Cleveland Adoption

Cleveland Adoption, Home Studies and More

adoption in cleveland
hand in house icon

Adoption Services for
Birth Parents and Adoptive Families

 

Are you considering adoption in Cleveland, Ohio? If you are looking for adoption help in Cleveland, Ohio, give Lifetime Adoption a call. We have all the resources and information you need. Our adoption coordinators are available for birth parents to make sure they have the resources and support they need and are available to help families grow through adoption.

Lifetime Adoption, a nationwide leader in domestic, open adoption, and our adoption coordinators are experienced and ready to assist you with your adoption. Three decades of experience connecting birth families and adoptive families give you a reason to believe in Lifetime. Lifetime Adoption will provide resources such as adoption articles, webinars, counseling, podcasts, and referrals. You will have all the support you need for a successful adoption.

Help for Pregnant Women in Cleveland

adoption cleveland
If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy in Cleveland, Lifetime Adoption can help. Our caring and experienced adoption coordinators will help you create an adoption plan. You will learn about the open adoption process and receive all the guidance, information, and support you need. Just call or text our adoption coordinators, who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Finding a home with loving adoptive parents who are financially and emotionally ready for a new baby can be the best situation for you and your baby. Adoption through Lifetime will allow you to make the choice of adoptive parents for your baby. You can view Lifetime Adoption family profiles and choose the adoptive family that is the right fit for you. You can choose how much contact you want with the family after the adoption, and you can even decide how everything will go at the hospital.

The unexpected expenses that can come up with an unplanned pregnancy can be hard to cover. If you need assistance, your Lifetime Adoption coordinator may have some solutions. In Ohio, you can receive help with:

  • Any hospital or medical expenses you incur for prenatal care or delivery
  • Expenses charged by the attorney arranging the adoption for providing legal services in connection with the placement and adoption
  • Up to $3,000 of your living expenses that are incurred during pregnancy through the 60th day after your baby’s birth. These include things such as: rental or mortgage payments, utility payments, food, household goods, personal care items, and the costs of transportation to work or school

Your Lifetime Adoption coordinator will go over what resources are available for you.

If you are having a hard time raising a toddler or young child and are looking into adoption, Lifetime Adoption can help. Marla* called us because she was facing a jail sentence and had a two-year-old daughter. While her parents offered to take her child while she was in jail, she wanted a more stable home environment for her daughter. She wanted her to grow up in a happy, stable home. She worked with her adoption coordinator, and together they found a family that she knew was the right family for her girl.

The Lifetime Adoption coordinators are here to help you as well. There are many adoptive families interested in adopting sibling sets, toddlers, and special needs children. While choosing adoption and making that call can be difficult you can depend on finding a caring, non-judgmental adoption coordinator available to speak with. She will answer all of your questions and provide information honestly at Lifetime. Call or text Lifetime Adoption anytime, and we will be there for you.

* Name has been changed for privacy.

Adoption Help in Cleveland

Working nationwide, Lifetime Adoption can help you place your baby with an adoptive family either in the state you live in or another state. Your Lifetime Adoption coordinator will guide you through the entire adoption process.

At Lifetime Adoption, you can be sure you will have:

  • Free Peer and Professional Counseling available
  • A wide variety of adoptive parents’ profiles to choose from. All have completed home studies and h background checks
  • Support is available 24-hour/seven days a week
  • Help with pregnancy-related expenses
  • Continued support after the adoption
  • And much more!

Adoption Counseling in Cleveland

Professional and peer counseling are some of the most important resources Lifetime Adoption provides. Adoption is a big decision, and speaking with a professional counselor can help you navigate the decision-making process. You may experience a lot of different emotions during your adoption journey. Your professional counselor can help you work through them.

Another valuable resource at Lifetime Adoption is peer counseling. A peer counselor is a birth mother who has been where you are and wants to help other women on their adoption journey. She will share her experience, listen to you, and offer advice.

