We are placing newborns and young infants, primarily from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. Children will be African-American, Hispanic, Caucasian or mixed race. Medical and background information will be provided, to the extent possible, on children and the birthparents.
Eligibility Criteria For Adoptive Families
Our eligibility criteria for adopting families is flexible in order to include as many families as possible for children that need homes. Most of our families will be between the ages of 30 and 50. Couples should be married for at least two years. Single applicants are also welcome. Applicants should be in good emotional, physical and financial health.
How Does The Program Work?
Families interested in our domestic program should complete the contact form on our website to receive more information about our domestic program. If you think our program could be a fit for your family, we will schedule a phone call or virtual meeting to discuss the program further.
The first step in any adoption is an homestudy. A homestudy is a collaborative process designed to teach you about adoption and assess your suitability to become adoptive parents. Through a series of meetings with a Cradle of Hope social worker, you will share information about your childhood, education, employment, health, housing, religion, criminal history if any, attitude about adoption and raising adopted children, finances, etc. State regulations require the submission of documents which demonstrate that you are strong candidates for adoption. You will take online classes to prepare for adoptive parenting. The process culminates in a written homestudy report, which hopefully recommends you as prospective adoptive parents. See more information here: https://cradlehope.org/homestudy/
Cradle of Hope provides homestudy services to families in DC, MD and VA. If you live elsewhere, you will obtain homestudy services from a licensed adoption agency in your state.
Once you have an approved homestudy, these steps will lead you to your new son or daughter:
- You will submit a completed application, contract and photo and a $2000 application fee.
- You will meet with a Cradle of Hope social worker for an orientation meeting in our office or virtually.
- We will work together to prepare your Parent Profile for posting on our website. Once posted, $1000 posting fee is due. No additional fees will be collected until you are matched.
- A birthmother chooses your family for her child! She may want to speak with you by phone or virtually or meet you in person. $2000 matching fee is due.
- The birthmother’s prenatal records are obtained and shared.
- The baby is born! Placement is made! $7500 placement fee is due.
- After a state-specific waiting period, the birthmother’s revocation period expires. Your final fee payment, based on a sliding scale, is due.
- Post-placement supervision begins, with social worker visits at 1, 3 and 6 months from the date of placement.
- Family’s attorney begins finalization process through the local court.
Each adoption is unique and takes its own path. We sometimes get calls from hospitals about a baby already born (referred to as a “pop-up” adoption) in which case the process varies from the outline above.
Who Will Assist Us Through The Adoption Process?
A Cradle of Hope social worker will work with you through each step of the adoption process. Our experienced team knows that this is an exciting yet difficult time for you and will be available to support and guide you until your child comes home and after.
What Adoption Fees Will Be Charged?
Cradle of Hope’s fees in our Domestic Program are based on a sliding scale. Please contact us for more information about the cost of adopting through our domestic adoption program and the schedule of payments.
Family Testimonials and References
Read below to hear what some of our families had to say about their Cradle of Hope adoption experience
Matthew & Rachel
We are so grateful to have worked with Cradle of Hope while adopting our daughter. They took care of so many details and had excellent communication with us. The support they provided at the hospital was amazing. We were very thankful for the compassion they had for our daughter’s birth mom both before and after the birth. Cradle of Hope provided so much guidance to us through the process and was able to provide valuable resources to our daughter’s birth mom.
Wendy
I couldn’t speak more highly of Cradle of Hope! I contracted with them to help facilitate the adoption between the birth mom and myself. They were very compassionate to both the birth mom and myself. They went out of their way for us and always answered our questions, day or night. Their guidance through this process was invaluable.
Kevin & Julie
We particularly appreciate how candid and down-to-earth Linda was throughout the adoption process. She was in regular communication with us at all stages of the journey. She was sensitive to, and respectful of, all parties in the adoption triad. We felt well-supported during both challenging and joyful times. Cradle of Hope guided us to the best possible outcome – the adoption of our daughter!
Eric & Teresa
We had a wonderful experience with Cradle of Hope. The staff were friendly and welcoming right from the start, with fast response times to all of our questions. Our assigned social worker provided us with many resources and we felt like she stood by us through the process. She helped us sort out some tough questions and guided us to be truly self-reflective. We will always remember her as part of our adoption story and we are excited to work with her as we begin our adoption journey again. (Photo by Kathleen Hertel Photography)
Financing Adoption Expenses
We understand that international adoption is not inexpensive. Our fees are determined based on domestic and overseas expenses, and include certain unavoidable costs such as rent, utilities, telephones, printing, supplies and postage, as well as compensation for our staff. Our fees must cover all operating expenses and provide sufficient reserve to cover months without placements or expenses incurred in connection with children who are ultimately not placed for adoption with our clients. We must also budget for travel expenses to foreign countries to begin new programs or iron out wrinkles in existing ones, as well as for foreign adoption officials to come to the United States to check on the adjustment of their children. Finally, it is important that our fees generate enough income to allow us to assist foreign orphanages with necessities such as food, clothing, medicine, and educational equipment for the many children who wait for families.
