birth mother child adoption laws

Child Adoption Laws by State

In every adoption, the birth parent(s) and adopting family must comply with the adoption laws of each state, the laws between states, and the laws of the U.S. Government.

This should be taken care of by your adoption agency. However, if you want the specific information on the adoption laws of your state, please click the link in the chart below or visit ChildAdoptionLaws.com.

We are a not-for-profit agency that, since 1985, has helped over 9000 pregnant women, birth parents and families.

Feel free to call (1(800)943-0400) or click on the link Contact Us and visit the link "Ways we can help you"
We have a five-star rating on Google.  You can always visit our testimonial pages (see the link on the right).

If you decide on adoption, we can make sure your child is placed with the perfect family, your rights are protected, and that you receive all the financial assistance and medical help as well as other types of help that the law allows.

We are committed to putting your needs first and to helping you in every way possible. Feel free to contact us (toll-free 1(800)943-0400) if you have any questions or if you want our guidance and help.  

Adoption Laws: State-by-State

Alabama Montana
Alaska Nebraska
Arizona Nevada
Arkansas New Hampshire
California New Jersey
Colorado New Mexico
Connecticut New York
Delaware North Carolina
Florida North Dakota
Georgia Ohio
Hawaii Oklahoma
Idaho Oregon
Illinois Pennsylvania
Indiana Rhode Island
Iowa South Carolina
Kansas South Dakota
Kentucky Tennessee
Louisiana Texas
Maine Utah
Maryland Vermont
Massachusetts Virginia
Michigan Washington
Minnesota West Virginia
Mississippi Wisconsin
Missouri Wyoming

Indian Child Welfare Act

The Indian Child Welfare Act applies to all 50 U.S. states. It is important if either the birth mother or the birth father has any Native American Indian heritage. If this is the case, your adoption agency will be able to take care of the details in meeting the requirements of this law.

Interstate Compact

The Interstate Compact Act is an agreement among all 50 U.S. states. The conditions of this Act must be met whenever a child goes from one state to another state for the purpose of adoption. As with the ICWA above, your adoption agency will be able to take care of the details in meeting the requirements of this law.

Financial Help

Several States (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia have established "kinship care" or "relative caregiver" programs by statute to provide relatives with benefits to help offset the cost of caring for a placed child. Six States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee) address foster care payments for kin caregivers in statutes. In these States, if a relative meets the qualifications for being a foster parent, he or she may receive payments at the full foster care rate and any other benefits available to foster parents, whether in money or services.

If You Need Help

We are a fully licensed non-profit adoption agency that helps birth mothers living in any state in the U.S. and we can also help U.S. citizens living in any foreign country. We have helped over 9000 birth parents and families. Feel free to contact us or call (toll-free 1(800)943-0400) if you have any questions or if you want our guidance or help. All calls are confidential and there is never any obligation or cost to you for our help.  We can make sure your child is placed with the perfect family, your rights are protected, and that you receive all the legal and financial assistance and medical help as well as other types of help that the law allows. There is never any fee to you as a birth parent whether you work with our agency or decide to look elsewhere. Please visit the link "Ways we can help you".

We are committed to putting your needs first and to helping you in every way possible. Feel free to contact us (toll-free 1(800)943-0400) if you have any questions or if you want our guidance and help.