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Understanding Adoption and Your Options
If you are thinking about adopting a child, you have several choices open to you. Here is a brief overview of each.
Identified Adoption
In an identified adoption, prospective adoptive parents seek out birth parents who want to place their child for adoption. This is done through advertising or networking with professional contacts, friends and family to find a birth parent. Although most people initially think they don't know anyone who is pregnant and wanting to make an adoption plan, this can change after speaking with people about their interest in adoption. JFS works with individuals & families interested in identified adoption.Intercountry Adoption
In an intercountry adoption, prospective parents seek to adopt a baby from outside the US. JFS networks with well established, non-profit intercountry agencies who deal with children from Eastern Europe, China, Korea, Guatemala, Colombia (among others). Families may also use an intercountry agency of their choosing. Most international agencies are able to refer a child within a few months after a prospective adoptive family completes paperwork. Prospective adoptive parents usually travel to the country to get the child although there are a few choices where children can be escorted to the U.S.A.Traditional Adoption
In a traditional adoption, a birth parent(s) does not want to actively participate in locating a family for their child. The parent(s) give an agency this responsibility. These adoptions are rarer nowadays.Older Child (Special Needs) Adoption
JFS partners with the Connecticut Department of Children & Familie4s to find permanent families for the children in their care who cannot return home. The children typically have been abused or neglected. Most of these children act younger than their age or may need special help in school. Most are physically healthy, though some have medical issues ranging from asthma to more serious medical problems. Most of these children are school age, though they may be as young as a year old. Often, if DCF feels it is unlikely that a younger child will return home, the agency will place the child in foster care with a family who has an interest in adopting him or her if parental rights are terminated.All calls and e-mails are kept in strictest confidence.