Hoping to adopt a baby?  The Adoption Center is currently seeking families interested in joining our minority program. We are particularly interested in African American and mixed race couples. Please call for more information.

Building your family through adoption

For more than 20 years, the Adoption Center has helped bring families together in Illinois and Indiana. We are a private licensed adoption agency that offers free and confidential birthmother services for women of all ages facing unexpected pregnancy, teenage pregnancy and  abortion alternatives. We also offer professional adoption services (including homestudy services in Illinois and Indiana) for couples and individuals looking to adopt a baby. Our caring and experienced licensed adoption services team will guide and support you throughout the adoption process. Our primary goal is to facilitate compassionate adoptions, making the process as comfortable and worry-free as possible.

Adoption Services: Our track record...

We have been a leader in adoption services for over 20 years and boast an impressive record of success. In 2005, we facilitated 64 adoptions. We facilitated another 47 adoptions in 2006, 39 more adoptions in 2007 and 47 adoptions in 2008. Each year, the average wait to adopt has been under one year. During the first quarter of this year, we have been very busy placing babies for adoption.  Over 20 of our waiting families have adopted a baby in the first three months of 2009.

Domestic Adoption

Many prospective parents rule out domestic adoption because they assume it is not a viable option. At the Adoption Center for Family Building, domestic adoption is not only viable, but it often takes only one year or less. Although our services include international adoption homestudies, the majority of the infants we place each year are through our domestic adoption program.

We emphasize preparation and education for everyone involved in the adoption process. Your personal advocate will guide you through the steps of an adoption, including the homestudy and  licensing required by Illinois law. A homestudy is also required for Indiana families seeking to adopt a child, but foster care licensing is not part of the Indiana homestudy process.

Homestudies in Illinois and Indiana

A homestudy is a written report that gives a current snapshot of the family seeking to adopt. It is conducted by an agency social worker who reviews your emotional, physical and financial resources, and prepares you for the adoption process. The homestudy is not intimidating and provides valuable insights into how adoption works and what adoption means to a family.

At the Adoption Center for Family Building, an experienced social worker will assist you with either a domestic or an international homestudy. We strive to make the adoption process affordable, expedient and worry-free.

Prospective adoptive parents are required by law to have a homestudy for all agency, international and private interstate adoptions. Fees for Illinois and Indiana homestudy services are listed below in question #21.

Adoption Benefits and Tax Credit

Federal Tax Credit: The Internal Revenue Service offers a tax credit to eligible families to help offset adoption expenses. The adoption tax credit may apply to both domestic and international adoptions, and is taken in the year the adoption is finalized. Eligibility is based on income. For more information about this benefit, visit the website http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc607.html or speak with an accountant.

Employee Adoption Benefits: Some companies offer their employees an adoption benefit. These companies typically reimburse the employee for adoption services expenses up to a specified amount; the typical range is between $2,000 and $10,000. Check with your employee benefits administrator about whether you qualify for an adoption stipend.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): This allows ”eligible” employees to take off up to 12 work-weeks in any 12-month period for the adoption of a child. For more information, visit www.opm.gov/oca/leave/HTML/fmlafac2.asp

New Embryo Donation Program

Embryo donation is an alternative route to family building. It helps couples unable to conceive carry a pregnancy to term. A relatively new procedure, embryo donation involves using another couple's embryos in order to have a child. The donated embryos are transferred into the uterus of the recipient using a process called frozen embryo transfer. Embryo donation is often chosen by couples who are unable to afford conventional reproductive treatments or who have been unsuccessful with Invitro Fertilization treatments.

The Adoption Center for Family Building conducts homestudies for intended parents pursuing Embryo Donation. The Center will make referrals to infertility centers and legal resources upon request. The Adoption Center has established an advisory committee to plan and implement the first open embryo donation program in Illinois.  If you are interested in becoming an embryo donor or a recipient of a donated embryo, please contact our offices for more information.

To obtain more information about adoption, and to learn more about the Adoption Center for Family Building, click on any of the commonly asked questions below or send an email: info@centerforfamily.com :

1. What is unique about the Adoption Center and what services do you offer?

2. What types of children are available for adoption?

3. Do you currently have babies available for adoption?

4. How long does it take to adopt a baby?

5. How do you locate birthmothers?

6. How many children have you placed?

7. What does an adoption cost?

8. Are the children available to adopt born in the USA or are they from other countries?

9. Who is eligible to adopt?

10. Do you work families hoping to adopt in states other than Illinois and Indiana?

11. Do you offer birthmother services in states other than Illinois and Indiana?

12. What would we know about the baby's health?

13. Do we need a homestudy to adopt?

14. What is your policy regarding open adoption?

15. How old is the baby when you take him/her home?

16. Does the birthfather have any rights?

17. What happens after the baby is placed for adoption?

18. Are your adoptions confidential?

19. What happens during the initial consultation?

20. What is the cost of adopting a baby in Illinois or Indiana?

21. What does a homestudy cost?

22. How do we begin the adoption process?

Getting Started....  Hoping to adopt a baby?  Want to get started?  Come in and meet with an agency director (see red button on right side side of this page for "Open House" dates) or schedule an initial consultation to jumpstart the adoption process.

