents and the adoptive parents throughout the process in a full-service adoption or provided limited services as needed in situations in which one party lives outside of Minnesota or already has an agency or attorney involved. For more information about our domestic infant adoption program fees click below.
Embryo Adoption
New Life Adoptions provides home studies for embryo adoption. A couple then works with an embryo adoption program for the remainder of the process. For more information about our embryo adoption services, click below.
Other Types of Adoption
If you are interested in international adoption or foster care adoption, you can email or call our Adoption Line for referrals to an adoption program licensed in one of these areas. Step parent adoptions typically only require an attorney for assistance. Independent adoption refers to adoptions utilizing an attorney rather than an agency for services, and may still require a home study for the adoptive family, depending on the situation.
Openness in Adoption
The proximity of birth families and adoptive families in a domestic infant adoption allow for the opportunity to have some level of ongoing contact, often referred to as openness. The majority of adoptions facilitated by New Life Adoptions are open adoptions. New Life Adoptions sees many benefits to having some level of openness in the relationship – benefits to you, to the birth parents, and especially to the child. During the adoption process, we will provide education about openness in adoption and talk about what you are open to and help you figure out what will work for your family.
Open Adoption
In an open adoption, identifying information is shared between the birth family and adoptive family, and you will maintain some level of contact with the birth family throughout your lifetime. Openness in adoption also includes varying degrees of communication between parties after placement. This can range from texts or phone calls to in-person visits. New Life Adoptions encourages both the birth parents and adoptive parents to put their openness agreement in writing through a cooperative or contact agreement.
Semi-Open Adoption
Similar to open adoption, semi-open adoptions have some communication such as letters, emails, phone calls, and sometimes visits, but the birth parents and adoptive family have not shared full identifying information with each other.
Closed Adoption
In a closed adoption, no identifying information is shared between parties and there is no contact between the birth family and adoptive family after placement. Any communication of critical information, such as updates to medical history, would be mediated by New Life Adoptions.
Changes to Openness
Open adoption relationships grow and change over time, just like every relationship in life. Our Post Adoption Services are available to assist you throughout this lifelong journey by offering resources, information, support, and mediation when needed.
