Adoptive Parents

Abba Adoption Agency in Arkansas is fully staffed to meet your needs as a potential adoptive parent. We have many years of experience in adoption and work tirelessly to advocate for positive adoption and pro-life laws.

Along with working closely with our adoptive families and birth parents, our team is equipped to:

•  Educate our adoptive families on specific laws related to adoption in the state of Arkansas
•  Complete home studies for the adoptive parents in the state of Arkansas
•  Design and coordinate the legal paperwork needed for the adoption finalization process
•  File all needed paperwork at court and represent the adoptive families in court proceedings
•  Offer support to the adoptive families throughout the adoption process​
•  Handle families from out of state for the purposes of adoption
•  Interstate compact for the placement of children (when applicable)

We will take time to counsel with you on your legal and personal options in regards to your adoption. We are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed for the adoption process as well as a genuine concern for your well-being. We not only want your adoption to be solid, but also we desire for the process to be ministry focused. We are available to you and want you to feel at ease throughout your involvement with Abba Adoption Agency.

Home Study Guidelines:

A home study is a written report that provides a comprehensive picture of your background along with all those living in your home, current family life, and how this new child will be integrated into your family. It highlights matters such as relationships, interactions with children, home composition, etc. Home studies are required for every adoption and help the agency and court determine if a safe environment exists for the child. Under no circumstances should you allow just anyone to complete your home study. Many families pay hundreds of dollars to have a home study done to find out it does not meet all the guidelines for the state of Arkansas and are forced to have them re-done.

Once the application, statement of faith, and Abba Adoption’s biblical standards have been submitted and approved by Abba Adoption Agency, it is then time to focus on the documentation needed for the home study. Following are a quick list of items that we will need to gather from you during the home study process (this does not include everything that Abba Adoption Agency in Arkansas requires):

•  Abba Adoption Agency will request written personal reference from those you submit with our application
•  Two certified copies of birth certificates for each member of the household
•  Two certified copies of marriage license
•  Divorce decrees, if applicable
•  Two certified copies of death certificate, if applicable
•  Most recent payroll stub
•  Letter for employer stating employment status and expected duration
•  Most recent tax return, w-2 or 1040
•  Background checks; state police, child maltreatment, and FBI of all members of the household that meet the age requirement
•  Physical exams for each member of the household. These must be within 6 months prior to home study approval​
•  Pet vaccinations

The home study can seem like a stressful process, but our staff will help prepare you each step of the way. Our goal through this time is to get you ready for placement.

Abba Adoption Agency in Arkansas serves as a liaison between the adoptive parents and birth families. As a full service agency, Abba Adoption Agency has the opportunity of walking through every step of the adoption process with both the adoptive parents and the birth parents. This unique role is designed so that you do not have to face any decision or experience alone.

After working with a birth mother and understanding her individual desires and needs, Abba Adoption Agency will present her with appropriate adoptive parent profiles. Abba Adoption Agency only presents adoption profiles that will be a good match for her situation. A good match would be based on several criteria. Some of them include, but are not limited to:

•  Desired openness
•  Expenses
•  Amount and type of substance use/abuse (if any)
•  Ethnic backgrounds
•  Other children in the family

Once a match is made, the adoptive couple will be assigned an adoption coordinator. This is the person that has already established a relationship with your birth family and has been taking care of her needs. Following are some things that you can expect from your adoption coordinator:

•  Coordinate conference calls​
•  Coordinates meeting before the birth of the baby
•  Keeps adoptive parents informed on all medical appointments
•  Coordinates birth plan for the delivery of the baby and hospital stay
•  Coordinated all paperwork with the birth parents needed for files and adoption finalization
•  Continues a relationship with the birth family after the baby is born and the adoption finalized to assist in appropriate emotional responses toward adoption, the adoptive parents and herself

Safety

Adoption safety should be at the forefront of every adoptive couple’s mind. It is painfully easy for an inexperienced adoption agency to make critical mistakes on the many complex adoption laws and procedures. While saving money is important, it should never be at the expense of adoption safety. Many agencies cut cost by eliminating safety measures and this leads to failed adoptions.            

Abba Adoption Agency builds a relationship with the birth families that find themselves in unplanned pregnancies and come to us to make a plan for their unborn child. Pregnant women want to work with an agency that is going to provide a full range of support services to them and who will be available to them in crisis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your birth mother will never get an answering service! She will always have direct contact with her adoption coordinator. Abba Adoption Agency knows how vital it is to your adoption that her needs are met and providing counseling and support services to her is a must. We are very cautious in making sure a birth family is completely ready to be matched before we ever bring in an adoptive parent couple. It is vital that the birth family has had the opportunity to explore all options available to them before feeling forced to match with an adoptive parent couple. This is a huge safety net in adoption! At the point of matching the birth family has had their immediate needs met. These needs range from emotional support, education on adoption, counseling, adoption plan building, food, stable housing, etc. After these needs are met, Abba Adoption will evaluate the confidence she has in her adoption plan. Although adoptions are not full-proof, Abba Adoption Agency goes to great lengths to match only birth mothers who feel confident about their adoption decision.

Time Consciousness

While adoption safety is the most important issue, time is certainly the most pressing one. Abba Adoption Agency understands adoptive families do not want to wait years to adopt a child. Therefore, we get involved in the community to network with places such as local pregnancy care centers, hospitals, doctor offices, churches, schools, universities, and the community as a whole as to make a presence of what we have to offer and what make us more effective and essential in working with birth mothers on their adoption plan.  In addition, we utilize marketing strategies that prove successful. We know our market and we know what it takes to reach that market for our families.