If you are new to the adoption process and have lots of questions, the open house is a great place to begin. Your thirty minute private meeting will enable you to get answers to your questions. We're happy to discuss the children available for adoption, the process of a domestic adoption, the homestudy,  the cost of adopting a baby  or your concerns about open adoption. We'll take the time to answer your questions, ease your concerns and treat all of your information confidentially.

If you are ready to initiate a homestudy, simply download the application (see red button on right side of this page) and mail to our Illinois address along with the $375 application fee. The application triggers the homestudy process.

For a more in-depth meeting, you may choose to schedule an initial consultation. This meeting will help you to evaluate whether the Center is the right adoption agency for you.  The meeting typically takes between two and three hours and the fee for the initial consultation is $350.  Please contact our office by email: info@centerforfamily.com  or call us to schedule either an open house or an initial consultation: You can reach us by calling our Illinois office at (847) 674-3231 or our Indiana office at (219) 795-9900.

1. What is unique about the Adoption Center and what services do you offer?
   The Adoption Center is a small, non-sectarian, non-traditional adoption agency licensed in both Illinois and Indiana. Our goal is to empower birth and adoptive families to make  sound choices for themselves. We differ from other adoption agencies by encouraging prospective adoptive parents to be proactive in their search for a child to adopt. We employ specially tailored advertising and networking techniques to enable our clients to "connect" with women and teenagers facing  an unplanned pregnancy.  We offer a full range of birthmother services including adoption counseling, education,   assistance with housing, pre-natal care, and transportation to doctors visits, discharging baby from the hospital, placement and post placement support and referrals to community and government assistance programs.  Services to adoptive parents include: homestudy services, adoptive parent education, support and counseling, agency assisted as well as traditional placements, post placement services including court reports and handling the paperwork for interstate adoptions.

2. What types of children are available to adopt? Mostly newborns of many different races and ethnic backgrounds, Many of the children we place for adoption are Caucasian, others are biracial, African American, Asian or Latin.
3. Do you have babies available for adoption now? We have an active list of families waiting to adopt. When birthmothers come to us seeking services, we share the profiles of our clients, enabling the birthmother to choose the adoptive parents. If she is interested in you, we will call you with her available background information. If you want to proceed, you would speak with her, meet her and we would move the adoption forward.
4. How long is the wait to adopt a baby? The waiting time varies but the typical wait in 2007 was 9-12 months. In 2006, the average time to adopt was just under one year. The prior year (2005) the average wait to adopt was 10 months.
5. Do you offer birthmother counseling services?  Yes, we offer birthparent counseling services throughout Illinois and Indiana. Case management and adoption counseling services are available to birthmothers before, during and following an adoptive  placement. All services are tailored to the birthmothers needs.  She is given help finding a doctor, housing or obtaining community services and a medical card as needed. Our birthmother advocates are available to see birthmothers in their home, at the hospital or in other convenient locations.
6. How many children have you placed for adoption? Over the years, we have been involved in many hundreds of adoptions. In 2006, we were involved in the placement of 47 newborns, we placed an additional 39 babies in 2007, and another 47 adoptions in 2008.  Most of our adoptive families (75%) adopt a baby within one year of starting the process.
7. What does an adoption cost? Last year, the median cost of an adoption was $23,800 including legal fees and court costs, This figure also includes agency adoption fees, medical expenses, birth mother expenses, and adoption advertising costs.
8. Where do most of the birthmothers reside?   In 2007, most of our birthmothers (86%)-- who placed their baby for adoption-- resided in either Illinois or Indiana. The remaining 14% resided in other states including Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio. The Adoption Center offers free, confidential birthmother services to women residing in Illinois or Indiana. If the birthmother resides in another state, services are available through an adoption agency or private counselor in her area.
9. Who is eligible to adopt? The minimum age to adopt is 25 years old. Adopting parents must be emotionally and financially stable, and able to meet all homestudy and licensing criteria. The Adoption Center has fewer restrictions than the more traditional adoption agencies. We work with married couples and singles, ranging in age from 25 to over 50, of many different religious backgrounds including Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical Christian and Jewish. Over a third of the couples looking to adopt already have at least one other child.
10. Do you place children with families who reside in states other than Illinois and Indiana?         Yes, every year we place some babies for adoption with families who are not residents of Illinois or Indiana. For the family's convenience, we handle these situations by scheduling the first and second consultation on two consecutive days. Also, families residing outside of Illinois and Indiana must be ready to adopt, as demonstrated by a valid homestudy completed in their home state.
11. Do you work with birthmothers outside of Illinois or Indiana? Yes. When a birthmother does not reside in Illinois or Indiana, we help her to locate an adoption agency and/or an adoption attorney in her home state to represent her interests.
12. What will we know about the baby's health before the placement? The Adoption Center gets health information from the birthmothers and the birthfathers whenever possible. Pre-natal records are typically requested from the physician or clinic and shared with the adoptive parents. The baby's hospital records are usually available upon discharge. The Adoption Center requires HIV testing performed on either the birthmother or baby before we will place a baby for adoption.
13. Will we need a homestudy in order to adopt?           Yes, either from the Adoption Center or from a licensed adoption agency in your home state.
14. What is the policy regarding open adoption? The Adoption Center supports open adoption, but does not dictate the degree of openness in any adoption. Those decisions are made by birthparents and adopting parents  .
15. How old is the baby when you take him/her home? The baby typically goes home from the hospital with the adopting parents on the second or third day after birth. Final surrenders in Illinois are taken no sooner than 72 hours after birth. An Illinois placement (for adoption) prior to that time is a legal risk. Although it is common practice, adoptive parents are not required to take the baby home prior to final surrenders. In Indiana, consents for adoption are typically signed when the birthmother is ready to be discharged from the hospital.
16. What about the birthfathers rights? When a birthfather is identified in an adoption, we attempt to meet with him and obtain medical and social history. In Illinois, a birthfather may sign an unborn surrender prior to the birth. Last year about half of all birthfathers consented to the adoption. If a birth father does not cooperate by signing the adoption paperwork, the attorney for the adopting parents arranges to have him served papers by a sheriff or a process server. If the biological father is not named, the attorney is required to publish on an unnamed father for thirty days following the birth. The Putative Father Registry is also consulted for any registration by the birthfather. Following these steps, the birthfather's rights will be terminated in adoption court and the adoption may proceed.
    
