Adoption Agencies in Montana

If you are a pregnant woman or birth mother please click here to see information that is geared to your needs. 

If you are an adopting family we believe you will find the information below helpful. We begin by giving you information regarding child adoption law in Montana (some of what you can and can't do) and then provide you with information on children available for adoption in Montana.  We then relate how we can assist you during the adoption process, and finally we provide a list of licensed Montana adoption agencies through which you can browse for additional information.

Before starting to search for a child to adopt or an agency to assist you, it is important that you understand how the adoption laws Montana may affect your decisions. Making informed decisions is the best way of increasing your chances of adopting a child.  By way of example, we have listed below a few of the important parts of Montana child adoption law including such topics as advertising, facilitators, adoption expenses, and the critical issue of ending the biological parental rights (called a Consent, Relinquishment or Surrender).

Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements
Use of Advertisement
Citation: Ann. Code § 42-7-105(1)(a)

No person, other than the department or a licensed child-placing agency, may advertise in any public medium that the person knows of a child who is available for adoption, is willing to accept a child for adoption, or knows of prospective adoptive parents for a child.

Use of Intermediaries/Facilitators
Citation: Ann. Code §§ 42-7-105(1)(b); 52-8-101

No person, other than the department or a licensed child-placing agency, may engage in placement activities. ''Placement activities'' include:

Placement of a child for adoption or foster care
Arranging or providing short-term foster care for a child pending an adoptive placement
Facilitating placement of a child by maintaining a list, in any form, of birth parents or prospective adoptive or foster parents

State Regulation of Adoption Expenses
Birth Parent Expenses Allowed
Citation: § 42-7-101(1)

Medical and prenatal care
Foster care
Counseling for the birth mother
Travel and temporary living expenses
Legal fees
Any other reasonable adoption related expenses

Birth Parent Expenses Not Allowed
Citation: §§ 42-7-101(1)(k); 42-7-102

Education
Vehicles
Salary, wages, or vacations
Permanent housing for the birth mother
Counseling for the mother beyond a maximum of 10 hours

Allowable Payments for Arranging Adoption
Citation: § 42-7-105(3)

A person may not give or accept payment beyond the fees that are specifically allowed by statute.

Allowable Payments for Relinquishing Child
Citation: §§ 42-7-101(2); 42-7-105(4)

Expense payments may not be made contingent on the placement of the child.
Payments made cannot be recovered; they are considered a gift to the birth mother.

Consent to Adoption
Who Must Consent to an Adoption
Citation: Ann. Code § 42-2-301

Written consents to an adoption must be executed by:
The birth mother
The husband of the birth mother, if the husband is the presumed father of the child
Any other person whose parental rights have been established by a court
The department or an agency that has custody of the child and the authority to place the child for adoption
The legal guardian of the child, if both parents are dead or their rights have been judicially terminated and the guardian has authority by order of the court appointing the guardian to consent to the adoption

Age When Consent of Adoptee is Considered or Required
Citation: Ann. Code § 42-2-301

A child who is age 12 or older must consent, either in writing or in court, unless he or she lacks the mental capacity to consent.

When Parental Consent is not Needed
Citation: Ann. Code § 42-2-302

Consent to adoption of a child is not required from:
An individual whose parental relationship to the child has been judicially terminated for unfitness, has been determined not to exist, or has been waived
A parent who has been judicially declared incompetent
An individual who has not been married to the mother of the child and who, after the conception of the child, executes a notarized statement denying paternity or a notarized statement acknowledging paternity and denying any interest in the child
The personal representative of a deceased parent's estate

When Consent Can Be Executed
Citation: Ann. Code § 42-2-408

A parent whose consent to the adoption of a child is required may execute a relinquishment and consent to adoption only after the following criteria have been met:
The child has been born, and not less than 72 hours have elapsed since the birth of the child.
The parent has received counseling in accordance with § 42-2-409.
A guardian may execute a relinquishment and consent to adopt at any time after being authorized by a court.

The department or a licensed child-placing agency may execute a consent for the adoption at any time before or during the hearing on the petition for adoption.

A child whose consent is required may execute consent at any time before or during the hearing on the petition to adopt.

Revocation of Consent
Citation: Ann. Code § 42-2-410

The parent who executed the relinquishment and consent to adopt and the department, agency, or prospective adoptive parent named or described in the relinquishment and consent to adopt may mutually agree to its revocation prior to the issuance of an order terminating parental rights.

A relinquishment may not be revoked if an order has been issued terminating parental rights.

Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers
Registry/Paternity Requirements to Receive Notice
Citation: §§ 42-2-206; 42-2-205(3)

A putative father:
May file prior to the child's birth, but no later than 72 hours after the child's birth
May file even if he has no actual knowledge that a pregnancy has occurred
May complete the department form or submit a signed and notarized statement with the required information

Please visit adoption law in Montana for more details.

Yes, through both public and private adoption agencies.  For example, in 2004, Montana had 734 children in the welfare system waiting to be adopted of whom 2 were under the age of 1 year, and 218 were between ages 1-5 years old. The actual number of children adopted through Montana public child welfare agencies was only 192, which represents only a small portion of the total number of all Montana adoptions (exact numbers are not available at this time). 

Remember that while you may be a resident of Montana, you are not limited to adopting a child from Montana.  You can adopt a child born in Montana, a child born in any other U.S. state, or even a foreign born child.  What is important for you to understand is that infants and children are available for adoption in Montana, in each of the other the 49 states, and in many foreign countries. 

Yes, we can help you and so can any licensed child adoption agency (we have listed several below).  By way of introduction to Adoption Services, Inc, I will relate to you a little about myself and our child adoption agency.

Almost 40 years ago I (Dr. Vince Berger) began working as a psychologist with pregnant teens in the Pittsburgh city school system. It was very challenging because in those days there were very few services for these young women, society was not yet accepting of unmarried and/or pregnant teens, and the word "adoption" was hardly ever used.

I loved the work I was doing and knowing that I was personally able to help so many of the pregnant women I was working with. But something was missing - I did not feel I was helping people enough. So, I set out to provide the personal and professional care that a birth mother and adopting family need and deserve in the adoption process.

I started a full service, non-profit adoption agency. Not just any agency, but one that was, and still is, dedicated to helping birth parents and adopting families receive the best and most comprehensive of adoption related services. Over the past 20 years, my staff and I have helped over 9,000 adopting families, birth parents, their babies and children.

I love helping people. I work 6 days a week and answer calls at all hours. The hours I put in are long but never hard, since I find so much joy and strength in helping others.

My goal continues to be to help you. Accordingly, in addition to the website you are on now and the Adoption Services website, we created Adopting Family Resources and International Adoption Help as well as Child Adoption Laws and Child Adoption Resources and Pregnancy And Children to give you a information and help.

I hope that you will call me or my staff so we can help you in the adoption process. However, if you don't want to call us, then please review the agencies listed here and give one of them a call. Do not give up until you get the help and attention you need and deserve.

Thank you for letting us help, and good luck.

Dr. Berger
and the staff of Adoption Services

A New Arrival
PO Box 445
204 South Main Street
Twin Bridges, MT 59754
Phone: (406) 684-5312
Fax: (406) 684-5315

Catholic Social Services of Montana (CSSM)
PO Box 907
25 South Ewing
Helena, MT 59624
Phone: (406) 442-4130
Fax: (406) 442-4192

Lutheran Social Services of Montana
501 Central, Suite 201
PO Box 1345
Great Falls, MT 59403-1345
Phone: (406) 761-4341
Fax: (406) 761-7528