How to Adopt

Adoption is more than a single event, rather, it is a process that requires preparation, compassion and understanding.

We work with couples in the San Diego and Southern California area so they are able to attend ongoing educational programs. We want to get to know you and visit your home so we can feel confident that we know our families. We are available to support and guide you through your adoption journey.

First, we educate you. Many of your fears can be allayed once we dispel some of the adoption "myths" or misconceptions you may have about open adoption, birthparents, the costs and the "waiting period".
We help you to create a "Dear Birthmother" letter to be shown to birth parents that are sincerely seeking stable, loving couples who are ready to adopt.
We understand it is discouraging for couples to sit for years on a "waiting list", so we limit the number of couples we work with. No one can guarantee when you’ll adopt but most of our couples adopt within months rather than years.
We understand that you have felt isolated as you've gone through the painful path of infertility. We provide educational workshops and monthly support groups for all prospective adopting couples because without support, couples may also feel isolated and overwhelmed when going through the adoption process.
We are non-profit and our fees are on a sliding scale according to income. Most couples also qualify for a federal tax credit of $12,150. *
Your fees provide ongoing support and education to women who may be facing an unplanned pregnancy. Professional, clinical counseling and Support groups are available to birthparents at no charge to them.
We provide educational services about open adoption to the community through the media and public speaking engagements, and outreach at crisis pregnancy centers, medical clinics, schools churches, youth and community organizations which reach young people at risk for crisis pregnancy.
We dispel some of the fears and discuss the myths at our first Orientation Meeting.

* Federal Adoption Expense Tax Credit
For 2009, the maximum adoption credit has increased to $12,150. Also, the maximum exclusion from income for benefits under your employer's adoption assistance program has increased to $12,150. These amounts are phased out if your modified AGI is between $174,730 and $214,730. You cannot claim the credit or exclusion if your modified AGI is $214,730 or more.

	MYTH		REALITY

	There are no babies placed for adoption in the U.S.		50,000 or more U.S. born infants are placed for adoption each year.
	Adopting parents must wait five years or more for a baby.		The average wait in a domestic adoption is less than two years. At the ACSD our couples average wait is months, not years.
	Adopting parents pay extortionate amounts--tens and tens of thousands of dollars.		Costs to adopt domestically average $25,000. After the Adoption Tax Credit, the cost is comparable to that of giving birth in a hospital.
	Birthparents can arrive at anytime to reclaim their child.		Once an adoption is finalized, the adoptive family is recognized as the child's family by law.
	All birthmothers are troubled teens.		Most birthmothers today are older than 18. They are young women who love their babies and who would have parented if their circumstances were different. They choose adoption because they want their child to be raised in a stable, loving, two parent family which they are unable to provide at this time.
	Adoptees are all maladjusted.		Studies show that adoptees are as well adjusted as their non-adopted peers. In fact, recent studies show that adopted adolescents have higher self esteem than a national sample of teenagers.