Placing your baby for adoption is a loving choice that gives your child the chance to grow up with a loving family that wants nothing more than to adopt your baby and care for him or her. In Arkansas, birth mothers have a lot of control over the process of adoption, so you have many choices available to you.
Learning that you’re pregnant can be joyful news. Sometimes, though, it’s just not the right time in your life. If you’re expecting and not ready to parent, you have the opportunity to help a family that has been waiting and hoping to have a baby like yours.
In Arkansas, birth mothers must sign a Consent to Adoption form. This form must be notarized, so that everyone involved in the adoption process can be completely sure that you want to place your baby for adoption.
Adoptive parents must go through a process called a “home study” which allows a professional to make sure that they can bring your baby up in a safe and suitable home. The home study checks the family’s financial ability to care for your child, the stability of their marriage, and other factors. The best interests of the child are the most important factors in the decision to allow an individual or a couple to adopt a child.
Arkansas law allows a woman to choose the best adoptive parents for her child. You are specifically allowed to choose, when you are placing your baby for adoption in Arkansas, to favor a family that shares your religious beliefs, or understands and respects those beliefs. You can arrange to spend time with your baby and to maintain a relationship with the adoptive parents if you want to. If you would prefer not to maintain communication with your baby’s new family, that is also fine. It’s your decision.
Your baby’s father may need to consent to the adoption, too. For example, if you are married, your husband may have to agree to the adoption.
Adoptive parents may provide financial help for birth mothers in Arkansas. They can help with prenatal living expenses, medical costs, and health care following the baby’s birth. At Adoption Arkansas, all the legal costs are also covered by the adoptive parents. There is no cost to birth mothers.
These notes give you some idea of what’s involved in putting your baby up for adoption in Arkansas, but adoption laws are actually very complicated. They need to be complicated in order to protect you and your baby, as well as the adoptive parents. You will need support during the process. Adoption attorney Justin Heimer is a licensed Arkansas adoption lawyer, and is also trained as a family counselor. Adoption Arkansas will provide the support and the expertise you need when you place your baby for adoption.
Contact us now to learn more about how we can help you.