Domestic Adoption

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Love Basket’s Domestic Adoption Program began in 1985 in response to requests from pregnant women seeking adoptive families for their unborn children. Since that time, Love Basket has assisted hundreds of families in adopting a newborn infant born in the United States.  In addition to agency adoptions, Love Basket helps facilitate independent placements in which as prospective adoptive couple has already identified and is working with a potential birth parent.

Adoption practices are changing rapidly in the U.S., with most birth and adoptive parents requesting contact with each other before and after the adoptive placement occurs.  Love Basket completes adoptions that are fully open (birth and adoptive parents meet, exchange identifying information, and communicate directly with each other), as well as those that are semi-open (birth and adoptive parents meet, exchange first names only, and communicate through the agency).  Both birth and adoptive parents are encouraged to verbalize their preferences regarding contact prior to being matched.  We do our best to match birth and adoptive parents by the degree of openness desired by both parties.

1. Submit our Inquiry form found in Get Started. Upon approval, the application will be sent to you.

2. Complete Home Study. Families who live in Missouri, Kentucky, Colorado, California, North Carolina,  and Georgia will have their home study completed by Love Basket. Families in other states will need to locate a licensed agency to assist them in this step of the process.

3. Prepare an Adoptive Family Profile to share with Expectant Parents. Love Basket will provide guidance and feedback on creating a profile.

4. Selected by Expectant parents with possible match meeting to follow. A Love Basket staff member will be present to guide adoptive parents through their early contact with the birth family.

5. Placement and Legal Process Occurs. Love Basket will work alongside attorneys and court officials to coordinate this process for the adoptive and birth families.

6. Complete post-placement process including post placement visits/reports and obtaining final adoption decree.

How long is the wait?

The length of the wait from the completion of a profile to the time of selection by birth parents can vary depending on many factors. Among these variables are the couple’s openness to various levels of contact with the birth family, to different ethnic backgrounds, and to the possibility of special needs.  Statistically, the average wait time is one year.

How will we be matched with a child?

Love Basket’s Domestic program is “birth parent-driven,” meaning that expectant parents choose the adoptive family for their child. Once the application and home study process are completed, each family will receive guidance in preparing an Adoptive Parent Profile. It is from this collection of photos and biographical information that expectant parents make selection of adoptive parents for their child. At that time, the birth and adoptive parents usually meet in person, with a Love Basket staff member present to guide the initial conversation.

What is the cost to adopt domestically?

To view more detailed information on the costs associated with our Domestic Adoption Program, click here.

Click here to read more Frequently Asked Questions regarding Domestic Adoption.

Love Basket Advantages
  • Organization with strong Christian values
  • One-on-one support with a local social staff member in your area
  • Guidance on preparing your family profile to share with birth parents
  • Monthly updates on placements
  • Free  training with panel of adoptive parents and birth parents where you can hear real-life stories of Love Basket adoptions

Domestic Adoption Questions

Call us or email:

636.797.4100

[email protected]