In agency adoptions, the private adoption agency provides many important services to adopting parents. For example, agencies usually:

• provide training and counseling services to you on adoption issues you will face
• complete the home study process to show that you are prepared to become a parent or parent another child
• help you create an adoption profile—the document that expectant parents considering adoption will read to initially get to know a little about you
• help you “match” with someone who is experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and wishes to place her child for adoption
• provide you with the biological parents’ social and medical history so you can be aware of any potential issues that could develop during the child’s life
• make a “report to the court” on how your adopted child has adapted to your home after the child has been placed with you

Adoption agencies also provide important services for expectant parents considering adoption. For example:

• they provide separate counselors for the expectant parents to ensure there are no conflicts or undue pressures placed on either the adopting parents or the expectant parents
• prior to birth, they provide support to the expectant parents
• they help during discharge from the hospital, an emotionally challenging time for everyone involved
• they obtain the birth parent’s consent to adoption (In Minnesota, this can be obtained no earlier than 72 hours after birth and is non-revokable by the birth parents 10 working days after they sign it)

The services for expectant parents are critical because when you are matched with a potential birth parent, you want to have the peace of mind knowing that they have been counseled through their decision and truly believe adoption is in their child’s best interest.

We represent the adoptive parents by working closely with private agencies to complete the legal side of the adoption process. We prepare your petition for adoption and your final adoption order. We also ensure that the Minnesota Fathers Adoption Registry is searched to identify any potential fathers who may have registered to receive notice of adoption.

In general, after the adoption registry is searched and if no potential fathers have registered within 30 days of the child’s birth, the biological father relinquishes his rights by his lack of taking action.

At that time, we file all the required adoption files and records with the court through electronic filing. We do this as promptly as possible. Most of our adoption cases are final within 90 days of the filing of the adoption petition!