Maternity Hospitals in Cleveland

Your Lifetime Adoption coordinator will also work with you to create a hospital plan just for you. She will ask questions you may not think of, such as:

  • Will you hold your baby after the birth?
  • Who would you like in the room when you go into labor?
  • Would you like to be the first person to hold your baby?
  • Would you like the adoptive parents to come to the hospital?
  • Would you like to go home before or after your baby is released?

A hospital plan will ensure that everything goes as you would like in the hospital. Your adoption coordinator will work with the hospital staff and the adoptive parents to make sure they know your wishes and follow them.

In the Cleveland area, there are several hospitals with labor and delivery services:

Fairview Hospital
University Hospital MacDonald Women’s Hospital

Whichever Cleveland hospital you choose to deliver at, your coordinator will work with that hospital. Our adoption coordinators are ready for any situation. They are experienced and have worked with women who have given birth at home and even women who went into labor while traveling out of state.

How to Start the Adoption Process

Now, you probably want to know how to get the process started if you are considering placing your child for adoption in Cleveland. Your first step is to call or text Lifetime Adoption or fill out the contact form. A Lifetime Adoption coordinator will walk you through the adoption process. She will make sure you have all of the resources and services you need. If you have any questions or concerns, your coordinator is available to answer them. You will always find a kind and non-judgmental adoption coordinator available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Lifetime adoptive families can be viewed online, and you can learn all about them, their lifestyles, and values. Then, you will be the one to choose what qualities you would like to adoptive parents of your baby to have.

View adoptive family profiles online by clicking here. You can choose a family who lives in Ohio or somewhere else in the United States. You may want a Christian adoptive family or a family of another faith. Once you choose a family, your Lifetime Adoption coordinator will help you get to know them if that is what you want. Your adoption coordinator be there with you through the entire process.

If you have a need for community resources in the Cleveland area, your Lifetime Adoption coordinator will help you access those resources. Just call or text Lifetime today to get started.

Other Paths to Adoption in Cleveland

Foster care in Cleveland is an option for some parents who may not be sure if they are going to want to parent in the future. There are times when a baby is born with signs of exposure to substances. Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services may decide to place the baby in the foster care program on their own. Unfortunately, in both these situations, the decision as to who your baby is placed with or if you will have any contact is not up to you.

Relative or kinship adoption is another option. With this option, a family member, who is usually blood-related to the child, can adopt your child. Kinship adoption can have its own set of challenges. You want to be sure the relative understands that adoption is permanent. This is not just caretaking until you want to parent again. There can also be some boundary issues, so everyone needs to understand their role.

What kind of adoption is right for you and your child is a very personal and big decision. Your Lifetime Adoption coordinator can explain the pros and cons of each of these adoption options with you. Your coordinator will ensure you have all the information you need to decide which adoption path is best for you and your baby.

Adopting in Cleveland

An adoptive family holding their newly adopted baby
Do you dream of riding the Grand Carousel at Cleveland History Museum or wandering with your child through the Greater Cleveland Aquarium? Are you considering domestic adoption as a way to grow your family? If so, Lifetime Adoption, and our adoption professionals are here to guide you through this journey. Your adoption coordinator is here to answer all of your questions and provide all the information you need. You will learn all about open domestic adoption and what to expect during your adoption process.

Matching birth mothers and adoptive families are what our experienced Lifetime Adoption coordinators are experts at. If you are in the Cleveland area and are considering adopting a newborn baby or child up to the age of six, contact Lifetime at 727-493-0933 or fill out our free online adoption application for more information.

Begin the Adoption Process

You may feel the adoption process is complicated but don’t worry. Your Lifetime Adoption coordinator will be there to guide you through this process. The first step is easy, just fill out our online application. To apply is free and does not obligate you in any way.

Once your application is reviewed, and you are pre-approved, a Lifetime Adoption coordinator will be in touch. The Lifetime Adoption program will be explained, and all your questions will be answered.

