Foster Care Adoption Agencies in Florida
Once you make the exciting choice to welcome a baby to your family through adoption, you’ll have another decision to make: what type of adoption is right for you?
When you’re ready to start the process of adoption, you might be wondering whether you should consider working with private domestic adoption agencies or foster agencies in Florida.
Each family has a different idea of what adoption will look like for them, so it’s important to understand the differences between these types of adoption agencies. This will help you make the best decision for you and your family.
If you’d like to speak with someone today about private domestic infant adoption, you can reach out to American Adoptions anytime by calling 1-800-ADOPTION or filling out our online contact form.
You can also keep reading to learn more about foster agencies in Florida and whether working with one is best for you.
Foster Care vs. Private Domestic Adoption: What’s the Difference
Most hopeful adoptive families have a lot of questions about adoption agencies. This is important because your adoption agency will work with you to advocate for you throughout the adoption process. When it comes to choosing foster agencies in Florida compared with private domestic adoption agencies, however, there are a few differences.
Purpose
One of the biggest differences between a private domestic adoption agency and foster agencies in Florida is their primary purpose.
When you work with foster agencies in Florida, their goal is to help children become reunited with their parents.
The primary goal of foster care is not adoption. Instead, foster agencies in Florida will work with birth parents to help them regain custody of their children. Sometimes reunification is not possible, so adoption can happen; however, this is not a result you should go in expecting when you choose foster care.
On the other hand, private domestic adoption is designed to connect hopeful adoptive families with birth mothers who willingly make the loving decision to place a child for adoption. Private domestic adoption agencies only work with families and potential birth mothers who want to choose adoption.
Timeline
Another primary difference between a foster family agency in Florida and a private domestic adoption agency is your timeline.
When you work with private foster care agencies in Florida, they’re trying to help reunite children with their birth parents. Children who are placed in foster care may be in care for numerous reasons, and some of those reasons are complicated. If a child does become eligible for adoption, this could be years after the child first entered foster care. There is no expected timeline for adoption when it comes to private foster care agencies in Florida.
When you work with private domestic adoption agencies, on the other hand, it will be easier to have a better estimate of your adoption timeline.
Choosing to adopt a newborn who has been willingly and lovingly placed for adoption means the longest part of your wait will typically be matching with a birth mother. When you work with American Adoptions, we estimate your wait to be an average of 12 months.
Of course, there are steps you can take to reduce your wait time for adoption, such as being flexible with your APQ and completing your home study quickly.
Options
It’s also important to understand what your options are when it comes to adopting a child from state adoption agencies in Florida compared to private infant adoption agencies.
When you work with foster care agencies in Florida, children are typically older. They may have siblings they want to be adopted with. In some cases, children may have experienced severe trauma or have special needs that require additional assistance and care.
On the other hand, working with private domestic adoption agencies means that you’ll be able to control more about your adoption experience. If you want to adopt a newborn, you’ll be able to do that. If your goal is to adopt a child who shares your heritage, that’s also an option. Sometimes, families have a specific preference when it comes to gender, and this is also something that you can share with your adoption specialist.
Are You Ready to Consider Adoption?
If you have questions about the differences between a foster care facility in Florida and a private domestic adoption agency, it’s time to talk to a professional.
Here at American Adoptions, we’d love the chance to help you start your adoption journey.
Our team has experience with each part of the adoption process. In fact, we have team members who are adoptees, birth mothers and even adoptive families.
We also have helped create over 13,000 families in the past 30 years.
We’d love to talk with you about building your own family through adoption.
Call us now to get started. You can reach us anytime by calling 1-800-ADOPTION or filling out our online contact form. We’d love the opportunity to help you become a parent through adoption.
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