With infant adoption in this country, adoptive parents are often in the delivery room. Access Because it is more difficult to adopt an infant, families will decide on an older child. Some prospective adoptive parents are frightened by the medical unknowns that accompany any newborn into the world. While anyone's medical situation can change at any point, adopting an older child offers parents the opportunity to rule out retardation and severe physical and mental disabilities. However, if you are choosing to adopt an older child for these reasons, it is important to remember that older children often come with significant emotional scars.
Adoption is state regulated, meaning that the process varies significantly from state to state.
Alternatively, private adoption is common in other states, especially those that do not require agency involvement. For those adopting internationally, it is almost always advantageous to work through an agency. These children are rarely placed independently. Agency adoption demands less participation on the part of adoptive parents. You will not need to put in a special phone line, to take calls on your own, to evaluate birthmothers and to arrange services for them if you are working with an agency.