Known as the most diverse cultural state in the south of the United States, Mississippi is home to a melting pot of people. From the French, British, and African American culture, to the Native American and Spanish culture, Mississippi has a vast amount of children of different backgrounds just waiting to be adopted. Want to learn more about adopting a child from Mississippi? Keep reading to learn about the 7 tips you should know about adoption MS.
1. Know the requirements of adoption MS
Before you start your adoption search in Mississippi, research about the requirements to see if you’re eligible to adopt a child in MS. What requirements must you meet?
- You can be either a married or an unmarried adult. If you’re married, both you and your spouse must apply to adopt a child.
- You can apply if you’re a same-sex couple.
- You lived in Mississippi for six months or more.
- Be at least 21 years old.
- You must pass the required background checks (more about background checks further down this article)
- You must be in great physical, mental and emotional health.
- You must prove that you’re financially stable to provide for the adopted child.
2. let it be known that you’re wanting to adopt
This one seems obvious, but to adopt a child, you have to let it be known that you are looking to adopt a child. I don’t mean you should just go and publicize it and announce it on social media. What I’m saying is to research local adoption agencies in Mississippi, or if you’re wanting to do an independent adoption, you should find an adoption attorney.
One of the ways you can find a great adoption agency or a great adoption attorney in Mississippi is to try and ask friends and family who have adopted children on how they found their adoption professionals, and ask for their honest opinion. They can tell you the pros and cons of each adoption professional, but it’s also good to know that one adoption professional might be great for some people, and other people might not have liked how their adoption process worked out.
Which brings up tip #3.
3. Look at the pros and cons of working with each adoption professional in Mississippi that you’re looking into working with.
There are always pros and cons of working with an adoption agency or working with an adoption attorney. Let’s go over what each one does, and look at each pro and con. (For this article, I’ll discuss local and regional adoption agencies.)
Adoption Agencies: The local and regional adoption agencies in Mississippi, (like any other local and regional agencies in different states), are small and have few staff members. They offer a variety of services for both birth parents and adoptive families. The great services uncle are:
- Matching services; help to match you with a birth mother looking to place her child for adoption, and help match you with an older child that’s waiting to be adopted.
- Adoption plan; they assist both birth parents and adoptive parents with their adoption plan.
- Counseling services.
- Helping you make an adoptive family profile.
- Post-adoption placement services.
- Legal services.
What are the pros and cons of working with a local and regional agency?
Pros:
- You can meet the agency adoption professionals in person to form a trusting relationship with the agency to help you find the child you’d most like to adopt.
- Fewer staff members; better for communication and you’ll work with one or two adoption professionals instead of different ones.
- More training and education opportunities. You can have access to adoptive parent training and education that’s provided by the agency.
- Travel is easier; you can find an agency that’s closest to you, and you don’t have to travel out of the state of Mississippi.
- The agency is state licensed; meaning more accountability and reliability. Also, it’s reviewed yearly by the Mississippi government.
- Lower adoption costs.
- Agencies are fully invested in your adoption journey, even after the adoption finalization.
Cons:
- Wait times can vary. Smaller agencies mean smaller budgets for advertising services for both birth mothers and adoptive families.
- Smaller resources and services. Being that local and regional agencies are smaller, they usually don’t work after hours and weekends, and they can’t provide as many services as nationwide agencies can.
- The additional fees make adoption costs higher, like advertising costs, birth mother expenses, legal fees, etc.
- There’s less stability with local and regional agencies. Smaller agencies can be susceptible to staff turnover rates, and state adoption laws can change quickly.
- The agency response times are slower than national agencies. Adoption professionals can have more clients than they’re assisting, and might not be able to respond promptly.
So what about working with an adoption attorney? What exactly do they do and what are the pros and cons?
Adoption Attorney: When going through an independent adoption, you’ll most likely be working with a Mississippi adoption attorney. An adoption attorney is a professional that can help you through all the steps of the adoption process and will help you to understand your rights and in most cases only handle domestic Infant adoptions.
Pros:
- There are fewer requirements. While you need to meet the Mississippi adoption requirements, you don’t have the extra requirements that an adoption agency has.
- They are more willing to be flexible and you can count on shorter wait times. Attorneys don’t have a caseload of adoptive parents, so your family profiles/advertisements will be seen by birth parents quicker.
- There’s more freedom when working with an attorney. You can receive guidance and advice on your terms.
- More control over how you’d like the adoption to proceed. When working with an adoption attorney, they look out for your best interests as adoptive parents.
Cons:
- The extra expenses. Adoption attorneys aren’t qualified to provide some services on their own, so they look for counselors and other adoption professionals that charge extra fees.
