Florida Adoption Information

Florida Adoption Entity*

Florida Adoption Entity*, Amy U. Hickman, Esq. works hand-in-hand with Adoptions With Love and compassionate Florida counselors to help expectant/birth mothers make an adoption placement. Amy U. Hickman (Fla. Bar No.: 0832340) is recognized by the Florida Bar as an expert in Florida adoption law.

Adoptions With Love is a private, domestic, full-service, non-profit Massachusetts adoption agency that has been serving expectant/birth parents in Florida since 1986. Amy U. Hickman, Esq. and the professional staff of Adoptions With Love can meet you wherever you are to begin your adoption plan. Our Florida adoption services are free to expectant/birth mothers and are always confidential. Whether you just found out you are pregnant, or have already given birth, we can help you through the Florida adoption process.

This guide can also help you get started. Here, you will learn about placing your baby for adoption in Florida, how to choose a Florida adoption professional, and the types of adoption services available to you in the Sunshine State.

* In Florida, only a Florida adoption entity is authorized to work with a birth mother to place her child for adoption.  An adoption entity is a Florida attorney or a Florida adoption agency.  As an expert in Florida adoption law, Amy Hickman has extensive experience working with expectant/birth mothers and placing children for adoption in Florida. Amy Hickman’s work with Adoptions With Love provides Florida birth mothers an opportunity to work directly with a Florida attorney and experienced adoption agency professionals. 

Placing Your Baby for Adoption in Florida

Placing a baby for adoption in Florida can be overwhelming. It can feel, at times, like you are all alone or that the world is resting on your shoulders. However, you do not have to go through the adoption process alone. There are adoption professionals who can help you learn about adoption and find a family for your baby. In fact, working with an adoption agency is recommended. An expert Florida Adoption Entity and the adoption agency professionals with Adoptions With Love, will ensure your adoption is safe, official, and legal according to state requirements. We will also make sure you and your baby are supported throughout the adoption journey.

When considering adoption professionals in Florida, it is important to choose one that you can trust. The right Florida adoption professional is an expert in Florida’s adoption laws and will ensure your rights are protected. Your Florida Adoption Entity and agency professionals should also work with caring counselors in Florida, who can offer you counseling, emotional support, and education regarding all your options. (For example, we will take you through the steps of placing your baby for adoption in Florida, and ensure you are fully comfortable and confident in your decision.) A qualified Florida Adoption Entity, a supportive Florida counselor, and experienced agency professionals should support you before and after the adoption takes place.

Choosing a Florida Adoption Entity

Finding an adoption professional that you can trust is an important step in the adoption journey. There are many types of adoption entities in Florida. For example, you may find there are private adoption agencies and foster care adoption agencies. There are also non-profit and for-profit adoption agencies. There are large, national agencies that work with thousands of birth mothers at once, across the nation. There are also small, personalized Florida Adoption Entities that work with qualified agency professionals selected because of their experience and compassion, working closely with each birth mother to create an adoption plan. Unlike a Florida adoption agency, a Florida attorney is able to work with agency professionals to create a team of knowledgeable adoption professionals experienced to meet each mother’s individual needs.

Private Adoption in Florida

Private adoption entities assist young women facing an unplanned pregnancy and considering adoption. An adoption entity and adoption agency professionals are committed to prioritizing the needs and well-being of the expectant/birth mother and ensuring she is fully supported throughout the adoption journey. She can make decisions regarding her adoption plan, such as choosing the family and deciding on the level of contact. Private adoption entities match newborns and infants with approved adoptive families only in the United States. No matter which you choose, make sure the adoption entity and adoption agency professionals can offer you personalized, compassionate, and ongoing support, as well as the ability to offer you comprehensive legal services to complete your adoption.

Full-Service Adoption in Florida

A full-service adoption entity working with experienced adoption agency professionals is recommended for expectant/birth mothers in Florida. This type of adoption entity and agency team provides all of the services you need to complete an adoption, including legal assistance, counseling, family matching, finding a doctor, and more. These services are free for expectant/birth parents. A caring adoption agency will understand your circumstances and ensure you have all you need, without the stress of costs.

It is important to find an adoption agency or professional that meets your needs, supports you emotionally and financially, and cares about you and your baby, throughout the adoption process and beyond. The type of adoption professional you choose should be there to educate you, to provide advice, and to counsel you in times of need—before, during, and after the adoption.

