considering adoption
A Center for Adoption Services -- home

How we can help -- How to contact us -- About our fees -- Download forms

Adoption is a wonderful way to become a parent.  It allows the individual or couple to take charge of their lives as they determine how to pursue finding a child to adopt.  But at times, the process can seem overwhelming.  Where do you begin?

Understanding the process is the first step.  A Center for Adoption Services is a licensed adoption agency as well as a source of help for people who want to pursue an independent adoption.  We know there are many different ways to adopt, and just as many ways we can help you make your unique adoption work.

We believe adoption can be an ideal way to expand your family when it is accomplished in a legal and emotionally healthy manner where the needs of each person involved are carefully considered.  Our goal is to help you make your adoption healthy for you and for everyone else participating in the process.

How can we help you with your adoption?   We can:

n  Inform you about the current and constantly changing picture of adoption, and how to adopt successfully.  This would include discussing special kinds of adoptions that minimize the waiting period for a child, and exploring your comfort level with these various adoption options.

n  Provide you with leads for potential adoptions, and give you assistance on finding birthmothers on your own.  We can help you prepare and distribute your letter to potential birthmothers.

n  Do your homestudy, a comprehensive report on potential adoptive parents that is required in all adoptions.

n  Provide counseling for you birthmother to help her make the best decision for herself, and minimize the risk of a breakdown in the process or an adoption disruption.  We can assist you and the birthmother with the frequently difficult post-partum period prior to the adoption being finalized, and provide other post-adoption services for you and your family.

n  Assist you with the specific arrangements and logistics of your adoption, including those which involve the Interstate Compact Act.   This includes helping you obtain the legal information necessary to proceed with your adoption.

Individuals or couples who wish to pursue adoption with the help of A Center for Adoption Services should make an initial contact by emailing us at dru@drugroves.org, writing us at 602 Alder Ave. NE, Bainbridge Island, WA, 98110; or calling us at (206) 780-1972. We will provide you with more detailed information about our services and set up a time for a series of consultations or interviews with you that are the basis of an adoption home study.  If you are in the local area, these interviews will be conducted in person.  Otherwise, they will be conducted on the telephone.

The goal of the interviews is to determine your needs and desires about adoption.   We need to understand your background, lifestyle, goals and ideas about parenting.   That way we can effectively represent you and present information about you to potential birthmothers.  After this phase, the adoption process can go in many directions, depending on the type of adoption you wish to pursue.

Fee for Services.  A Center for Adoption Services is a nonprofit organization that operates differently than most agencies.  We bill clients at an hourly rate, which generally turns out to be less costly than the fixed fees or retainers charged by most adoption agencies. 

We have established this billing system to accommodate the different levels of assistance or service potential adoptive parents require.  In an attempt to reduce the total costs of your adoption, you may wish to do a lot of the adoption research and birthmother outreach on your own, or you may want a more comprehensive level of service in negotiating the adoption process.  We encourage you to contact other adoption agencies to compare our fees and the services we offer.

In addition, we offer a sliding-scale fee for lower income clients.

For more information about the current hourly rate, sliding-scale fees, flat fees for preparing adoptive home studies and what your total costs for services might be, contact us at dru@drugroves.org, write us at 602 Alder Ave. NE, Bainbridge Island, WA, 98110; or call (206) 780-1972.

DOWNLOAD FORMS.  The following ACAS forms for prospective adoptive parents can be downloaded from this site.  All are Microsoft Word or PDF files (which require Adobe Acrobat Reader -- download a free copy).

General forms:

Adoption Information Worksheet (5-page PDF)

Financial Statement (1-page PDF)

Adoptive Applicant Medical Report (1-page PDF)

Child's Medical Report for Home Study and Post-Placement (1-page Word)

DSHS Child Abuse and Neglect Findings Request (2-page Word)

Address History Addendum  (1-page Word)