What Is An Adoption Plan?

For many people, finding out they’re pregnant is exciting – but for others, it’s nothing but bad news. If you don’t feel like you’re ready to have a child or don’t think you are prepared to support a family, adoption might be the right choice for you. However, adoption is not a one-step process. One of the most important early steps in the adoption process is the creation of an adoption plan.

What is an adoption plan? In short, an adoption plan is an outline of what you want to happen during your pregnancy, at the hospital, and beyond. Not everyone follows their adoption plan exactly, and every adoption plan is different. What they all have in common is that they are well-thought-out and that they require you to think carefully about your options and what is best for you and your child.

How an Adoption Plan Works

In many ways, an adoption plan is a way for an expectant mother or couple to think through a variety of options and figure out what kind of future they want for their child. Usually, an adoption plan starts out by answering a number of questions, such as:

• What kind of life do I want for my child?
• What should I look for in an adoptive family – what characteristics are important to me?
• Do I want an open or closed adoption?
• How much support do I want after placement?

Answering these questions will help you in many ways. First, if you decide to follow through on making an adoption plan for your child, you’ll be able to narrow the search significantly for an adoptive family since you’ll have basic criteria in mind. Second, you’ll naturally want to find an adoption agency that can provide you with the information you need to fulfill your plan. This will help you make informed choices and make the adoption process smoother overall.

An adoption plan will also help you after your adoption is complete by making provisions for things like the number or frequency of visits, the type of contact you’ll have with the adoptive family, and any support or counseling you might need after placement.. It’s important to remember that adoption is a major, life-changing decision; you’ll probably need some support sooner or later.

Things To Remember When Making an Adoption Plan

When you’re creating an adoption plan, no matter what you include in it, it’s helpful to keep some of the following things in mind:

• Adoption Is A Process – There’s no such thing as a “quick adoption.” Every one takes time, and no two are the same. It’s perfectly natural to want to step back or to feel overwhelmed, and those feelings are no reason to give up on adoption as a whole.
• Adoption Is Not One-Size-Fits-All – Even though you’re looking to make an adoption plan for your child, that doesn’t mean you don’t care about your child or their future. Don’t let anyone else tell you how you should behave or what you should do, or compare your decisions with those of other birth parents. Your adoption is yours alone, and you should be 100% comfortable with your plan at the end.
• Your Feelings Can Change Over Time – Even if you think right now that a closed adoption is the best thing for you, you might not feel that way in a few years. Unfortunately, by then it could be too late. Anticipate the fact that your feelings could change with regard to your child and the adoptive family and plan accordingly.

If you’re confused about the process of adoption or you think you need help developing an adoption plan, contact Deaconess Pregnancy & Adoption Services today. We’re Oklahoma’s oldest adoption agency, and we’ve helped connect birth mothers, children, and adoptive families for more than 100 years. You can visit our Facebook or Google+ pages to get more helpful information about adoption in Oklahoma, or you can call us today at (405) 949-4200.

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