Local Adoption in Texas for a Baby
 

1. Becoming an Active Family Within the Adoption Agency
To become an active family within the adoption agency a prospective family wants to work with involves some key steps. The typical requirements that must be met by include:

• being 21 years of age or older.
• both parents must be in stable medical condition and emotionally stable.
• pass a criminal history and child abuse evaluations.
• prove financial stability.
• prove a child-friendly and safe home environment.
• complete adoptive parent education (depending on the agency).

Other important components involve filling out legal paperwork, creating an adoption plan, and
creating adoption parent profiles. A home study must also be completed in which a licensed
social worker in the state of Texas will come to the prospective family’s house, interview the
family members, and conduct a home inspection.

2. Waiting for an Adoption Opportunity
After becoming an active family within the adoption agency, the prospective parents must
maintain a normal lifestyle throughout the waiting period. Birth parents are able to select
adoptive parents from their profiles through the adoption agency, the adoptive parents are then
contacted, and the adoptive family can either accept or reject the offer before moving forward.

3. Establishing Communication with the Birth Parents
An important component to the process is establishing openness and communication
between the birth parents and the adopting families. This can help build confidence in the
adoption process. Another component to consider is deciding whether or not to keep the
adoption “open” or “closed”. Closed adoptions in Texas give little to no information about the
birth parents to the adoptive family such as names, medical information, etc. “Semi-open”
adoptions in Texas involve sharing of basic information such as the names of birth family
members and some level of communication with the biological parents. Open adoptions have a
higher level of contact with the biological parents where there is more contact and
communication. Open adoptions in Texas give your child opportunities to talk with you about
their personal history and adoption and many experts recommend this option for the adoption as
it can be crucial to the child’s understanding of their situation.

4. Finalizing the Adoption
A finalization hearing is one of the last components of the adoption process. After the child
has been placed in their home for around 6-12 months, the finalization hearing takes place and
includes the adoptive family, the adopted child, the family’s lawyer, and possibly a social worker
involved on the case. A judge will then conduct a final review of the adoption.