Adopting a Baby in Arizona [In 6 Steps]

Adopting an infant is a life-changing experience. If you’re thinking of expanding your family, working with a private adoption agency can provide you with a direct path to adopting a child in Arizona. Have you considered infant adoption in Arizona?

Adopting a newborn in Arizona is a true team effort, as you’ll be joined in your adoption experience by your adoption specialist and agency. At American Adoptions, our team is made up of adoptive parents, birth parents, and adoptees, so we truly understand what it means to adopt a newborn, and we’ll be there with you every step of the way.

What does American Adoptions do to help prospective adoptive parents? Our team will work alongside you to find the perfect adoption opportunity, ensure you meet the home study requirements, and shepherd you through the adoption process. We’re proud to say that through nearly 30 years, we’ve helped many families realize their adoption dreams and provide loving homes for children.

Understanding your options and requirements for private adoption is easier with guidance from the adoption specialists at American Adoptions. We’d love to join you on your journey, so call us today at 1-800-ADOPTION or get free online information here.

In the meantime, you can answer some of your questions about private adoption in Arizona in this guide. By reading more, you’ll learn what domestic adoption in Arizona is, who chooses it, how to adopt a baby in Arizona, and how our team of adoption specialists can assist you.

How Do I Adopt a Baby in Arizona? [In 6 Steps]

If you’re trying to learn how to adopt a child in Arizona, you have probably begun researching the private adoption process. You may have even found it complex and intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and we are here to help.

There’s a process that must be followed when adopting babies in Arizona. Again, every adoption journey is unique, but these steps are common to many private adoptions.

Step 1: Find the Right Arizona Adoption Professional

Choosing among the private Arizona adoption services is critical to your private adoption experience. That’s because your adoption specialist will be your advocate through the adoption process.

Many families elect to adopt through a full-service agency like American Adoptions that provides all the services needed for a complete adoption. American Adoptions is fully licensed in Arizona, and we can help you not only locate adoption opportunities, but also complete the required home study.

Below is a list of the types of adoption professionals used for private domestic adoption in Arizona:

• Adoption attorneys and law firms: There are legal processes that must be completed to adopt, which makes adoption attorneys necessary.

• Home study providers: Home study providers perform the required adoption home studies before any private adoptions in Arizona. Because we are a full-service agency, we can complete your home study.

• National private adoption agencies: These adoption agencies, like American Adoptions, search nationwide for adoption opportunities and arrange communication between expectant birth mothers and prospective adoptive families.

• Local private adoption agencies: Local agencies focus on state and local communities. Local agencies may offer more limited services than national agencies due to smaller staff sizes.

One of the many benefits of working with American Adoptions is that you get the scope of a national adoption agency. That means you’ll have access to more resources, and the field of potential adoption opportunities is much greater than when working with a local adoption agency.

Step 2: Complete a Home Study

A home study is required prior to all private adoptions in Arizona. They’re conducted by home study professionals licensed by the state. American Adoptions is licensed to perform adoption home studies in Arizona, which means that when you work with our team, you won’t have to find a separate home study provider.

Home studies can be time-consuming, but they’re a necessary part of the process. Your home study will include not only a pre-placement study, but post-placement visits to evaluate the child’s adjustment to the adoptive home you’ve provided.

With the help of your adoption specialist, you can prepare for some parts of your home study. The home study process for private adoption in Arizona consists of three primary components:

• Home inspection: A home study professional or social worker visits the home to assess its safety and your family dynamics. Your home study provider may give advice on how to childproof your home and improve safety.

• Document review: You’ll submit documents such as birth certificates, health records, marriage licenses, financial records and other legal paperwork. There must be a background check on everyone in the home over the age of 12.

• In-home interview: The home study professional or social worker conducts interviews with everyone in the household to ensure the environment for the adoptee will be healthy.

When the home study is done, your family becomes an active potential adoptive family in the American Adoptions database. Because we are a national organization, the pool of potential birth parents is far deeper. That can shorten your wait time for an adoption match.

Online adoptive family profiles are one of the best ways to realize your goals of private infant adoption in Arizona. They allow birth parents to learn more about your family, and they can be the starting point for a bond that may result in a successful adoption.

Our team at American Adoptions includes media specialists who can help you assemble a compelling adoptive family video profile that will get the attention of expectant birth parents seeking to place a child.

