Adoption Support Groups in Iowa
For Adopting Families

If you are a pregnant woman please visit pregnancy support groups.

If you are a birth mother please visit adoption support groups for birth mothers in Iowa.

If you are an adopting family looking for support groups in Iowa you are in the right place. After reviewing this page you may also want to visit child adoption resources in Iowa.

We understand there are many reasons that you may be looking for support groups. To better assist you and make sure your questions and concerns are addressed, in addition to listing the adoption support groups for Iowa listed at the bottom of the page, we have provided additional resource information that we feel you may be looking for.  To find more information on these subjects, simply click the blue links.

Among the most common things you, as an adopting family, may be looking for is information on "how to adopt a child" whether to use an adoption facilitator, whether to engage in a private adoption or adoption agency, the limitations and requirements for adoption, what to consider in selecting an adoption agency, where to find licensed adoption agencies in Iowa, and the laws relating to what you can and cannot do when adopting a child in Iowa.

Understanding the child adoption laws in Iowa can greatly increase your chances of successfully adopting a child. Important legal concerns include the giving of support or gifts to a birth mother or birth father, fees paid to an adoption agency, attorney, or other intermediary, the legality of using an adoption facilitator, the legal rights of the birth parents and the adopting family, and the critical issues of a disruption and the ending the biological parental rights (called a Consent, Relinquishment or Surrender).  For example, using our most recent update, in Iowa:

*Birth parent expenses allowed include legal costs relating to termination of parental rights and adoption and pregnancy and birth-related medical care for the birth mother and child, living expenses of the mother, including room, board, food, and transportation for medical purposes only, counseling provided to the birth parents, and foster care for the child, if needed

*Except for an allowable expense, a birth parent shall not receive any thing of value for placing a child for adoption.

*Parental release of custody may not be executed until at least 72 hours after the child's birth.

*A consent to the adoption may be withdrawn prior to the issuance of an adoption decree by the filing of an affidavit of consent withdrawal with the court.

*The putative father may file prior to the child's birth, but no later than the date of the filing of the petition for termination of rights.

You may be looking for the differences in the waiting period, effort, cost, and success rates involved in adopting children within your state or in other states (domestic adoption) or even from other countries (international adoption) in order to determine which type of adoption will work for you.  Some specific choices you may want to consider, as the waiting lists tend to be shorter, are special needs adoption, bi-racial and trans-racial adoption, and older children (generally from one to 15 years of age) from the Iowa child welfare and foster care systems. The more open you are in the type and age of child you are looking to adopt the better your chances of success. You should also decide before contacting an adoption agency whether you want an open adoption or closed adoption.

In addition to the adoption support groups shown below, there are many sources of help available to you in Iowa. For example, we are always happy to take your calls and offer you help and information (contact us). There are local and private as well as state and federal government resources that can provide financial and medical information and help.  Iowa also has the Iowa adoption exchange or photo listing program and an Iowa adoption contact  office.

You may also be looking for information on special problems in raising an adopted child and being the best possible parent you can be. This may include explaining adoption to your child, family, friends and others. It could also include dealing with special emotional and developmental issues, or adoption and school problems, or issues involving adoption therapy and finding a therapist who specializes in working with adopted children and their families. Then again you may be looking for information on infant nutrition or birth records or one of a myriad of other questions.

If you are specifically interested in an international adoption support group, you may want to visit the support groups for Russian adoption, as well as the groups for Guatemala adoption and China adoption.

American Adoption Congress is composed of individuals, families and organizations committed to adoption reform.

Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption (FRUA) is for families who have adopted, or are in the process of adoption, from Russia and former Soviet Union countries.

Families with Children from China is a non-denominational organization of families who have adopted children from China.

Guatemala Adoptive Families Network initiates and supports the adoption of Guatemalan children.

National Adoption Center attempts to facilitate the adoption of children in the U. S., particularly children with special needs and those from minority cultures.

North American Council on Adoptable Children is committed to meeting the needs of waiting children and the families who adopt them.

Our Chinese Daughters Foundation (OCDF) is a non-profit foundation that supports families with children adopted from China.

Resolve is dedicated to providing education, advocacy, and support to those who face infertility.

The Child Welfare Information Gateway provides information on all aspects of both domestic and international adoption.