Adoption Attorneys in Cleveland

An important aspect of your adoption journey will be an adoption attorney. Ohio adoption laws can be complex, and it is important that all the paperwork is filed with the courts and all laws are followed. You will also need a finalization hearing at the courthouse. All this will be completed by your adoption attorney. Your adoption coordinator can refer you to a Cleveland adoption attorney.

Home Study Services in Cleveland

A home study is a requirement for all adoptions in the U.S. Your Lifetime adoption coordinator will be very happy to refer you to a Cleveland Home Study Service provider.

In Cleveland, how does the home study process work? You will meet with your home study social worker, have a background check done and provide the following:

  • Financial and Employment Statements such as tax returns, profit and loss statements if self-employed, and paystubs.
  • Medical Statements from your doctor verifying you are both physically and mentally capable of
  • Three written references from friends or co-workers verifying that you are suitable adoptive parents
  • Verification of your marital status

Your home study social worker will schedule a home visit. This visit is meant to establish that you can provide a safe and adequate home to raise a child in. Your views on marriage, parenting, and family will be asked about, and your home study social worker will interview everyone living in the home. This will all be compiled into a report to be submitted to the court.

Finalization of Adoption at Court

Finalization of adoption in court is your final step and happens once you have been matched with a birth mother, your baby has arrived, and your home study is complete.

Ohio adoption law requires that the finalization of adoption will be no less than six months from when you take the baby into your care.

Your adoption attorney will file all of the adoption paperwork at the district courthouse and set a date for the hearing. In Cleveland, that will be at your local County Superior Courthouse.

At the adoption finalization hearing, the judge will review your documents and the home study and, once satisfied, will then issue the final decree of adoption. This will be a wonderful occasion and a time to celebrate.

Other Paths to Adoption

Cleveland International Adoption Agencies

Every family chooses its own path to adoption. It is one of the most important adoption decisions you will make. International adoption is one option.

If you decide on international adoption, you will need to consider which country to adopt from. You may want to look into a country’s political climate and what the adoption customs and laws are. Those, along with other facts, will factor into which country is best for your family to adopt from.

It is vital to choose an international adoption agency that specializes in adoption in the country you are interested in. Make sure they have a proven track record of successful adoptions in that country. The nations of Africa, China, and Eastern Europe are some of the more popular countries to adopt from. Here are some agencies that specialize in international adoption:

Adopt International

Holt International

Foster Care Adoption

Another adoption option is foster care adoption. In Cleveland, you will reach out to Health and Human Services Cuyahoga County.

To adopt from foster care in Cleveland, the requirements are:

  • At least 18 years of age.
  • Sufficient income to meet your own basic needs.
  • Good physical, emotional and mental health.
  • Single or part of a couple, homosexual or heterosexual, who have maintained a stable relationship for at least one year.

You can also view children in the foster care system who are waiting to be adopted across the nation at AdoptUSKids.

 

 
 

Mardie Caldwell

 

 
 

Funding Your Adoption

 

 
 

Called To Adoption

 

 
 

Open Adoption Webinars

Accreditation

Lifetime Adoption Florida Seal of Approval

Lifetime Adoption, Inc. is a Licensed Florida Child Placing Agency. (License #100096562)

Florida Adoption Council Logo National Council for Adoption seal

35th anniversary seal

Copyright © | Lifetime Adoption

Lifetime Adoption's BBB Accredited Business A+ rating

 

Lifetime Adoption Center is a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ rating

 

Small Women Owned Business

Accreditation

Florida Seal of Approval   Florida Adoption Council Logo

Lifetime Adoption, Inc. is a Licensed Florida Child Placing Agency. (License #100084254)

National Council for Adoption seal

35 anniversary logo

Small Women Owned Business

Lifetime Adoption's BBB Accredited Business A+ rating

Lifetime Adoption Center is a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ rating

 

Copyright © | Lifetime Adoption

Pin It on Pinterest