People just like you and I adopt children. Frequently, married couples who cannot biologically produce their own children want to adopt, but more and more, there are single people wanting to adopt children as well as families that already have other children by birth or adoption. Adoptive parents come in all shapes and sizes, traditional types of families as well as nontraditional.

This will depend on the state law of the state where you live (or where you deliver the baby). There are a few “adoption-friendly” states such as Louisiana and Florida, where the birth mother can receive living expenses, medical expenses, legal expenses and travel expenses. Then there are other states that limit the financial support to specific time frames (like the last 90 days of the pregnancy) or a particular amount (such as $1,000.00 per month for three months).

Beacon House has offices in three states that allow reasonable living expenses, legal expenses, travel expenses, medical and other pregnancy related expenses. Call today!

This will be entirely up to you. If you want to choose the family for your child, we will be happy to provide profiles of prospective adoptive families that meet your requirements. If you want a more closed adoption and desire that the agency choose the family, we can do that also. We keep many color profiles and “Dear Birthmother” letters in our office for your review.

This will depend entirely on the adopting parents and you – if you want to have pictures or letters sent to you, be sure to make your request clear and in writing. The adopting parents will need to be in agreement with you on whatever your request is – we want both you and the adopting parents to be in agreement and to feel that wishes have been respected. This will avoid any hurt feelings at a later date, since everything will be clear up front.

People who adopt (in legal adoptions), have to go through an extensive, exhaustive background check in order to be approved to adopt. The major portion of this background check is called a “home study”, where a licensed social worker investigates the family through personal visits, references, criminal background clearances, health verifications and other related information. Home studies must be done by a licensed social worker or a social worker employed by a licensed agency, depending on state law. In general, home studies are pretty thorough and check out the potential parents with so many checks and balances that any unfavorable information would come out. Although parenting itself does not come with a manual, once a parent or parents have received an approved home study, we can be sure that the child will be placed in a good home. If you are working with an attorney or directly with potential parents, be sure that you see a copy of the home study by a licensed agency.

Some birth parents are comfortable with this and others are not. Don’t let anyone “suggest” to you that you “should” do one thing or the other. Remember that there are pros and cons to either decision. Just make sure it is important to you – not someone else. You will probably be nervous and excited all at once – that’s very normal! The adopting parents may have their own feelings about meeting you – probably involving nervousness and excitement too. The most important this is that this is something that should be established up front, and once a decision is made, both parties should stick to it and not change the rules in the middle of the process.

You certainly should be provided with this. Many agencies, like Beacon House, have staff in the office that can counsel with you. However, most do not “go the extra mile” and have outside independent licensed social workers available to you as well. Beacon House encourages you to take advantage of this opportunity.

You can contact us 24/7, by phone or Email. Our toll free number is 1-888-987-6300. If you wish email contact, please feel free to email any of the following:

alise@beaconhouseadoption.com
linda@beaconhouseadoption.com

Or, you can submit the form found on this site – it will go directly to our staff, and we will contact you in accordance with your instructions. You can speak confidentially to us. If adoption seems the right decision, some background information will be taken about you and the birth father.

Then, we will ascertain what you need and how best to go about obtaining assistance for you. You will have to provide a proof of pregnancy and sign certain consent forms. Then, all you need do is tell us what kind of family you are seeking and let us do the rest!

We have a number of birth mothers that have found the experience with our agency a rewarding one. Some would be willing to talk with you about adoption; others just email us and let us know later what they felt. Please note the birth mother comments page on our site and you will see what some have to say!