How to Place Your Baby for Adoption in Rhode Island

Are you facing an unplanned pregnancy and considering adoption? Choosing to place your child for adoption is one of the most difficult, emotional, and important decisions you will ever have to make. It is also one of the most loving choices you can make for your child if you are not ready to parent.

If you are looking to make an adoption plan in Rhode Island, but do not know where to start, Adoptions With Love can help. We are a licensed, non-profit adoption agency that helps expectant/birth parents nationwide find the best possible homes for their children.

There are specific steps you will need to take to place your baby for adoption in Rhode Island. You do not have to go through this process alone. Our adoption agency serving Rhode Island is equipped with compassionate counselors and adoption attorneys who are licensed in Rhode Island. They can meet you wherever is most convenient, to help you navigate the Rhode Island adoption process and ensure that you are comfortable with each decision made along the way.

To help get you started, Adoptions With Love has created this short guide to placing your child for adoption in Rhode Island.

1. Choose an Adoption Agency

One of the most important, preliminary steps in the adoption process is choosing an adoption agency. We recommend finding an agency that will stand by your side throughout the entire adoption journey – as you prepare for the adoption, after placement, and even throughout your life. The right adoption agency will listen to your wishes and needs, and use those to help you design the perfect adoption plan for your baby. Above all, they will never pressure you into choosing adoption – a good adoption agency will educate you on all of your unplanned pregnancy options, and respect any choice that you make. This is a promise that Adoptions With Love makes to expectant/birth parents considering adoption. Here, we believe an informed decision is the best decision when it comes to you and your child.

2. Understand the Adoption Laws of Your Area

Adoption laws and regulations will vary state-to-state. It is important to find an adoption agency that is specifically trained in and knowledgeable of Rhode Island adoption laws.

In Rhode Island, no parent can sign legal adoption documents until after the baby’s birth. This helps ensure that the birth parents are completely confident in their decision. However, a birth mother can begin making an adoption plan well before her baby is born.

3. Discuss an Adoption Plan

Working with an  open adoption agency, you will have the option to design the type of adoption plan you want: an open adoption plan, semi-open adoption, or a closed adoption plan. An open adoption will allow you to keep in touch with your child’s adoptive family to see how he or she is growing over the years. You can also choose the adoptive family for your baby and meet them in person, if you wish.

Many expectant/birth parents that choose an adoptive family for their baby find great peace of mind in knowing their child will grow up in a loving, stable home. If you would like to make this positive decision, Adoptions With Love will listen to you and show you the waiting families that best match your needs and desires. You can take as much time as you need in looking through their photo albums, profiles, and reading the letters that they have written to you, the prospective birth mother of their child. You can meet them in person.

In Rhode Island, all potential adoptive families are thoroughly screened and evaluated by our licensed adoption agency. We go to their homes to ensure the environment is safe and secure. We conduct an extensive home study process as well as a series of background checks and interviews to ensure the stability of their home. Like you, we also want the most loving, safe, and stable home for your baby.

4. Create a Post-Adoption Plan

A post-adoption agreement is a legal and binding contract offered by licensed adoption agencies. This agreement is signed by the adoptive parents, and outlines rules and expectations for any communication following your child’s adoption. In this plan, you can determine if you want contact with your child and his or her adoptive family long-term, as well as how much contact you would like with them. With an open adoption plan, you can choose to have ongoing contact online, over the phone, in person, or through your adoption agency. If you are not ready to have this contact, you can also keep the adoption closed. As an expectant/birth mother, these choices are yours to make.

When you work with Adoptions With Love, rest assured that your post-adoption plan will be completely tailored to the best interests of you and your child. You are in the driver’s seat of your adoption plan.

5. Pursue Ongoing Adoption Support

Following your baby’s adoption, we recommend seeking ongoing support. Adoption is a lifelong journey full of delicate emotions and sensitive relationships. Through a reputable adoption agency, like Adoptions With Love, you can participate in birth mother support groups or meet one-on-one with dedicated adoption counselors. At Adoptions With Love, we promise you will have our support long after the adoption.

Adoptions With Love is a full-service adoption agency. We provide the following free services to expectant/birth mothers considering adoption in Rhode Island:

• Complete counseling
• Help designing your adoption plan
• Assistance finding quality medical care
• Housing assistance 
• Financial assistance
• Legal assistance
• Ongoing Contact

This is our State by State Adoption blog series.  To learn about the different areas we service, or to find the specific steps of adoption in your state, please visit adoptionswithlove.org/areas-we-service.