Step 3: Waiting for an Adoption Opportunity

When the home study has been completed and your adoptive family profile is posted, you’ll be well on your way to private adoption in Arizona.

Expectant birth parents looking to place a child through newborn adoption in Arizona are fully in control of finding the best adoptive parents for their child. Our goal is to present the information about your family that birth parents will need to select your family and limit your wait time when seeking an adoption opportunity.

Your wait time is the period between becoming an active family and finding a match with an expectant birth mother. It can be brief or prolonged. Many factors influence the duration of wait time in an Arizona baby adoption, but our adoption specialists work hard to ensure that your wait time is as short as possible.

When you are chosen by a birth family that has reviewed your adoptive family profile, you’ll be presented with an adoption opportunity. At that moment, your adoption experience will accelerate, and you’ll be one step closer to growing your family.

Step 4: Contact Prior to Birth [Open Adoption]

In any adoption, communication between the expectant birth parents and prospective adoptive parents is key. Beginning communication prior to birth is important for everyone involved. Different types of newborn baby adoption in Arizona feature differing levels of contact. The primary concern is that everyone involved is comfortable.

There are three types of private newborn adoption in Arizona. They’re distinguished by the level of contact between the expectant birth mother and prospective adoptive family. Those kinds of private adoption in Arizona include:

• Closed adoption, with no contact between the birth parents and the adoptive parents

• Open adoption, in which there is frequent contact before and after the child’s birth

• Semi-open adoption, which is neither totally open nor totally closed and is mediated by an adoption professional

Closed adoptions are rare, with open and semi-open private adoptions in Arizona being more common. That’s because open and semi-open adoptions have important benefits for everyone involved.

At American Adoptions, we encourage all adoptive families to welcome the prospect of open adoption. The benefits of open adoption for adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents are well-documented.

Step 5: Birth and Placement [Holding Your Baby for the First Time]

In any private adoption in Arizona, the hospital stay is an emotionally charged time for all involved parties. Your American Adoptions specialist will be there to help you cope with the range of emotions you may feel as an adoptive parent while respecting the feelings of the birth parents as well.

Birth parents may feel they’ve made the right decision by placing their child, but meeting the baby at birth can bring up powerful emotions. The adoptive family may struggle with feelings of joy mixed with sorrow for the birth family.

The birth mother has rights that must be respected during the birth process. Adoptive parents need to be sensitive and flexible. The best plans can change, so adoptive parents should understand the emotional landscape at birth and accommodate the birth mother’s wishes. Your adoption specialist can coach you throughout the hospital stay and delivery.

After the birth, the birth mother offers consent for private adoption in Arizona. Arizona adoption law mandates that the adoption papers cannot be signed until 72 hours after birth. In some cases, the rights of the birth father are terminated prior to birth.

When the adoption papers are signed by the birth mother, her parental rights are terminated. The adoptive parents take physical custody of the child. Permanent custody rights are granted later by a judge’s decree at the finalization hearing.

Step 6: Post-Placement and Finalization of Private Adoption in Arizona

Just because your child has been placed in your home doesn’t mean your adoption journey is over. There are still two steps left in the adoption process.

1. Post-placement visits

2. Finalizing the adoption

In Arizona, post-placement visits to the adoptive home are required in the first 90 days after placement. The first post-placement visit occurs within a week of placement.

A total of three post-placement visits are conducted during the 90-day period after placement. At the six-month point, your attorney can request a finalization hearing.

At this hearing, the details of your private adoption in Arizona are evaluated to ensure all adoption laws were followed. For example, if the child comes from an Indigenous American tribe, the adoption must be cleared according to the Indian Child Welfare Act. If the adoption crosses state lines, it must satisfy requirements for interstate adoption mandated by the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.

Once the adoption is declared legal, the adoption decree will be signed by the judge and the private adoption in Arizona will be finalized. At that point, your child will become a full-fledged member of your family, both emotionally and legally.

Start Your Adoption in Arizona Today

By adopting a child from Arizona through private domestic adoption, you can grow your family and provide a child with a bright future full of opportunity. At American Adoptions, nothing makes us happier than seeing successful adoptions come to fruition.

With our wide range of resources and team of caring, experienced adoption specialists, American Adoptions is uniquely positioned to help you achieve your adoption goals in a swift, compassionate, and ethical manner.   

To learn more about the ways that American Adoptions can help you with private domestic adoption in Arizona, speak with one of our adoption specialists today by getting free information here.

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