“Giving Baby Up” for Adoption in Overland Park

You’re Not Giving Up. Here’s How to Make an Adoption Plan for Your Baby

For a woman experiencing an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, knowing what options and resources are available can help take away much of the concern and unknowingness during such an emotional time.

We are here to help.

We have compiled this guide, which provides information on your pregnancy options, the Overland Park, Kansas, adoption process, as well as the resources you may need as you make this important decision. For 24/7 professional support, you can always call 1-800-ADOPTION or contact an adoption professional anytime, and they will be able to answer any questions you may have.

For now, continue reading for more information on placing a baby for adoption in Overland Park, KS.

How to “Give Up” a Baby for Adoption in Overland Park, KS

It is important to note, when a prospective birth mother decides to “give her baby up” for adoption, she is not “giving up” on the child or on herself as a mother. She is making a selfless decision to provide the child the best opportunity at a life that she cannot currently provide.

This misconception needs to be addressed, as there are still negative connotations toward adoption, especially the phrase “giving up a baby for adoption”. This negativity is not only unfair, but also incorrect. A birth mother makes this incredibly difficult decision for adoption based out of love and compassion for the child.

With that understanding in mind, here’s how to place a baby for adoption in Overland Park:

Step 1: Make Your Adoption Decision and Choose a Professional

The first step of the Overland Park adoption process is making the decision that you are going to pursue adoption for your child. This is a very difficult but brave decision, as you are truly putting the needs and future of your child ahead of anything else.

The second part of this step is finding the right adoption agency to help guide you along your adoption journey. The professional you choose should be a top priority, as you will be working with them throughout your pregnancy and well after placement. The adoption agency will impact the overall experience of your adoption in Overland Park, KS, so you want to make sure you choose an agency that puts your needs first and makes you feel comfortable.

Step 2: Create Your Personal Adoption Plan

Once you have found a trusted adoption professional, they will begin working with you to create an adoption plan. This plan essentially gives the prospective birth mother complete control over how her adoption plays out. It will include items such as the type of relationship you would like to have with your child after placement, figuring out delivery details, finding adoption opportunities and more.

Step 3: Select the Adoptive Family for Your Baby

With an adoption plan in place, it is time to begin one of the most important and steps of the adoption process: choosing a family for your baby. Finding the adoptive family for your baby can be a difficult task, but your adoption professional will help by providing you with prospective adoptive family profiles to review and compare. The profiles will include pictures, videos, information about the parents and more. The profiles will give you a feel for the personalities and intentions of the hopeful adoptive families you select. After you have narrowed down your selections, pre-placement phone calls are common between prospective birth mothers and adoptive parents to help you get to know them better.

After you have met with the potential adoptive family and made the decision who you want to “give your child up” for adoption with, you will need to start planning for placement.

Step 4: Complete Placement

Law states that in Kansas, a child must be at least 12 hours old before a birth mother can give the consent for her baby to be placed for adoption. Consent means the mother is voluntarily giving up her rights as a parent and they are bestowed upon the adoptive family. In Kansas, consent can only be reversed if it is proven that it was not initially given voluntarily, so it cannot be stressed enough how important understanding consent truly is. Your adoption professional will help you understand your rights and make sure you are 100 percent ready to make this decision before signing.

Step 5: Adjust to Life Post-Placement

After placement occurs, your adoption professional will remain in contact with you in the following months, as many birth mothers describe post-placement as the most difficult and emotional portion of adoption. Counseling services are available for anyone who may need them during this difficult time. The relationship you have with your child after placement will depend upon the agreement you make with the adoptive family prior to placement.

Adoption Agencies in Overland Park

If you are considering putting your baby up for adoption in Overland Park, Kansas, please complete a contact form, or call 1-800-ADOPTION to get in touch with an adoption professional. An Overland Park adoption agency will provide you with all of the support and tools you will need along the way, throughout your entire adoption process.

Here are some trusted adoption agencies in Overland Park, Kansas, that you may consider contacting:

Financial Assistance During Pregnancy

It is illegal to buy or sell a baby. Therefore, prospective birth mothers cannot “get paid” for placing a baby up for adoption in Overland Park.

There are, however, many adoption-related expenses that may be covered or paid for by the prospective adoptive parents, on behalf of the prospective birth mother. The use of an adoption professional and all services they provide is completely free of charge, as well.

