How can I adopt?
Using an adoption facilitation service such as Unique Adoptions is a convenient, easy and expedient way to adopt a child. While the majority of states allow for the use of adoption facilitation services, initially, you must determine whether the state you reside in allows you to use a facilitator. Some states such as New York, New Jersey and Oregon do not allow adoptive couples to retain the service of a facilitator to locate a child. Once you have chosen to have Unique Adoptions represent you, it's easy to get the adoption process underway. Simply send us a copy of your home study, eight (8) copies of your adoptive parent resume, the signed contract and a check for the fees paid in full. You are now on your way to a successful adoption!

Is there financial assistance?
YES! The National Adoption Foundation Loan Program offered through Nation's Bank provides adoptive couples with credit lines of up to $25,000. Funding is usually complete in two weeks. For loan information call 1-800-448-7061. Using Unique Adoptions, the average adoption expense is $10,000 - $15,000 including all fees, services and out-of-pocket expenses.

Do I have to have a large income or a lot of money in the bank?
NO. You need only have an income that is sufficient to meet the basic needs of your family.

Both of us work. Will I have to quit my job if I want to adopt or be a foster parent?
NO. Both parents can be working as long as childcare arrangements are made.

If I don't own my own home, may I still adopt?
YES. As long as your home - apartment, condo or house -- is safe and has enough room for family members, you can adopt. The most important element to be found in the home is the love, understanding and guidance you can offer a child.

I'm over 40 - am I too old to adopt? 
NO. As long as you are in good health and have the energy and desire to be a parent, age is not a decisive factor. A 50-or-55 year-old person or couple may be perfect for the adoption of an older child.

How do I know Unique Adoptions is a reputable facilitator and who am your references?
Our adoptive clients are our best resource for information on Unique Adoption's reputation for personal and professional service. Click on References to learn more about the families we have worked with..

What kind of children do you have available for adoption?
Like life, our children come from all avenues of racial, ethnic, social, economic, professional, educational, and religious backgrounds. The children we place are from pregnant birth mothers, newborn, older children, healthy children, children with medical and physical impairments, children born drug-exposed, special needs, etc.

Who collects background and medical information?
Unique Adoptions will collect information including but not limited to birth parent names, age, race/ethnicity, address, phone, due date, marital status, birth father status -- does he know about her pregnancy/adoption decision, is he agreeable, reason for choosing adoption, physical description of the birth parents, do family and friends support the adoption decision, medical insurance, public assistance, means of support, education, job skills, interests, prenatal care, sex of child, drug, alcohol, cigarette use, HIV and general personal and familial medical/psychological/social history, willingness to undergo drug/HlV testing and other tests requested by the adoptive parents, what characteristics birth parents desire in an adoptive family such as age, race, religion, other children, occupation, stay-at-home mom, willingness to select a single parent, etc.

Unique Adoptions will also ask the birth mother to provide a written verification of her pregnancy before presenting adoptive parents to her. Adoptive parents are strongly cautioned not to provide financial assistance to any birth mother until pregnancy is verified, and upon advice from their adoption attorney and/or adoption agency. In addition, Unique Adoptions asks the birth parents to complete a comprehensive social, medical, general background information questionnaire Both are asked to sign an authorization for any medical professional to release all pregnancy-related medical information to the adoptive parents.

The birth parents will also be asked to also provide a copy of their respective social security cards and a driver's license or other identification, and to provide a color photograph of themselves and other children born to the couple. When prospective adoptive parents and a particular set of birth parents are considering each other, the adoptive parents can request all written information concerning the situation. It's a good idea to have your legal representative to review all the available information concerning your birth mother/birth father situation, and to inform you of legal rights and risks. Unique Adoptions does not perform investigative services and cannot corroborate the veracity of any information received.