We do not want our families waiting long, therefore we take every opportunity to be available to the women who want to choose adoption for their child. We would love to show you how our program makes a difference for your adoption.

Abba Adoption Agency understands that the adoption process goes beyond when your adoption is finalized. In fact, adoption is a beautiful picture of our relationship with Christ! Ephesians 1:4 states “Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.” What glorious words those are! He chose us! And our relationship doesn’t end there, it is lifelong! The scriptures tell us in Romans 8:35-39 “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the scriptures say, “for Your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

Just as our relationship with Christ is lifelong, so is the journey of adoption. You may find times where you are in need of support. Abba Adoption Agency begins this process by providing post placement services. Abba Adoption Agency is committed to supporting each person in the adoption triad. No matter if you are the adoptive parents, birth family, or the adoptee, we are here to walk with you each step you take on your adoption journey.

What type of adoptive parents does Abba Adoption Agency accept?

Since we are a Christian agency that is committed to biblical standards of excellence, we believe to carry on the mission of our agency, preserve the function and integrity of Abba Adoption Agency, it is imperative that we work with adopted families that hold to these same values. We seek out adoptive parents that are evangelical Christians who can provide a stable, nurturing home. We have an application process that all adoptive families must complete, along with a statement of faith that the family must fill out, sign and return to us. In addition, all adoptive couples must complete and pass all home study requirements.

Why do adoptions cost so much?

In addition to the fees charged by the agency, adoption cost include expenses that relate to caring for the birth mother. Those expenses can include medical cost, living expenses, travel expenses and even cradle care, just to name a few. When comparing adoption cost you will find they vary from state to state and agency to agency. When comparing adoption services in relation to cost, here are some key items to consider:

•  Services:  the lower the fees, the less services offered. Cutting services is the most common way to reduce adoption cost, but at the expense of safety and increased waiting times.
•  Staffing: the fewer staff members an agency has, the less time it can devote to families and birth mothers. When an agency is not staffed properly, fewer adoptions occur. An agency should always adjust its staffing to the number of cases it is working. Abba Adoption Agency is well staffed and handles crisis calls 24 hours a day / 7 days a week.
•  Advertising: Abba Adoption Agency understands families do not want to wait years to adopt a child. Therefore, we get involved in the community to network with places such as local care pregnancy centers, hospitals, doctor offices, churches, schools, and universities to make a presence of what we have to offer and what makes us more effective and essential in working with birth parents on their adoption plan. In addition, we utilize marketing strategies that prove successful. We know our market and we know what it takes to reach that market for our families.​

What criteria do you use to match children to families?

The first thing that Abba Adoption Agency does in matching is pray! We believe without a doubt that the Holy Spirit guides these matches. The next thing we do is look at what type of adoption the birth parents are desiring. As we help them build an adoption plan that is best for them, we can, with confidence, show profiles of adoptive families that line up with their desires and needs and allow her to be invested in choosing her family. Remember, just because a birth mother chooses you, if you do not feel it is the right match for your family, you have the right to not match.

In rare instances the birth mother will not want to choose a family and will ask the agency to choose for her, Abba Adoption Agency will match her with the best suited couple based upon her overall needs and desires starting with the family that has been with the agency the longest. Abba Adoption must always make decisions in the best interest of the child.

If we become uncomfortable with a match, do we have an out?

Abba Adoption Agency feels that it is important that you are committed to your match. If at any time you become uncomfortable, we will assist you in answering your concerns and if the match proves unstable, we will disrupt your match and find another situation for your family.​

What if the adoption does not work out?

Abba Adoption Agency guarantees no additional agency fees will be paid in the event of a disruption. The adoptive couple will be promptly placed back into the pool of adoptive parents for their next match. Of course we hope a disruption never happens to one of our families, but in cases where they do, Abba Adoption is here to counsel and pray for and with you. It is important to go through the grieving process when a disruption does occur as it is vital that you are in an emotionally healthy state before proceeding forward in the adoption process with another match. Abba Adoption Agency never tells a couple how long that process should be as we all grieve differently. No family should ever have to go through a disruption without proper care and attention given to them. We just want the process of adoption to be a blessing and not one filled with fear. Please note…..birth mother expenses are not the same as agency fees and are always considered a risk.​

If we find a match in another state, will Abba Adoption Agency pursue the child for us?

Yes, Abba Adoption Agency has experience in working with agencies across the nation to facilitate the interstate compact process.

How much time does a birth parent have to change their mind after consenting to the termination of parental rights?

A birth parent’s consent to adoption may not be withdrawn after an entry of a decree of adoption, absent fraud or duress. A birth parent may withdraw their consent to adoption within 10 calendar days after providing the consent or 10 days after the birth of the baby, whichever is later to occur. A birth parent may also choose to waive 5 of the 10 day revocation period. If the last day of the revocation period falls on a weekend or holiday, the birth parent has until the close of court the following normal business day.

Do birth mothers receive assistance with expenses and are they covered under our agency fees?

Each adoption situation is truly unique and each state has differing laws regarding financial assistance. In most cases, the adoptive family is allowed to cover the medical bills. If the birth mother has insurance or Medicaid, the adoptive family will pay for anything that is not covered. In some states, funds can be provided for the birth mother’s living expenses. Arkansas allows these types of expenses. We will gladly explain the assistance for each particular situation with our families. Expenses paid out for the benefit of the birth mother are not the same as agency fees and should always be considered risk monies in adoption.