How Long Does it Take to Adopt a Baby in Missouri?
How long does it take to adopt a child in Missouri?
The answer is that “it depends.”
If you’ve been considering adoption as a way to build your family, you aren’t alone. Each year, families throughout Missouri turn to adoption as their choice for starting their family.
Adoption offers many benefits, including the chance to become parents and the opportunity to help a birth mother and their child, but many hopeful adoptive families want to know how long the adoption process takes.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Adoption Process?
When you’re wondering how long it takes to adopt a child in Missouri, you probably have some questions about the adoption process.
The adoption process generally includes several steps designed to ensure that you’re ready for parenting and that you’re in a position to take care of a child.
You’ll need to:
- Fill out an APQ with the help of your adoption specialist
- Complete your home study with a social worker
- Create a waiting family profile, including a video profile
- Match with a birth mother who selects you for their baby
- Meet your baby and welcome them to your home
- Finalize the adoption with the help of a judge
While these steps may seem confusing and even a bit overwhelming, working with a national adoption agency, such as American Adoptions, can help.
How Long Does it Take to Adopt a Baby in Missouri?
When you choose to adopt a child, you might be wondering, “how long does adoption take in Missouri?”
The answer will vary based on your adoption preferences and the agency you choose to work with.
For example, when you work with American Adoptions, you can expect to adopt a child in 9-12 months. This is because we are a national adoption agency that helps match birth mothers and hopeful adoptive families in almost every state. Our team works throughout the country to give you the best chance at meeting the right birth mother as soon as possible.
Sometimes there are ways you can help reduce your wait time for adoption. For example, you can:
- Complete your home study promptly
- Adjust your APQ
- Create a strong waiting family profile
One of the most important things to remember during this time, however, is to be as patient as possible.
No one likes to think about the possibility of an adoption disruption, but sometimes these things can happen, too. An adoption disruption generally happens if a birth mother decides to parent or if a birth father steps forward.
When you work with American Adoptions, you’ll see that we work carefully with each birth mother to provide counseling and encouragement throughout the adoption process. This is to help minimize the possibility of a disruption.
Additionally, we offer risk-sharing insurance to help protect your investment. Even if an adoption is disrupted, your investment will be safe.
Another thing that can impact your wait is birth mother preferences.
While it’s important to work hard to match with a birth mother, keep in mind that the birth mother will have the final say in the family they choose for their child. If a birth mother has very specific preferences for the adoptive family, sometimes matching can take a little bit longer.
How American Adoptions Helps the Process
Here at American Adoptions, we want to help reduce your wait.
When it comes to how long does it take to adopt in Missouri, our team works tirelessly to ensure that your wait is as short as possible and that you’re as happy as possible with your match.
We do several things to help with how long it takes to adopt a child in Missouri.
First, each family who works with us will create a waiting family profile.
Your waiting family profile is designed to ensure that each potential birth mother has a chance to really get to know you on a personal level.
Next, we work with you to create a video profile. This gives potential birth mothers an opportunity to see what you and your partner look like, where you live and what your interests are.
Finally, we are a national adoption agency, which means that we operate throughout the country to ensure that you’re able to match with the right birth mother for you.
Domestic Adoption VS Foster Care Adoption
As you wonder how long it takes to adopt a child in Missouri, you may be wondering about the differences between domestic adoption and foster care adoption.
When you work with an agency like American Adoptions to pursue domestic adoption, you can expect a wait time of 9 to 12 months. You’ll generally adopt a newborn or an infant whose birth mother lovingly chose adoption for them.
On the other hand, foster care does not have a specific timeline for adoption because foster care is designed for reunification. This means that the goal of foster care is to reunite each child with their birth parents. If you do decide to pursue foster care adoption, your wait time may be unpredictable depending on whether the child’s parental rights have been severed by a judge.
Starting the Process
If you’d like to talk with someone about adoption and whether it’s right for you, don’t wait to reach out. Here at American Adoptions, we want to help you fulfill your dream of becoming a parent. We know that you’ve been dreaming about holding your baby in your arms, and we want to be there for you every step of the way.
Call us now at 1-800-ADOPTION.
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