Prospective birth mothers can receive financial assistance for adoption in Kansas. This assistance helps ease the financial burden for the prospective birth mother. Financial assistance helps cover expenses such as the medical bills of the prospective birth mother related to pregnancy and birth, the child’s medical expenses and living costs that occur because of the pregnancy. Your adoption professional will keep track of these totals, as they must be accounted for and documented prior to the adoption being finalized.

If you have any questions about what assistance is available to you, 1-800-ADOPTION provides 24/7, no-obligation support and can provide any information you may need.

Birth Fathers Rights During an Overland Park Adoption

Birth father rights in Kansas are regulated by Kansas state laws. For a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy and considering adoption, it is very important to understand how birth father rights may impact your adoption decision. All adoptions require the use of an adoption attorney to complete the legal aspects of your adoption in Overland Park. You are strongly advised to discuss any potential birth father situations with the adoption specialist and attorney(s) involved in your adoption, as this will help avoid any confusion or misinformation down the road.

Your adoption agency will help facilitate any legal representation you may need throughout your adoption, as they have an index of trusted family law professionals. If you would prefer to select your own legal representation or discuss your situation with an adoption attorney prior to selecting and adoption agency in Overland Park, KS, you may consider contacting any of the following trusted Overland Park adoption lawyers:

Finding an Adoptive Family in Overland Park, Kansas

Making the decision of putting your baby up for adoption is difficult enough. Determining what characteristics you would like their adoptive family to possess can be challenging as well.

Your adoption specialist will help guide you through the process of finding adoptive parents in Kansas (or another state, if you’d prefer) and prioritize finding the best family for your baby. Once you have determined what characteristics and traits you are looking for, adoptive profiles of families who fit those preferences will be selected for you to review.

Ultimately, when you are searching for people to adopt your baby in Overland Park, KS, you want to make a decision that you feel completely comfortable with. Prospective birth mothers can review as many adoptive profiles needed to help make their decision.

Once a prospective birth mother has narrowed down her list of potential adoptive families, a meeting or phone call between the two may be set up so that both parties can get to know each other on a personal level, not just through photos, videos and emails. The goal of this interaction is to help ease any concerns and add a level of confidence for the prospective birth mother deciding which family she would like to place her child with during her adoption in Overland Park, KS.

For a deeper dive, you can learn more about finding an adoptive family in Kansas here, or consult with an adoption specialist. They will be more than happy to help answer any questions or concerns you may have. You can also start browsing potential adoptive families in Kansas and throughout the country.

Open Adoption with Your Child

Oftentimes, a prospective birth mother is hesitant to pursue adoption because she is under the impression that once placement of her child occurs, that is the last she will ever hear about or see her child.

Those type of adoption situations are becoming a thing of the past.

Open adoption helps ease the hesitation prospective birth mothers may have by opening up a line of communication between the birth mother, the adoptive family and the child. There are different levels of openness ranging from fully open, to semi-open adoption, to closed adoption. Depending what is agreed upon prior to placement, an open adoption can completely change the involvement of a birth mother in the child’s life as they grow older.

Open adoption is a great opportunity not only for a birth mother to remain involved in their child’s life, but also to keep transparency for the child as they grow older and have questions about their adoption history and family situation. This relationship may change and grow over the course of time, so it is important to discuss the different types of adoption with your adoption specialist to have a complete understanding of what open adoption might look like for you.

Read the following for more information on open adoption in Overland Park, KS, or call 1-800-ADOPTION to speak with a specialist.

Exploring your Unplanned Pregnancy Options in Overland Park, KS

A woman facing an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy in Overland Park, KS, is faced with an important decision when it comes to deciding what to do with her baby. Expectant mothers ultimately have three options: parenting, adoption or abortion.

Although assistance is available, parenting has long-term financial and emotional impacts that a woman may not be able to support. Adoption provides the child with a great opportunity for a successful life, but also has a deep emotional impact on the birth mother. With a normal pregnancy lasting nine months, there are specific legal timeframes that prevent abortion after a certain amount of time during pregnancy. This makes the process of deciding an urgent matter for a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy.

As you can tell, there are pros and cons to each option. It is important prospective birth mothers are well educated on each option before making a decision. Specialists can provide you with 24/7 support and all of the information you may need on the options available during an unplanned pregnancy. You may also consider contacting any of the following resources in the Overland Park, Kansas, area for more information:

An unplanned pregnancy doesn’t have to be as daunting as it may seem. Professionals are here to help make sure you do not have to experience this alone. Contact an adoption specialist to discuss your options or to start planning your Overland Park, KS, adoption journey today.