When you are thinking of starting or building a family through the adoption process, one of your first decisions involves where you will look for a child—if you decide to limit your search to the United States, the adoption is known as a “domestic” adoption. With a domestic adoption, you may still have to travel to bring home your child, and you may need to complete legal requirements in another state, but you won’t have to worry about visas, foreign travel or all the procedures associated with ensuring that your child is an American citizen.

The Domestic Adoption Process

The domestic adoption process generally looks the same, whether you choose to work with an agency or go the private adoption route. The process typically starts with a home study, where case workers will come to your home, evaluate the space you will be able to provide the child, and learn more about you and your finances, as well as your parenting style. A background check is customarily part of a home study.

Once you’ve completed the home study, the next step is to locate a child suitable for adoption. When you work with an agency, that part of the process will be done for you. The agency will typically use its contacts and an established network to find a suitable match. With a private adoption, you need to take your own steps to find a child. This can be done a variety of ways, such as advertising in periodicals or online, networking or participating in social media groups.

Once you have a prospective child, you’ll have a significant amount of legal issues to resolve. If you are adopting an infant, you will need to negotiate what you will pay for and put it in writing. Once your child is with you, you will also have to file papers with the court, and will need to get court approval of the adoption.

Contact Our Office

To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail . For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.

Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.