Families Ready to Adopt FAQs
Through a voluntary and open approach, Catholic Charities Washtenaw County (CCWC) places infants for domestic (U.S.) adoption. We offer services to persons of any age (over 18) or family size who live in one of the following Michigan counties: Branch, Calhoun, Clinton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Saginaw, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne.
To assist with this process, we include a Families Ready to Adopt section on our website, showcasing the profiles of prospective adoptive families.
If you have a question not covered here, please get in touch with our Adoption Counselor at (734) 971-9781 ext. 321.
Family Profiles
As a prospective adoptive parent working with CCWC, do I have to have my profile on the website?
No. Having your profile on the website is totally voluntary. Letters and albums will be available to show pregnant clients who are considering adoption just as they always have been. Some pregnancy clients, in fact, will not be able to access the website and will only be able to see letters and albums. Our incarcerated pregnant women are one example.
Is there an additional fee for having my profile on the website?
There are NO additional fees for setting up your initial profile or updating it annually.
When can my profile be on the website and how long will it take to appear there?
When you enter the pool of prospective adoptive parents, you can submit your profile. It will appear on the website within 10 business days.
How often can I change my profile on the website?
You can amend your profile without a fee once a year. There is a $50 fee each time you wish to make additional changes.
After I'm chosen by a birth parent, when is my profile removed from the website?
Your profile will be taken off the website after you have met the prospective birth mother and you both have agreed to move forward with an adoption plan. Should there be a change in the plan, your profile will return to the website when you are ready to rejoin the pool.
Matching Families
How will a pregnant woman become matched with an adoptive family she is interested in on the website?
She would call or email a pregnancy counselor stating that she is pregnant and is interested in adoptive family “X”. The pregnancy counselor would begin pregnancy counseling with her to determine if she matches with the desired parent/family. If the parties are a match, the pregnancy counselor will show the whole adoptive family profile to her along with other adoptive family profiles (if she is interested), and set up an adoptive parent interview with the family.
Can a pregnant woman choose closed adoption with a family she is interested in from the CCWC website?
Although all of our CCWC adoptive families are open to having an open adoption and our agency strongly encourages open adoption, we understand that some circumstances cause pregnant women and/or birth fathers to want to be anonymous to adoptive families. In these cases, the pregnancy counselors are able to obtain social/medical history from the pregnant woman and/or the birth father and facilitate a potential adoption plan exchanging non-identifying information only.
What if a pregnant woman is interested in an adoptive family that does not match her situation or who is unavailable to adopt her unborn child?
The pregnancy counselor will discuss the matching process with her and begin pregnancy counseling to assist her in viewing adoptive parent profiles that are a match for her situation. If CCWC does not have families who match her situation in whom she is interested, the pregnancy counselor will assist her in finding a family through another agency.
What if an out-of-state pregnant woman is interested in an adoptive family who does match her situation?
The pregnancy counselor will provide some pregnancy counseling over the phone. If the adoptive family has stated that they are open to out-of-state placements, CCWC will facilitate the parties “meeting” (which would likely occur first over phone or email). If the parties desire to move forward in making an adoption plan, CCWC will facilitate the adoption and assist the adoptive family in hiring an agency or an attorney in the pregnant woman’s state to assist her. CCWC pregnancy counselors will remain available to the out-of-state pregnant woman for phone consultation and counseling. There are other legalities and extra expenses around interstate adoptions that the adoptive family will need to be aware of prior to being available for interstate placements.
What if a Michigan pregnant woman is interested in an adoptive family who does match her situation, but she lives further than 100 miles from CCWC?
The counselor will give the client some pregnancy counseling over the phone, discussing her unique situation. The pregnancy counselor will offer her services over the phone or within 100 miles of our office. If she cannot come within 100 miles of our office but desires to make a plan with a CCWC family who matches her situation, CCWC will facilitate the parties “meeting” (which would likely occur first over phone or email). If the parties desire to move forward in making an adoption plan, CCWC will facilitate the adoption and assist the adoptive family in hiring an agency or an attorney in the pregnant woman’s county to assist her. CCWC pregnancy counselors will remain available to the pregnant woman for phone consultation and counseling.
At what point in the matching process will a pregnant woman view the Family Assessment (Home Study) or Identifying Information of an Adoptive Family?