    In Indiana, a birthfather may be served with a pre-birth notice, but he may not sign a consent to the adoption until after the birth. He has thirty days from the date of receipt of notice to file a paternity action in court. Once served, the birthfather is not entitled to any further notification of the adoption. An unnamed birthfather has thirty days to file with the Putative Father Registry. There is also a requirement in Indiana to publish on an unnamed father.
17. What happens after the placement? You will go to court with your adoption attorney and receive an interim order giving you temporary legal custody. The adoption will be finalized six months after the placement. The Adoption Center will provide post-placement services during the six month period before finalization of your adoption. We will meet with you once in your home, and you would be expected to participate in 5 monthly group meetings held in our office during the six month post placement period.
18. Can we be assured of confidentiality?         Yes. The Adoption Center staff will give birthparents your first names and other non-identifying information. It is your choice whether to disclose last names and other identifying information. Last year, most of our clients chose to participate in an open adoption. If the adoption is not fully disclosed, the Adoption Center is able to act as the intermediary for the exchange of information, letters and pictures.
19. What happens during the initial adoption consultation? You will meet with Tobi or Maggie (our Directors) to discuss your options and you will learn about the process so that you are able to determine the right path for yourself. The initial consultation typically takes between two and three hours and the fee is $350. If you decide to proceed with an adoption following the initial consultation, you would submit an application to begin the homestudy, and start down the path to adopting a child.
20. What does an adoption cost? Agency fees vary depending on services rendered. Fees for a traditional agency placement typically range from $7200 (minority program) to about $17,500 (not including the home study fee). The total fee for an agency assisted adoption ranges from $4500 to $8,500. Additional adoption costs will vary but typically include birthmother and agency expenses, the fee for the homestudy fee, legal and adoption court costs and advertising.
21. What does a homestudy cost? An Illinois homestudy costs $2,350 including all post placement adoption services. There is also an application fee of $375, for a total cost of $2,725. An Illinois international homestudy costs $2,975, including the application fee, two post adoption placement meetings and reports. An Indiana home study costs $1,500 (plus the $375 application fee) and each post placement visit is $300. An Indiana international homestudy costs $2075 including the application fee. This fee does not include post placement services.
22. How do we begin the adoption process?         If you would like to schedule an initial consultation or attend a free "open house" with one of our Directors, please call between the hours of 9:00am and 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. If you need homestudy services only, please download our agency application and send it to our Illinois address along with the $375 application fee. If you have already connected with a birthmother in Illinois or Indiana, please call us to discuss our birthparent counseling services. To reach us call: (847) 674-3231 or (219) 795-9900 (Indiana) or send us an email: info@centerforfamily.com.

 LOCATIONS: The Adoption Center provides services throughout Illinois and Indiana.                         

 Chicago: Cook, Lake, DuPage, Jo Daviess, Kane, McHenry, Winnebago county (Rockford, Joliet, Waukegan, Elgin, Woodstock, Aurora), Central and Southern Illinois (Bloomington, Danville, Decatur, Champaign, Peoria, Springfield, Belleville, Alton, Marion), Northwest Indiana (Hammond, Ft. Wayne, Merrillville, Highland, Dyer, Hobart, Valparaiso, La Porte, Porter County, Lake County, Highland, Munster, East Chicago, Gary, Michigan City, Northern Indiana South Bend, Kokomo, Ft. Wayne, Goshen, Central and Southern Indiana (Indianapolis, Bloomington, Lafayette, Evansville, Anderson, Terre Haute).

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