Unplanned Pregnancy?

The first step is to become educated about adoption and your options? Here are a few ways to learn more about the adoption process.

• Send us a text message and ask us your questions or share your concerns
• Call us to talk about the adoption process and your rights and choices
• Ask to schedule a time to meet with an adoption counselor who will offer you support and explain the steps involved in placing your baby for adoption. Our counselor will meet you in a convenient location so you don’t have to worry about getting to our offices.

If you call or text us, you’ll be matched with an experienced, caring adoption counselor. She will be your advocate, explain your options, offer you emotional support, and help you make a decision that’s right for you. The meeting is designed to give you information so that you can make the best decision for you and your baby. Nobody will pressure you to choose adoption. We want you to be empowered to make your own choices.

If you choose to learn more about adoption, your counselor will discuss the steps involved in making an adoption plan and provide you with information about famiies waiting to adopt a baby. You will choose the adoptive family yourself and be given every opportunity to participate in an open adoption. To get started, simply call us at 800-869-1005 or email our office: info@centerforfamily.com. If you prefer, send us a text message by visiting the contact us page of this website: www.centerforfamily.com/contact-us Below is a list of the options available through this adoption agency:

• adoption counseling
• choice of many wonderful adoptive parents
• assistance with your living expenses
• transportation to your doctors visits
• help obtaining medical care & government assistance

Your counselor will help you explore your options so that you can make the best decision for you. About half of the women who contact this Adoption Center each year decide to parent their child, while the other half choose adoption. You’ll be informed of all of your options and we’ll support whatever decision you make.

My baby is due soon or is already born, and I have not made an adoption plan yet. What should I do?

Making an adoption plan is a difficult decision. We won’t pressure you or ask you to rush your decision. That’s why we encourage you to call us at anytime during your pregnancy or even after your baby is born. A counselor will meet with you at a convenient location and help you to evaluate your options and understand what you need to know to make an educated, informed decision.

If you need more time after the baby’s birth, we can arrange temporary care for your baby while you decide if adoption is the right choice. If you choose temporary care, you remain your baby’s legal parent during this time. If you decide to move forward with adoption, your counselor will help you put your plan in place. We work with many wonderful families hoping to adopt and you will be able to choose the family that you feel is best for your baby. It is important to us that you feel good about your decision. You’ll have the opportunity to get to know the adoptive parents and decide if open adoption is right for you. You will have choices.

Open adoption allows you to select the adoptive family yourself, get to know them, and remain in contact following the placement. Every adoption and every birth mother is unique so that the amount of openness and type of contact is not always the same. You will choices.

Each mother chooses the type of openness she wants to have with her child’s adoptive family. She may also choose to have limited or no contact with the adoptive family, if she prefers.

Drug and alcohol use during pregnancy may increase your baby’s risk for certain conditions. Therefore, it’s important that you tell your counselor about any alcohol or drugs you may have taken during this pregnancy. We can help you make an adoption plan, and find the best parents for your baby. While not every family may be comfortable, there are waiting adoptive families for every baby.

No, you do not need your parents’ permission to place your baby for adoption. Choosing adoption is a personal choice. Any contact you have with this agency is private and confidential. With over 20 years experience, we know that the adoption process can be less stressful if you have the support of someone in the family or a friend.

Most women stay in the hospital for 24 to 48 hours after delivery, and you may have as much or as little contact with the baby as you like. Your counselor will visit you in the hospital and help you finalize your plans. You may request that the adoptive family be present for the birth or spend time with you in the hospital. After the required waiting period, you are able to sign the legal paperwork. In Illinois, the papers cannot be signed until the baby is at least 72 hours old.

“With your permission the adoptive parents may take the baby home from the hospital before the final papers are signed” needs to go with the information on when papers can be signed in Illinois. In Indiana, you may sign the consent prior to being discharged from the hospital (usually 48 hours after birth). Once you’ve signed the necessary paperwork, the baby will leave the hospital with the adoptive parents.

Although every situation is different, most women place their baby with a private adoption agency because they want to give their child the best life possible. Some of the reasons a woman may be considering adoption include:

Not ready to be a parent

Unable to afford to raise this child

She doesn’t have family support or help

The birth father will not be part of this child’s life

Her dreams for the future will be too difficult to achieve

Wants to have her baby raised by a financially, emotionally secure couple

She may want her baby to be part of a two-parent household

She has other children and is struggling to support them

Abortion is not an option for some women

Placing your baby for adoption is a special way of showing your love. With adoption, you give your child the gift of life, a loving family and wonderful opportunities. It is the adoptive parents job to help this child understand the difficult decision you have made. If you choose open adoption, you may remain a part of your child’s life so there doesn’t have to be a question about your decision. You would be there to answer your child’s questions.

Many different resources and programs are designed to assist pregnant women with their medical expenses. We will help you apply for any public assistance or other benefits to which you are entitled. You may also receive financial assistance to help with pregnancy-related expenses. An adoption attorney is involved in every adoption, and she/he will help to ensure that your plan complies with the adoption laws in your state, protecting you and your child.

We can work with you regardless of your relationship with the baby’s father. If possible, your counselor will contact the father to see if he wishes to participate in your adoption plan. He will be able to sign a legal document agreeing to the adoption, denying paternity or waiving his rights. He will be asked to provide medical and social history for the child. If the birth father does not wish to cooperate, an adoption attorney will take the necessary steps to insure that your adoption plan is safe and secure.

Birth parents may receive adoption counseling together or separately. If we are unable to locate a father or he refuses to cooperate, legal steps will be taken to ensure that the adoption follows your state’s requirements.

Every mother worries about the well being of her baby and hopes to have a healthy child. Although it is rare, there are times when an expectant mother discovers that she is carrying a child with special needs. Birth mothers facing this kind of situation need extra support and assistance. Be assured, there are families waiting to adopt children with special needs. We will do all we can to help you find a family who can provide the love and care that every child deserves. If necessary, we will connect you with an agency that specializes in this type of adoption.

Regardless of the adoption plan you create, you will be asked to provide social and medical history for your child. If you have an open adoption, you will be able to maintain a relationship with the family and provide ongoing information. In an open adoption, you may arrange to have visits so that the child will know you.

You do not sign the final adoption papers until after your baby is born. In Illinois, the baby must be at least 72 hours old before you can sign the final surrender. In Indiana, a birth mother may sign the final paperwork before she leaves the hospital (usually on day two). It’s a good idea to explore your options and choose a family in your second or third trimester. However, you are free to contact our agency for assistance at any time during your pregnancy or following the birth.

At the Adoption Center for Family Building, we won’t pressure you to make a decision. However, once you decide to move forward with an adoption, and have signed the legal paperwork your decision is final. The adoptive parents will go to court and your baby will legally become a member of their family. Making the right decision is very important and will affect many people, so we are here to help you before and after the adoptive placement.

If you would like to place your child with one of our adoptive families and you don’t live in Illinois or Indiana, we can still help you. We have considerable experience with interstate adoptions, and can guide you through that process. We’ll also find an attorney or agency in your area to work with you.

Yes. We work with a diverse group of adoptive parents. Many of our families want to adopt an African-American, biracial, Latino or mixed race baby. Transracial adopters are required to get additional counseling and education to ensure that they are fully prepared to adopt a child of a racial background different than their own.

Call us so that we may answer your questions, send you information or schedule an initial appointment with a counselor. You may also request a free information packet. We’re happy to email the information to you or send it through the postal service. Please call or text us to request a packet http://www.centerforfamily.com/contact-us/