Recently, we were asked, “Can I choose adoption for my baby if I have an active case plan?” There is a lot of confusion around case plans and adoption. If you want to make an adoption plan and have had children removed from your home or are working on getting your children back, the state doesn’t have to be involved. You can do an independent adoption using the help of an adoption agency like Lifetime.
If you are wondering how to place your baby for adoption, it is likely because you know you won’t be able to provide everything they need. Out of love, you are actively seeking a way to do just that.
A Better Alternative
Many women don’t know that adoption is an option for them. They may not understand the difference between making a private adoption plan and letting the state take control of their adoption. When a mother makes a private adoption, she can choose the parents for her baby. Plus, she can remain in contact with them and get updates on her child as they grow up.
You don’t get any of those choices when you have a case plan. The state will make all of these decisions for you. Typically, if a baby is born with exposure to substances, the state may step in and place the baby in the foster care program.
Unfortunately, in a foster care situation, you will not be the one to choose who your baby gets placed with or what kind of contact you can have in the future. Before the state places your child or even after, you can still take back some control by choosing adoption. If you find yourself in this situation, you can contact Lifetime Adoption and create an adoption plan from the hospital. Then you can select parents to adopt your child and can agree upon contact after the adoption is final.
Can I Choose Adoption if I Already Have a Case Plan?
Yes, if you need to make an adoption plan for your baby, Lifetime can help. Having a current case plan open that includes your other children will not affect your ability to make an adoption plan for the baby you’re currently carrying.
Call or text Lifetime at 1-800-923-6784 today for advice based on your situation. Expectant mothers who decide to place their baby for adoption voluntarily usually do so because they want to be in control of their situation. They are making the choice of adoption to provide their baby with the best life possible. If she already has other children, choosing adoption for her baby also allows her to provide her other children with the best life possible.
Sometimes, parents working to reunite with their child in foster care will get pregnant again. They realize that caring for a new baby isn’t possible at this point in their lives and may also ruin their chances of reuniting with their child. So they decide that making an adoption plan for their baby is what’s best for their entire family.
Placing your baby for adoption may seem more complicated if you have an active case plan with your child(ren). However, the options that you have in this situation are typically straightforward.
If you have an existing case or one of your children is in custody, and you find yourself pregnant again, you can still choose to make an adoption plan for your unborn or newborn baby.
Modern Open Adoption
Lifetime Adoption has a unique adoption program that offers birth families an alternative to case plans and foster care. It’s called modern, open adoption and the choices are yours:
- You may make the choice of the adoptive family for your baby.
- You choose how things are handled at the hospital when you give birth.
- You can receive updates on your baby as they grow up through emails, phone calls, texts, and even in-person visits.
If drug use or other risk factors have been your major concern, consider making an adoption plan for your child as an alternative. Get private, confidential, non-judgmental answers to your questions by calling or texting 1-800-923-6784. We’re open 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Call us before your choices are no longer yours to make.
- No fees involved.
- Attorneys available.
- No foster care. Private, independent adoption.
- No court appearances.
- Counseling available
- Caring assistance
What’s Your Situation?
Choosing adoption for your baby can prevent your choices from being eliminated by state intervention.
Some women worry that their current situation will cause their child to be taken by the state and put into the overcrowded foster care system. The truth is, adoption gives you a say in your child’s future.
As one mom, Zoey, puts it, “I live with my boyfriend, and I’m due in a couple of months. He plans on making money to support us by selling drugs! So, I’m worried if I try to raise my baby, she’ll end up being taken by the state. I want her to have a stable life with two parents. Adoption lets me give her that.”
If drug use or other risk factors have been a major concern of yours, consider adoption as an alternative. In most cases, choosing adoption will help you avoid involvement with state services in the future. Plus, it gives you rights and choices over what happens to your child.
When you create an adoption plan for your baby, you’re able to place him or her directly with the adoptive parents that you choose. You’ll have the same rights and choices as any woman making an adoption plan for your child. This includes the option for an open adoption. Open adoption means that you not only pick your baby’s adoptive parents, but you also get updates, photos, and visits as your baby grows up.
Choosing Your Baby’s Future
Lifetime Adoption has hundreds of hopeful adoptive parents and will provide you with profiles of those who match what you’re looking for. You have the power to choose your baby’s future. That future might look like having a stay-at-home mom or growing up in an adoptive family who shares their ethnicity. Some birth mothers envision their child growing up in a particular area of the U.S., while others desire that their child gets placed with a couple who follow the same faith. No matter what you’re looking for in adoptive parents for your baby, Lifetime will help you find the right fit.
Choosing adoption is seldom easy, but it’s a way that you can select parents for your baby that you know will love them instead of leaving it up to the state.
Many parents have asked, “What happens if I get pregnant while my other children are in foster care?” Unfortunately, in many cases, if a pregnant mother already has children in custody, her baby would immediately be placed into foster care, too. But by contacting Lifetime, you can control the adoption process. And, you can improve your chances of recovering custody of your older children.
To get started, contact us to begin the adoption process for your baby. It’s important to let your caseworker know immediately; tell them that you’re working with an adoption agency to place your baby once they are born. Your caseworker will then call us to confirm this, so make sure you contact Lifetime and begin making your adoption plan first.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on November 24, 2017, and has since been updated.
As Vice President of Lifetime Adoption, Heather Featherston holds an MBA and is passionate about working with those facing adoption, pregnancy, and parenting issues. Heather has conducted training for birth parent advocates, spoken to professional groups, and has appeared on television and radio to discuss the multiple aspects of adoption. She has provided one-on-one support to women and hopeful adoptive parents working through adoption decisions.
Since 2002, she has been helping pregnant women and others in crisis to learn more about adoption. Heather also trains and speaks nationwide to pregnancy clinics to effectively meet the needs of women who want to explore adoption for their child. Today, she continues to address the concerns women have about adoption and supports the needs of women who choose adoption for their child.
As a published author of the book Called to Adoption, Featherston loves to see God’s hand at work every day as she helps children and families come together through adoption.
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