Over the next two weeks, I will blog about and tweet excerpts from New Jersey and New York adoption workshops I will be presenting at the Annual Adoption Conference of the Adoptive Parents Committee, November 23, 2014, www.adoptiveparents.org.
New Jersey and New York Adoption Advertising and Networking
The first and most important step in finding a child to adopt is to put yourself in a fish bowl and inform everyone you know of your decision to adopt. New Jersey and New York residents can do a nationwide search for a baby. Create a website and advertise online with the advice of your attorney so that you comply with adoption advertising laws. Be creative. Distribute adoption business cards to your friends and relatives, clergy, doctors, obstetricians, pediatricians, internists, dentists, social workers, contacts in family planning clinics, and former college roommates.
Medical Records and Hospital Procedures
It is imperative for the adoptive family to obtain the birth mother’s social and medical history and records, and if possible, to obtain the birth father’s as well. An attorney or agency can obtain the social and medical history directly from the birth parent, as well as medical records from the birth mother’s obstetrician and the baby’s pediatrician at the hospital. The birth mother should undergo HIV and drug and alcohol testing whenever possible. The adoptive parents generally pick up the baby at the hospital where the baby is born. Many hospitals will allow the adoptive parents to care for the baby in the nursery and will discharge the baby to an attorney or agency, which is legally permitted as long as the birth mother’s authorization is obtained. Before the baby is born, the attorney or agency can speak with the hospital social services department to ascertain the hospital’s policies.
Nw Jersey and New York Adoption Expenses
In a private adoption, adoptive parents can anticipate paying the legal fee of their attorney. They can pay for the birth mother’s medical expenses (unless the birth mother has medical insurance or Medicaid), counseling, reasonable living expenses during the pregnancy and legal expenses. In an agency adoption, adoptive parents will have the additional cost of an agency placement fee.
