Adoption Agencies in Wyoming

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 Wyoming (some of what you can and can't do) and then provide you with information on children available for adoption in Wyoming.  We then relate how we can assist you during the adoption process, and finally we provide a list of licensed Wyoming 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 in Wyoming 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 Wyoming child adoption law concerning the critical issue of ending the biological parental rights (called a Consent, Relinquishment or Surrender).

Consent to Adoption
Who Must Consent to an Adoption
Citation: Ann. Stat. § 1-22-109

The consent to adoption shall be signed by:
Both parents, if living
The surviving parent
The mother and putative father of the child, if the name of the putative father is known
The mother alone if she does not know the name of the putative father, in which case she shall sign and file an affidavit so stating and the court shall determine whether the putative father has registered and if so, shall require notice to be given to the putative father
The legal guardian of the person of the child if neither parent is living or if parental rights have been judicially terminated
The executive head of the agency to whom the child has been relinquished for adoption
The person having exclusive legal custody of the child by court order
The legally appointed guardian of any parent or putative father who has been adjudged mentally incompetent

Age When Consent of Adoptee is Considered or Required
Citation: Ann. Stat. § 1-22-109

If the child to be adopted is age 14 or older, his or her written consent to adoption shall also be filed with the petition to adopt.

When Parental Consent is not Needed
Citation: Ann. Stat. § 1-22-110

The adoption of a child may be ordered without the written consent of a parent or the putative father if the court finds that the nonconsenting parent or putative father is unknown and that the putative father has not registered and the affidavit required by § 1-22-109(a)(iv) has been filed with the petition to adopt or if the court finds that the putative father or the nonconsenting parent or parents have:
Been given notice of the hearing and have failed to answer or appear at the hearing
Been judicially deprived of parental rights of the child for any reason
Willfully abandoned or deserted the child
Willfully failed to contribute to the support of the child for a period of 1 year immediately prior to the filing of the petition to adopt and has failed to bring the support obligation current within 60 days after service of the petition to adopt
Willfully permitted the child to be maintained in or by a public or private institution or by the department of family services for a period of 1 year immediately prior to the filing of the petition without substantially contributing to the support of the child
Failed, within 30 days after receiving notice of the pending birth or birth of the child, to advise or notify the agency that gave the putative father the notice of his interest in or responsibility for the child or his declaration of paternity
Been adjudged by a court to be guilty of cruelty, abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of the child
Caused the conception of the child born out of wedlock as a result of sexual assault or incest for which he has been convicted
Willfully failed to pay a total dollar amount of at least 70 percent of the court ordered support for a period of 2 years or more and has failed to bring the support obligation 100 percent current within 60 days after service of the petition to adopt

When Consent Can Be Executed
Citation: Ann. Stat. § 1-22-109

The consent to adoption shall be signed any time after the birth of the child.

Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers
Registry/Paternity Requirements to Receive Notice
Citation: §§ 1-22-117; 1-22-108(c)(ii), (d)

The putative father may file, before or after the child's birth, a notice of intent to claim paternity.
The putative father may file an instrument acknowledging paternity.
A putative father having knowledge of the birth or pending birth must evidence an interest in and responsibility for the child within 30 days after receiving notice of the child's birth or pending birth.
The putative father has no right to assert paternity in termination proceedings unless one or more of the following statements is true:
He is known by the mother or agency.
He lived with or married the mother after the child's birth and prior to the filing of the adoption petition.
He has acknowledged the child as his own.
He has registered as a putative father.

Please visit adoption law in Wyoming for more details.

Yes, through both public and private adoption agencies.  For example, in 2004, Wyoming had 73 children in the welfare system waiting to be adopted of whom 2 were under the age of 1 year, and 20 were between ages 1-5 years old. The actual number of children adopted through Wyoming public child welfare agencies was only 56, which represents only a small portion of the total number of all Wyoming adoptions (exact numbers are not available at this time). 

Remember that while you may be a resident of Wyoming, you are not limited to adopting a child from Wyoming.  You can adopt a child born in Wyoming, 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 Wyoming, 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

Casey Family Program
130 Hobbs Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82009
Phone: (307) 638-2564
Fax: (307) 632-5251

Catholic Charities of Wyoming
PO Box 1468
Cheyenne, WY 82003
Phone: (307) 638-1530
Fax: (307) 637-7936
Toll-Free: (800) 788-4606

Focus on Children, Inc.
405 Sage Street
Cokeville, WY 83114
Phone: (307) 279-3434
Fax: (307) 279-3444

Global Adoption Services, Inc.
50 East Loucks Street
Suite 205
Sheridan, WY 82801
Phone: (307) 674-6606
Fax: (307) 672-7605

Wyoming Children's Society
314 East 21st Street
Cheyenne, WY 82001-3721
Phone: (307) 632-7619
Fax: (307) 632-3056
Toll-Free: (800) 584-9384