For this reason, many women also choose personalized adoption services in Florida. Personalized adoption services mean you can create an adoption plan that checks off all your boxes. The right adoption entity and agency professionals will listen to your needs, understand your wishes, and help you create an adoption plan with which you are comfortable.

Adoption Services in Florida

Amy U. Hickman, Esq. is a private Florida Adoption Entity that works with the case management professionals of Adoptions With Love. Adoptions With Love is a private, non-profit, full-service adoption agency, licensed in Massachusetts and serving expectant/birth mothers in Florida. As an expert attorney, Amy U. Hickman, Esq. works with AWL and compassionate counselors in Florida to meet you, wherever you are, to help you through the adoption process. Adoptions With Love’s experienced adoption agency professionals will work coast to coast, including:

• Tampa, Florida
• Orlando, Florida
• Gainesville, Florida
• Palm Harbor, Florida
• Pensacola, Florida
• Palm Beach, Florida
• And more!

Amy Hickman can ensure your adoption is completely safe and legal. We will guide you through this journey, ensuring you always understand your rights. We will answer any questions you may have about Florida adoption laws and handle all the necessary steps and paperwork involved with placing your baby for adoption.

Our compassionate and professional counselors practice throughout the state of Florida, as well. Each counselor is thoroughly experienced in addressing the many complicated feelings that arise during the adoption process. They can help you navigate this emotional journey. They will listen to your concerns, respect your wishes, understand your needs, and help create a positive adoption plan for your baby – all with the compassion you deserve. They can even help you talk to your parents or the biological father about your adoption plan.

Working with Adoptions With Love, we will respect all your decisions regarding the adoption plan, whether you would like to have an open adoption, closed adoption, or a semi-open adoption, or even if you change your mind. There is never any pressure or judgment. Adoption counseling services are available to you 24/7, before the baby is born, at the hospital, and long after the birth and placement.

In Florida, expectant/birth mothers have the right to receive free and confidential adoption services. However, adoption services vary by agency and adoption entity. It is important to find an adoption agency or adoption entity that can ensure your needs are met, every step of the way, without any cost to you.

For example, at Adoptions With Love working with Amy Hickman, expectant/birth mothers never pay to meet with Florida attorneys or counselors. Our Florida adoption services are free of charge for expectant/birth parents who pursue adoption. Additionally, we can assist you with expenses related to the pregnancy and birth. This may include rent, utilities, and even maternity clothes. If needed, we can also help cover uninsured medical care, including prenatal and postpartum appointments and hospital stay(s).

Why Work with a Florida Adoption Expert and Experienced Agency Professionals?

The decision to work with a reputable adoption professional in Florida offers many benefits:

• Your adoption will be safe and legal.

The main benefit of working with an adoption agency, and with an adoption attorney in Florida, is that it will ensure your adoption plan is legal and safe. You will work closely with the adoption agency professionals and a Florida adoption entity to choose a family that has been formally approved to adopt a baby. You will work with Florida adoption attorneys to ensure your adoption meets all the legal requirements, and your baby is officially placed with their adoptive family. If you do not use a reputable adoption entity in Florida, you run the risk of choosing an unverified family, meeting in an unsafe environment, and/or completing an illegal adoption.

• All families are thoroughly screened and approved to adopt.

As noted above, working with adoption agency professionals and a reputable adoption entity ensures your adoption will be safe. This also means your child will be placed with a safe and stable family, who has been approved to adopt. All adoptive families approved through an adoption agency complete a thorough background check and home study process. This involves at-home visits to ensure their home is safe and stable, and several interviews to ensure they are ready to raise and love a child. We also conduct FBI background checks and local criminal checks, gather references, and assess financial and health information, all to ensure that a baby will be supported fully in their new home.

• Your personal wishes will be met.

Working with an adoption agency does not mean you need to give up control of the process. The right adoption agency will understand that, as an expectant/birth mother, you know what is best for your baby. Therefore, you will have the opportunity to make choices on behalf of your child. For example, if you would like, you can choose an adoptive family for your baby. Your adoption agency will send you profiles and photo albums of hopeful families that are ready to raise and love a child. You can learn about their background, love story, values, and personal interests. This can help paint a picture of how your child’s life and future will look, and you can even speak with (or meet) the family in advance if you would like.

• You can coordinate an open adoption if you wish.

