Adoption in Iowa

Iowa Adoption, Home Studies and More

Adoption Services for
Birth Parents and Adoptive Families

Please choose where you’d like to begin:

Information about placing
a child for adoption
or
Information about adopting a child

If you live in the Hawkeye State and want to learn more about adoption, a Lifetime Adoption coordinator is available to explain the adoption process. If you are placing your child for adoption or considering adopting a child, we have coordinators ready to help you. You will be provided all the adoption information and resources you need and will have all your questions answered.

Pregnant and Considering Adoption in Iowa

An unexpected positive pregnancy test can cause a lot of stress. It may be hard to know where to turn. You may want to keep the news private, or you may share your news with the baby’s father, your family, or even close friends. However, this may lead you to receive a lot of different opinions, which can be even more confusing.

You are not alone. Help is available. Start by calling, texting, or  filling out our online form and a Lifetime Adoption coordinator will reach out to you. She will be a non-judgmental source of information and support for you. Next. your coordinator will tell you what your options are and what help is available.

What is the Adoption Process in Iowa?

Lifetime Adoption coordinators have been helping pregnant women and women with young children in Iowa through the adoption process for over 35 years. Just call, text, or fill out our online form. An adoption coordinator will answer any questions, listen to your concerns, and provide all the information you need to make the right choices for you and your baby.

Do you think adoption is the right choice for you and your baby? Check out Lifetime adoptive family profiles to find the family you believe is the right one for you and your child. You may want a family that lives in Iowa or is from another state. You can also decide what kind of contact you want in the future. If parenting a toddler or older child is a struggle that is not healthy for you or the child, you should know that adoption isn’t only for newborns. One of our caring coordinators will refer you to a professional counselor at no cost to you. She will develop a transition plan for you, your child, and the adoptive family. She can also outline a post-adoption contact agreement that is healthy for everyone involved.

Along with an adoption plan, you should have a hospital plan if you are pregnant and placing your baby for adoption. Your Lifetime Adoption coordinator will help you create this, and it will outline who will be in the delivery room, who should hold the baby first, and other labor and delivery details. She will then inform the hospital staff and adoptive family of your wishes. You will also be provided your own legal representation at no cost to you. Your representative will make sure that you are aware of all your legal rights and understand the adoption process.

Get In Touch

Open Adoption in Iowa

Most people don’t know a lot about modern, open adoption. Most don’t realize that today the birth parents make all the decisions. They may not understand that birth parents decide who will adopt their baby and the kind of contact there will be in the future. Your Lifetime coordinator will help you create an adoption plan that suits you and your baby. She will ask for information such as:

What are you looking for in a family, such as race or religion?
How much and what kind of contact do you want in the future?
What do you want to be included in your hospital plan?
Are you in need of resources such as assistance finding medical care or with pregnancy-related expenses?

Modern, open adoption is a very loving and extremely brave choice you make for your baby. It also means you don’t have to say goodbye to your child forever. You can get updates and pictures and even have some visits once or twice a year. Our birth families often have lifelong relationships with their baby’s adoptive families. Recently, a Lifetime Adoption birth mother was getting married, and she asked if her daughter could be there. She was not only there, but the adoptive parents were there as well, and the adoptive father even walked the bride down the aisle.

Help With Pregnancy Expenses and More

Eva called Lifetime when she wanted to place her baby for adoption. She was in a difficult situation and did not want her baby to grow up in this situation. Now with additional pregnancy-related expenses, she did not know how to get out of her situation. Her coordinator let her know that in the state of Iowa, pregnancy-related expenses can be handled by the adoptive parents with court approval. The expenses may include:

Adoption-related legal expenses
Pregnancy-related medical care
Necessary living expenses of the mother such as costs of housing, utilities, food, and transportation for medical purposes related to the pregnancy
Costs of the counseling

Iowa Adoptive Families

No matter what consider important in an adoptive family, we want to help you find the perfect family. Using our search adoptive families tool, Lifetime Adoption gives you more opportunities to find a family that fits the criteria you’re looking for. Each family profile will give you more information about the family’s:

Lifestyle
Additional family members
Home and neighborhood
Values and religious beliefs
Reasons for adopting
And much more!

Start by searching for what’s important to you. Use the “Search for Families” button below.

Search for Families

Families Hoping to Grow Through Adoption in Iowa

Are you in Iowa and have been considering adopting a newborn, toddler, or child up to the age of six? As one of the leaders in modern, open adoption, Lifetime Adoption coordinators are here to help you achieve a successful adoption journey. Expectant mothers and adoptive families have been successfully matched for over three decades. Our kind and experienced coordinators work tirelessly to make sure our birth mothers have all the support and resources needed and help connect them with the perfect adoptive families for a great match.

Starting the Adoption Process

So how do you get the adoption process started? It’s simple. Just fill out our short online application. This is free and does not obligate you in any way. Once your adoption application is pre-approved, a coordinator will be in touch to explain the entire adoption process. You will be provided guidance on creating your personal profile for birth mothers to view, given referrals for your home study, and access to podcasts, blogs, webinars, and other resources on our membership site.

Mardie Caldwell, the founder of Lifetime Adoption, created Lifetime as a result of her experiences while adopting her son. For over three decades, this program has been a success. Our Lifetime coordinators will guide you on your adoption journey, so your dreams of growing your family through adoption come true. If you’d like information about adoption financing, we have that too.

Adoption Laws in Iowa

Iowa adoption laws can seem hard to understand. Your Lifetime coordinator will recommend an Iowa adoption attorney who will walk you through the legal adoption process in Iowa.

In Iowa, the timeline for legal documentation for adoption is as follows.

In general, written consent of the birth parents cannot occur until at least 72 hours after the birth. The adoption is irrevocable 96 hours after the signing of the consent papers.

Iowa, like every other state, requires a home study before the finalization of the adoption. There may be different legal requirements in Iowa depending on the details of each adoption. Depend on your Iowa adoption attorney to make sure all legal requirements are followed.

Iowa Home Studies

A home study is a legal document that demonstrates your ability to parent a child. Your Lifetime Adoption coordinator will recommend a qualified home study provider to you in Iowa.

With a home study, be prepared to provide the following and more:

Suitability of the home for a child
An examination of any criminal and child abuse records of the adoptive family
A minimum of two contacts, one face-to-face interview with the adoptive family and each member of the household, and at least one home visit
Emotional stability and marital history
An assessment of medical, mental, or emotional conditions that would affect the ability to parent a child
Statements from at least three references provided by the family and other non-related references
Income information

Whether you are hoping to adopt or are a parent considering placing your child for adoption, Lifetime Adoption looks forward to working with you and providing the information and support you need for successful adoption.