Home Study
To be approved as an eligible adoptive family, the agency completes a home study, which is also called a pre-placement assessment. The home study process includes a meeting to review the process, a home visit and interview with an agency social worker, and submitting required documents. The support documents include include current physician reports, criminal record clearances, three letters of reference, birth certificates, marriage certificates and tax statements.
We provide advice on adoption issues, such as networking and advertising techniques and raising an adopted child. The staff at the Keane Center for Adoption is very dedicated to personally handling all the details of the home study process.
The home study process can take 6 weeks to complete, please contact us for the current home study fee.
Birth Parents
The most important time for you is choosing and getting to know the adoptive parents. You first read about their lives in the profile they prepared. You are also able to personally meet them and get to know them before the birth. Many people exchange emails, phone numbers, and choose to visit regularly.
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Adoption is a loving choice for you and your baby. It is also filled with much emotion. Before and after the birth you are able to see a counselor to talk about your feelings and how you can make the process of placement the best for you. The agency staff is available to support and advocate for you during this process.
After you have chosen and spent time with the adoptive parents, you are able to make a direct placement of the baby with them after the birth and at the hospital. The baby goes home directly from the hospital with the adopting parents. We do not make a foster placement for the baby.
There are also two other important aspects for birthparents. Under Michigan law, it is possible to reimburse a birth parent for living, medical, and travel expenses. If the birth mother has medical insurance, the adoptive parents may pay any portions that are unpaid by insurance. Living expenses may include rent, maternity clothes, etc., and travel expenses may include getting to and from the doctor's office. Living expenses may be paid up to six weeks after the birth. Payment of living expenses can only begin after you select the adopting parents and they have agreed to move forward with the adoption.
The adoption process is also includes needed information about the father of the baby. The process is best for birth mothers and the adoptive parents if the birth father signs a waiver and provides social and medical information. An adoption is possible without his participation, however, he must know of your choice. We assist in notifying him of your decision and informing him of his choices. Each case has different issues and we can answer specific questions about the birth father on an individual basis.
Also, ongoing contact with the adoptive parents is encouraged and supported. This is most commonly done through exchanging letters and pictures. With each case, the frequency, type, and extent of contact is determined and agreed upon together by everyone together.
Adoptive Parents
The Keane Center for Adoption is a small agency that provides very personal service. We answer the phone when you call and we respond to all emails. Our staff has over 31 years of experience in adoption and we put our knowledge to work for you.
The birth mothers working with the agency choose the adoptive parents for their child. The adoptive parents’ profile is a key element in when a family is chosen and our staff helps you to prepare an attractive and effective profile for birth mothers to review.
It is a difficult decision to place a baby for adoption, and the more time a birth mother takes to choose a family and get to know them, the more balanced her decision is after the birth.
To get started with the adoption process, the agency application must be submitted along with the supporting documentation. A meeting is also scheduled with an agency staff person to review the process and to get answers to your questions and for you to fully learn about the process of adoption.
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After the placement and when adoption has been finalized, there are many levels of contact between adoptive parents and the birthmothers. We encourage people to pursue the best mutual agreement for all parties involved. Most families and birth parents agree to keep in touch with each other over the years. This can be through letters and pictures sent through the agency or directly to each other.