When a pregnant client’s situation matches with an adoptive family and she has decided they are her desired family to meet, the adoptive family is contacted, and an interview is scheduled. Prior to the interview, the pregnant woman is given a copy of the non-identifying information in the home study and the adoptive family is given some non-identifying information about the pregnant woman’s situation. Identifying information of the adoptive family would only be shared after the parties agree to move forward in an adoption plan and consent to releasing their identifying information.
Deciding to Adopt
Who can adopt?
Persons of any age, over 18, or family size who live in one of the following Michigan Counties: Branch, Calhoun, Clinton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Saginaw, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Washtenaw, Wayne, may apply for our services.
It is a policy of CCWC that a three-month leave of absence from employment be taken upon placement to facilitate the adjustment of the infant with the new parent(s). The leave may be shared among two parents so that outside care not be provided on a regular basis during the three months.
What age children are available?
Primarily newborn infants.
How much does it cost to adopt through Catholic Charities Washtenaw County?
Fees are available by contacting the Adoption Counselor.
Is an attorney necessary?
No. Birth parents and adoptive parents, who use attorneys must, however, be represented by separate counsel. Names of adoption attorneys may be obtained from the State Children’s Ombudsman’s Office: (517) 373-3077.
Must a birth parent release to an agency?
No. Michigan law allows for a birth parent to physically transfer temporary custody directly to the adoptive family if they reside in Michigan and have an approved Preplacement Assessment by a licensed agency. The birth parent must be assisted by an attorney or Agency, however, to do this.
What adoption services does CCWC offer?
Preplacement assessments, counseling for birth parents, placement and post placement services are offered by Catholic Charities Washtenaw County. The Agency recognizes adoption as a lifelong process that significantly changes and impacts one’s life. To that end, we offer counseling, education and support to anyone in the community whose life has been touched by adoption at any point in their lives.
What is a home study?
More appropriately named a Preplacement Assessment, it is a mutual process of identifying one’s readiness to adopt by exploring strengths, weaknesses, resolution of loss issues, and the capacity to parent through adoption. The law also requires us to have criminal clearances and medical reports on family members. We do not perform home studies for out of state adoptions unless the family is working with us.
Would I ever be turned down?
Probably not, unless there is reason to suspect harm to a child. CCWC helps prospective parents stretch, grow and take risks in order to be fully informed about the challenges of adoptive parenting and to be the best adoptive parent(s) they can be to their child.
Based on years of experience of working with families in adoption, we may see that there are issues needing resolution before successfully entering adoptive parenthood. For example, difficulties with the capacity for a relationship with birth parents; unhealthy communication styles; unresolved issues of infertility; unstable financial conditions; or a psychologically unhealthy environment for a child. Medical conditions are not necessarily a reason to be rejected. Our concern is that one has a plan to be able to parent a child into young adulthood. It is not necessary to own a home nor are there income requirements. We look to see that prospective adoptive parents can live within their means, provide for a child and handle an emergency situation should one arise after placement. It would be rare for a family to be denied service without being given the opportunity to work on the issue in question.
What do you mean by 'open adoption'?
It is the process by which birth and adoptive families mutually design a plan for a lifelong relationship with each other. It is the process of relationship-building based on honesty, respect and trust. Birth parents choose the adoptive family for their child and all parties meet to explore their capacity to mutually form the foundation for an ongoing relationship. The Agency has been proudly facilitating open adoptions since 1985.
CCWC stresses the mutuality of relationships. Lifelong advantages of cooperative, open adoption gives adoptive parents full information of their child’s heritage and medical history in order to respond more fully and effectively to the unique needs of their child; birth parents are able to confront the reality of the adoption plan sooner and can have immediate information as to the growth, development and health of their child; and adoptees feel more rooted by having complete and accurate information. Access to birth parents ensures the honesty of the adoption story, thereby lessening the mystery, fantasy building and feelings of rejection.
Isn't it confusing to have four parents?
In adoption, a child does not have four parents. There is a tendency to use divorce as an analogy, but in divorce, both parents legally retain their parental rights. In adoption, birth parents release their parental rights in Court. Adoptive parents are the legal, nurturing and psychological parents while birth parents represent a portion of the child’s heritage and identity. When all adults are clear about their roles, children will not be confused. A portion of the counseling with birth parents is to help them redefine their role with the child and grieve the loss of the parental role.
Do we have to give identifying information to birthparents?
The Agency values and encourages the exchange of full identifying information as a component of developing a lifelong relationship. However, the final decision rests with the parties involved.