If you are interested in becoming an adoptive parent with KidsFirst, please call our office and we can discuss your hopes and wishes. The adoption process starts with your home study. A home study is an overview of your life and includes in-depth interviews, a home visit and the completion of a set of documents. The documents include criminal background checks, a medical report, financial information, references, and adoption education. Our Social Workers are here to walk you through every step of the process with care. If you already have a fully approved home study we will accept it.

After your home study you will create a scrapbook showing your family and life, which we will review and provide suggestions for. We will show your book to potential birth mothers. When a birth mother chooses your book, we will coordinate a meeting so that you both can get share your hopes and dreams for the child. KidsFirst will guide you and be a part of multiple meetings with the biological family. You will not feel alone in this process.

As social workers we also have extensive experience and understanding of risks factors during pregnancy and the effects of prenatal care and trauma to child’s development. We continuously educate, support, and refer families to top specialist in the country to ensure families are fully equipped an understand risks. We are honest and straightforward and believe that people come to us because of our expertise, experience, and advocacy work for children and families.  Biological parents can sign official paperwork 24-48 hours after delivery. KidsFirst will be here each step of the way to make sure you are prepared and supported.

This agency suggests a 25-48 year different between the age of the child and the adoptive parent.

- Do they provide home study, post placement, and legal services as well? What is their style of working with adoptive   parents?
- What is their style of working with biological mothers?
- What is their involvement with both biological and adoptive parents like preparation for birth, doctors' appointments, and regular checkups?
- Who handles the management of financial support for biological families and how is it done?
- What kind of education work is done for both biological and adoptive families?
- Do you they stay in touch and manage communication between biological and adoptive parents?
- Can adoptive parents contact them later regarding connecting with biological parents about medical, behavioral issues, etc.?
- Do they place infants and older children as well?
- Does the agency have knowledge about developmental and prenatal issues?
- Do they understand and education about consequences of alcohol or other substance exposure?
- What is their referral source?
- Do they help with exchanging updates and provide an option for visitations at the office?
- What is the fee structure?

- Open: There is a schedule of visitations once or twice a year between biological and adoptive parents.
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- Semi-open: Pictures and updates, conference calls between bio and adoptive parents.
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- Closed: Biological mother prefers privacy. She wants to reserve her right to contact our agency and ask for updates if she wants them later.

We estimate that only 50% of initial adoption plans go through. That is an honest and straightforward observation from the years we have been doing this work. This is not just from our own placements but from other professionals and agencies we have worked with through our 21 years as an agency. This can happen for a number of reasons that we will discuss with you as you begin to approach the adoption process.

Review of your profile book is part of our process. We do not charge for this service but work very closely with this family to highlight their uniqueness and readiness to welcome the child into their life. We have years of experience in this field and we share very honest and straightforward opinion regarding pictures, language used to optimize success in each family.

As an agency we provide services starting from home study done in a timely manner to legal finalization. Assuming your homestudy is already completed we guide you to put together profile books and present them to biological families. We have famlies who were chosen within weeks of complete of their homestudy and families who have waited over a year. Please know that we don’t just count the time when you are matched, but until the child is placed in your care. Biological families can back out in the last minute which can influence the time of child placement with you as a family.

Not necessarily. We work with so many different situations and each biological family has certain hopes for their unborn child or a child they are already parenting. We try to concentration on things which are unique to you to make it more clear to biological families and give them a better picture of what environment their child will be raised and grow up in.