Adoption Support Group and Networking
Jordan Creek Church
475 68th Street
West Des Moines, Iowa

Adoptive Families of Greater Des Moines
1005 N. ÒCÓ St.
Indianola, IA 50125

Allison Area Foster Parents
2004 11th St., SE
Waverly, IA 50677
Phone: 319-352-2197

Black Hawk Co Foster Parent Sup Group
108 Sunset Lane
Elk Run Heights, IA 50707
Phone: 319-233-4285

Climbing Hill Support Group
3047 - 290th St.
Hornick, IA 51206
Phone: 712-874-3415

Council Bluffs Foster & Adoptive Parents
436 S. First
Council Bluffs, IA 51503
Phone: 712-323-0983

Charlton Valley Foster Parents
PO Box 78
Rural Route 8
Bloomfield, IA 52537
Phone: (515) 642-3334

Cedar Rapids Area Adoptive Families
1711 Grande Ave., SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52403
Phone: 319-362-4664

Children and Families of Iowa
1111 University Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50314
Phone: (515) 288-1981

Children & Families of IA
Fort Dodge Office, 1728 Central Ave., #10
Fort Dodge, IA 50501-4200
Phone: 641-573-2193

Dallas County Adoption Support Group, Madison/Warren Counties Adoption Support Group
1111 University Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50314
Phone: 641-288-1981 x332

Dallas Co Foster Parent Support Group
1409 Sandra Circle
Adel, IA 50003
Phone: 641-993-4637

Dubuque Co Foster Parent Assoc.
1270 Kelly Lane
Dubuque, IA 52003

Eastern IA Foster and Adoptive Parent Assoc
1612 - 9th St., NW
Clinton, IA 52732
Phone: 319-242-2644

Foster and Adoptive Parents Assoc of Greater Des Moines
502 S. Columbus St
Pleasantville, IA 50225-9363
Phone: 641-274-4648

Floyd,Chickasaw,Mitchell Co Foster Parent Assoc.
PO Box 65
Marble Rock, IA 50653-0065
Phone: 641-228-2350

Fort Dodge Area/Webster Co Sprt Group
95 Forest Blvd
Humboldt, IA 50548-1811
Phone: 641-573-3880

Heartland Chapter, IA Foster and Adoptive Parent Association
Box 97
Palo, IA 52324
Phone: 319-851-5022

HARMONY Foster & Adoptive Parent Sprt Group
RR 2, Box 174
Woodbine, IA 51579

Humboldt Foster/Adoptive Support Group
301 5th St., N.
Humboldt, IA 50548
Phone: 515-332-1003

Iowa Department of Human Services
P.O. Box 308
1303 South 200th Avenue
Sigourney, IA 52591
Phone: (641) 622-2090
Toll-Free: (800) 745-1481

Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association
6864 NE 14th St., #5
Ankeny, IA 50021
Phone: 515-965-9245/515-289-4567; 800-277-8145

Jackson/Jones Co Foster and Adoptive Parent Assoc
28637 - 258th St.
Bellevue, IA 52031
Phone: 319-733-2741

Marshall Co/Quakerdale Support Group
PO Box 313
Albion, IA 50005
Phone: 641-488-2410; 641-713-0218

Muscatine Foster/Adoptive Parent Group
2038 Captains Ct
Muscatine, IA 52761
Phone: 319-263-8357

Northeast Iowa Foster Parent Support Group
1622 4th St
Boone, IA 50036-3714
Phone: 515-298-3414/319-387-0646

North Central Foster Parent Assoc.
2315 Rake Ave.
Garner, IA 50438
Phone: 641-923-2618

Quad Cities Special Needs Adoption Group
509 Fulton Street
Grand Mound, IA 52571
Phone: (319) 847-1316

Special Needs Adoption Support Group
111 W. 15th St.
Davenport, IA 52803
Phone: 563-322-7419

Scott Co Foster Parent Association
4022 Greenway Dr.
Davenport, IA 52804
Phone: 319-386-6497

Special Needs Adoptive Parents Support Group
PO Box 4511
Sioux City, IA 51104
Phone: 712-279-3729

SW IA Adoption Support Group
25375 Ivory Rd.
Glenwood, IA 51534
Phone: 712-527-5053

T.L.C. - Foster and Adoptive Parent Assoc
RR 1, Box 113A
Lamoni, IA 50140
Phone: 641-783-2446

Western Polk County Foster & Adoptive Support Group
6114 Windsor Dr.
Des Moines, IA 50312
Phone: 274-2291

Warren Co Foster Parent Association
Warren County DHS, Box 729
Indianola, IA 50125

Youth and Shelter Services
420 Kellogg, PO Box 1628
Ames, IA 50010
Phone: 515-233-6011

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