- The financial risks. In the case where the birth parents would like to parent their child, the birth mother expenses that you’ve paid for won’t be reimbursed.
- The birth father location and not willing to terminate his parental rights. In the state of Mississippi, a birth father doesn’t have to consent to the adoption if he pleases. If an attorney needs to find the birth father’s whereabouts, there will be extra fees.
- You’ll have to pay for adoption educational training and counseling. An adoption attorney doesn’t provide those services.
Check out this article to learn more about adopting with an adoption agency or adoption attorney.
4. Work on your adoption profile.
An adoption profile is a great way to let birth parents know that you’re looking to adopt a child. What are some things that should be included in the adoption profile?
- Some nice photos of you (and your spouse, other children, and pets), showing what type of hobbies you love to do, and what holidays you celebrate.
- If you’re married, talk about how you met and a little something about married life.
- If you have other children, add some information about them.
- Some information on your family and extended family members.
- A heartfelt letter for the birth parents to let them know what life will be like if their child is adopted into your family.
- How you’ll talk to your adopted child about their adoption.
- Some information about your community.
- Education and occupations.
- What type of post-placement adoption option you’d be open to after adoption. (An open, semi-open, or closed adoption).
- Talk about your family values. What matters most to you when it comes to family?
- Discuss why adoption is important to you, and your overall feelings about adoption.
For more information, read this article all about adoption profiles, and check out the adoptive parent profiles at Adoption.com.
5. Be sure that you and your household meet the background check requirements and pass the home study.
There are several required background checks you must meet to adopt a child in Mississippi. Background checks will be a part of the home study interview process, as well as initial intakes for an adoption agency. What are the required background checks you must meet to adopt in Mississippi?
- Child abuse registry.
- State and criminal background checks, and FBI fingerprint checks.
- Disclosure of criminal records and alleged criminal activities must be signed and recorded on a disclosure form.
- Routine checks will be done by local law enforcement agencies.
What are the requirements for the adoption home study in Mississippi?
- The home study must be completed within 90 days of the application.
- You must be at least 21 years of age. If applying with your spouse, they must be 21 as well.
- Your home must have sufficient space and enough living space for the safety and wellbeing of not only the adopted child but for other family members who reside in your home.
- The adopted child must have their own bed, and cannot share a bedroom with the opposite sex, or an adult.
- There must be at least one working smoke detector near the bedrooms.
- Your home must have a telephone service.
- There must be one fire extinguisher located by the doors that you enter and exit the home.
- You must have working toilets inside your home; outhouses are prohibited.
- Verify that you’re in good physical, mental and emotional health to take care and nurture a child.
The home study is a very crucial step for an adopted child to be placed in your home. To learn more about the adoption home study, read this article about how to prepare for an adoption home study and this article about the basics of the adoption home study.
6. Prepare for the adoption pre-placement.
Once the required paperwork and home study documents are gathered, you’ll have your adopted child have trial visits to your home, known as an adoption pre-placement. This is a great time for your adopted child to get to know you and the members of your family and to see what their life will be like when they come to be a part of a forever family.
It’s also a good way to see what your adopted child’s routines will be, what they like and dislike, and to see the positive and loving family dynamics of your home. Keep in mind that your adopted child might take some time to warm up getting to know you. Trusting relationships take time and you must respect your adopted child’s feelings.
7. Get ready for the adoption finalization.
The last step of the adoption process in Mississippi is the adoption finalization. After the 6 month placement period, the termination of the birth parents parental rights, have The Interstate Compact of the Placement of Children clearance if adopting outside Mississippi, complied to the Indian Child Welfare Act if you’re adopting a child of native descent, and the post-placement requirements are completed, the adoption can proceed to become finalized.
The adoption finalization hearing will take place in a local Mississippi courtroom, and will last up to an hour. During the hearing, the judge will look over the necessary paperwork, ask you questions about your intentions to adopt, ask the adoption professional their thoughts about your adoption process, and once approved, will sign the adoption decree. After the finalization, you can get your adopted child’s birth certificate and social security card filed and changed.
With these 7 tips in mind, you’ll be better prepared to adopt a child from Mississippi and be one step closer to expanding your family through adoption. Your adoption journey doesn’t quite end after the adoption finalization, however. Adoption is a journey that’ll last forever. By getting to know your adopted child, you can show them all the great things that the state of Mississippi has to offer them.
For more information about adoption MS, read this wiki page, adoption in Mississippi, and this article about some very important things to know about Mississippi adoption.
Are you considering adoption and want to give your child the best life possible? Let us help you find an adoptive family that you love. Visit Adoption.org or call 1-800-ADOPT-98.
