Frequently Asked Questions
The adoption isn’t official until it is granted in court. This happens about 6 months after placement. You will not have to attend court for an adoption order being granted in BC.
We work with birth mothers and birth fathers throughout the province. They vary in ethnic backgrounds and in age from their teens to their early 40’s. For some, this is their first child, and for others, they may be parenting already or have had other children. Some have a stable lifestyle and others may be experiencing a higher-risk lifestyle.
Every birth parent is different. They are often looking for a family who is stable and can provide a life for their baby that they currently are unable to provide. They often look for a connection to the potential adoptive family which may be a number of different things.
Birth parents who are making an adoption plan and are ready to choose a family will review your home study. Identifying information such as your last name, city/town, name of employer, etc. will not be shared. For Intercountry adoptions it will be seen by the Central Authority in the country you are adopting from.
In addition to the agency fees as listed in the information package, each country program has its own fees. Some programs have a set fee while others provide a range. Travel and accommodation are not included in the program fees. Other additional fees may be translation, notarizing, etc.
Review the adoption criteria for each country in our information package to determine what may be a good fit. You should also review the children available in each country to make sure it is fit for your family.
Absolutely not! We have contract adoption social workers for adoptive parents and birth parents all over the Province. We will find our social worker closest to you.
The vast majority of adoptions are open. The extent of openness is agreed on between the birth parents and adoptive parents.
This is a tough question to answer. With the domestic program, there is no typical time frame. Birth parents choose who they want to place with so families can be chosen quickly or the wait could be long. There is also not a guarantee of placement. For intercountry adoption, the wait times vary by country and can be unpredictable as circumstances may change.
On average it takes 4-5 months but can take longer depending on circumstances.
10 STEPS TOWARDS ADOPTION
- 1
Reach out to request an information package. Thoroughly review the package to ensure you meet the criteria of the program you are interested in and that you understand the process.
- 2
After reading the information package, reach back out to request a free information meeting with one of our in-house social workers to discuss the program you are interested in, in more detail.
- 3
If after having your meeting you feel like we are a good fit for you, we will send you the registration paper work. You will fill this out and submit it back to us along with your phase one fee. This will allow us to get started on your home study and education!
- 4
The home study process can take anywhere from 4-6 months. It is an assessment process with the goal being approval to adopt!
- 5
Once the home study is approved and signed off, we will send you the phase two invoice appropriate for whichever program you are registered in and you are now in phase two of the process.
- 6
Phase two will vary depending on your program. If you are in the domestic program you will be creating a profile book to be viewed by birth parents. Once that is complete you will be active and able to be viewed, and potentially chosen, by prospective birth parents. If you are registered in an inter country program, this will be the stage where you work on your country specific dossier.
- 7
The wait begins. This is a challenging step for many of our prospective adoptive families as wait times vary and are unpredictable.
- 8
The proposal and match! We can never guarantee a prospective adoptive family will receive a match. If you do receive a match, then we will call you to tell you the great news and present you with a proposal which you will review.
- 9
After a proposal has been accepted we move towards placement which looks different depending on which program you are in. We are here to help you navigate this step and will provide you with the relevant information at the appropriate times.
- 10
After placement there is required follow up which will again vary depending on your program.
“We knew from the very beginning that this agency was the one for us, the staff is super friendly and very good at responding promptly to any inquiries. We are very thankful for them.”
– Adoptive Parent