How long will the adoption process take?
While every case varies, the average time for adoptive parents to enter into an adoption plan with a birth mother is approximately 120 days. Some families may have an adoption plan commitment with a birth mother within days of hiring Unique Adoption. Other families may receive a newborn child into their home within days, while some families may wait several months. A family who is flexible with regard to race and gender of the child will wait a much shorter period of time than a family who stipulates a specific race, gender, birth location, or expenses to be paid to the birth mother. The length of time the entire process takes depends upon the flexibility of the adoptive family, as well as the birth mother that selects them.

Does Unique Adoptions handle international adoptions?
No. Unique Adoptions specializes in domestic adoptions. Because there are so many children in the U.S. who are in need of a loving and safe home, we have have focused our efforts on helping couples who live in the U.S. find children who are living here. In addition, U.S. adoptions are faster, easier and less costly with minimal red tape. U.S. adoptions also allow for immediate at-risk hospital placement for a child, if necessary. If you are interested in an international adoption, we can refer you to an organization specializing in this area.

Who does Unique Adoptions accept as clients?
Unique Adoptions works with adoptive clients from around the world as long as they are interested in adopting a child from the U.S. We are available to families of all races, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds including married couples and single parents. Ours is a unique philosophy: Unique Adoptions represents a limited number of clients as a way to maintain a higher standard of customer service. We care deeply about our clients and strive to provide the very best in service to each and every couple and birth mother we work with. At times, we may decline to take on additional clients due to a full roster. However, we will contact interested parties when there is an opening. Our goal is to provide our clients with the best adoption match possible.

Do I need to hire an adoption attorney?
Services by an adoption attorney are usually required for all adoptions. You should seek the legal advice and services of a competent adoption attorney, in your state, and/or the state where the birth parents reside, to assure that you can legally adopt the child you locate. It's a good idea to get involve an attorney immediately upon your desire to enter into an adoption plan with any birth mother.

About Birth Parents:
Pregnant women who are considering an adoption plan for their babies come to Unique Adoptions for counseling, financial and medical assistance, and support If the birth parents or simply the birth mother decide on adoption, they or she select the family to place the baby with from profiles of families who have been carefully examined by Unique Adoptions. Because birth parents choose the couples they want to place their babies with, the qualifications of the prospective adoptive couples are, to a great extent, determined by the birth parents.

For the most part, birth parents are interested in the lifestyles, religious faiths, hobbies, and leisure activities of the adoptive couples Unique Adoptions also requires that adoptive parents have begun the home study process or have completed their home study. When providing birth parents with profiles of prospective adoptive couples, their comfort level with an "open" adoption is always considered. While there are some birth parents that prefer a "traditional" or "closed" adoption, today most birth mothers and/or birth parents want to meet the adoptive couple before the baby is born. More often than not, birth parents would also like to receive pictures and letters after placement.

These personal arrangements are generally not legally enforceable. Your adoption attorney and/or adoption agency should advise you concerning this aspect of your adoption planning. There are, however, many birth mothers that prefer traditional closed adoptions, or who will consider receiving limited identifying information about the adoptive family, and agree to limited or no continuing communication after the adoption.

Unique Adoptions considers everyone's desires concerning adoption during the interviewing and referral process. You should know that a birth mother and a birth father, individually, have a right to change their mind about adoption. The amount of time they have varies from state to state. With agency adoption in many states, including California, an irrevocable relinquishment of parental rights may be obtained anytime after the birth mother leaves the birthing facility, thus shortening your risk factor for a reclaim of a child in your home and family. Some states allow a period to revoke the relinquishment. In California, the agency method provides you with more security against a reclaim situation, and is recommended over the independent adoption process.

The California independent adoption process allows the "placing birth parent(s)" 90 days to reclaim her/his/their child after signing the consent, called the Adoption Placement Agreement (APA), which is revocable until the 91st day. In some states, there is no difference regarding the process in which a birth mother signs her consent to adoption in an independent or agency adoption. You should contact your adoption attorney in your state before you make a decision on whether to use the identified agency method or independent method.