Consider working with an adoption agency that offers open adoption services in Florida. This will give you the ability to make more choices throughout the adoption process. Whether you want an open, semi-open, or closed adoption, you can design an adoption plan with which you feel comfortable. Every adoption plan is unique. For you, it may involve staying in touch with the adoptive family via emails, online photo exchange, or text messaging. You may decide you would like to receive an email update and photos once a year. The best adoption plan will cater to your needs, and you will have a counselor working with you to help make it official. While the adoption plan is a formal agreement, you are not bound to this one plan forever. If you decide to have a closed adoption, you may be able to open it later. This flexibility gives many birth parents a sense of security, knowing that adoption does not always mean “goodbye” forever.

• You will receive free counseling and legal services from adoption professionals.

The right adoption professional will cover the costs related to your adoption, from counseling to legal services. Adoption is a complicated and emotional journey, and you deserve support at every step of the way. Through our adoption services, you will receive free counseling prior to the adoption, to ensure you are comfortable with this decision, and education from our Florida adoption counselors. You will also receive free legal services leading up to the adoption, and for the placement of your baby, through a caring and expert Florida adoption lawyer. After birth, the support does not disappear. Our counseling services continue after the adoption, as you cope with post-pregnancy and beyond.

• Assistance is available for medical, living, and other maternity-related expenses.

You deserve to feel comfortable and supported through this journey. That is why we can help you cover the costs of food, uninsured medical bills, utilities, months of rent, and maternity clothes. You can click here to learn more about our financial assistance for expectant/birth mothers. In Florida, financial assistance is provided on behalf of the prospective adoptive consistent with the provisions of Florida.

Florida Adoption Information for Expectant/Birth Parents

The adoption process in Florida can be confusing. Working with an experienced adoption entity and private adoption agency professionals can help ease the process. Choose an adoption professional that is well-versed in Florida’s adoption laws, and that has experience with prior adoptions in Florida. You should also consider an adoption agency with professionals who can answer any questions you have along the way.

Below are common questions we receive from expectant/birth mothers in Florida.

Who must consent to an adoption in Florida?

According to the State of Florida, a birth mother or any person who is lawfully entitled to the custody of the child may provide written consent to an adoption, to terminate parental rights. A birth father’s consent is only required if he timely files an affidavit of paternity with Florida’s Putative Father Registry; a court has established paternity; the child was conceived or born during his marriage to the birth mother; or he has acknowledged paternity in writing, if unmarried.

When can you consent to adoption in Florida?

For a birth father, consent to adoption may be given at any time before or after the child is born. For a birth mother, consent may not be given until at least 48 hours after the child’s birth or on the day she is discharged from the hospital – whichever comes first. This gives the birth mother time to make sure she is confident with her decision. Once the adoption consent forms are signed, they are irrevocable. Your adoption attorney will help you understand these (and other) laws specific to Florida adoptions.

How can you know you are choosing the right family for your baby?

Many expectant/birth mothers say they felt an instant connection with an adoptive family profile. Some expectant/birth mothers take more time with the decision and weigh the values, backgrounds, and interests of various adoptive families. Only you will know which family is right for your baby. However, you can rest assured that no matter which family you choose, you will be choosing a loving, stable family. All adoptive families must undergo a Home Study prior to adopting. This months-long process involves several interviews and home visits, background checks, a physical assessment of the safety of the home, references, and documents ensuring the physical, mental, emotional, and financial health of the family. By working with families approved by Adoptions With Love, we know that our adoptive parents also attend comprehensive parent training courses before the adoption.

What happens after placing your baby for adoption in Florida?

Once the adoption is complete, birth parents are encouraged to continue counseling services. They are also encouraged to keep in touch, both with the adoption specialists and the adoptive family. Adoption is a lifelong journey, and Amy Hickman and the professionals at Adoptions With Love are there for you every step of the way, including the many years following your child’s birth. We are always here for you.

What will my baby think of me?

Adoption is the most difficult decision you can make. It is one of the most loving decisions you can make for your baby. Although it may be difficult right now, choosing adoption means that you love your baby so much that you put his or her needs above your own. Adoption allows you to give your child a happy, healthy, and stable life – one you may not be able to provide at this time. You are not giving up your baby for adoption. You are making a loving, selfless plan for his or her future. This is important to remember as you begin your adoption journey.

It is never too late to make an adoption plan in Florida, whether you are currently pregnant or have just given birth. Call 1-800-722-7731 to ask even more questions about Florida adoption agencies, to learn about your options in the Sunshine State, or to place your baby for adoption. According to Florida law, an attorney can execute an adoption consent at the hospital. Adoptions With Love can send an attorney right to your room and help you place your baby for adoption in Florida.