Domestic vs International Adoption

Two of the main types of child adoption are designated as domestic child adoption and international child adoption.  Domestic adoption is the process of adopting a child who either resides in, or is a resident of, the same country in which you reside. In an international child adoption the birth mother and adopting family live in different countries.  The information below is designed to help you learn about the domestic child adoption process.

In a domestic adoption you adopt a child who is a citizen of the country in which you are residing.  For a U.S. citizen it means adopting a child who is a U.S. citizen even if the child has been born in a foreign country (for example, to a U.S. military mother living overseas).  For a foreign citizen living in the U.S. it means adopting a child living in the U.S. and who is a U.S. citizen. 

A domestic child adoption can be an agency adoption where a licensed adoption agency is the intermediary or an private adoption where a physician, attorney, or adoption facilitator is the intermediary. 

Furthermore, a domestic adoption can be intrastate or interstate (within the same state or involving more than one state) and can be an open adoption, a closed adoption, or some combination of open and closed.

The distinctions among the above types of child adoption are important since each type of child adoption must meet a different set of legal requirements.  Since these legal requirements also change from state to state we have provided a resource for you to learn about the different state Child Adoption Laws.

You may be one of the many adopting families who are afraid of a domestic adoption because of the horror stories about disrupted adoptions, about waiting lists that are years long, and about domestic adoptions in general. Most of these horror stories are the rare exceptions, or are distortions, or have been the result of a private, as opposed to an agency, adoption.  Please do not give up on a domestic adoption based on what others have told you.  Check out the possibilities carefully on your own.

As you check out a domestic adoption, please keep the following points in mind.  First, do not sign up with an agency until you have carefully checked their license.  Second, since many U.S. agencies, require that you have the home study completed by the placing agency, do not have the required home study done before you have finalized the selection of your child placing agency.

Understanding the information provided throughout this website is important and should not just be left to the "experts".  After you have reviewed all the appropriate "buttons" on the website, if you want a more personal touch, please feel free to contact Dr. Vince Berger.

Each state has a special website and special contact to help you with adoption. The chart below provides links to the child adoption contact for every state. Additional child adoption resources for your state are the State Child Welfare website and the state Adoption Exchange and Photolisting.  To find a list of adoption agencies in your state click on the link Domestic Adoption Agencies.

Please visit our home page to read about our commitment to assist adoptive parents like you as well as pregnant women and birth parents.

To find the state adoption specialists in your state, click on your state of residence.