Adoption Services

UMCH Family Services has a long-standing heritage in and around adoption. For more than a century, we have been helping to create permanent families through adoption. In fact, many children were adopted from what used to be referred to as the Children’s Home in our earlier years. Over the years, we received numerous inquiries about the adoption process fueling the creation of our formal Adoption Program that operates with a dedicated Adoption coordinator to handle all inquiries and to guide our clients through the adoption process.

Every child has a right to a permanent family, a family where they can be loved, cared for, and kept safe. Today, there are around 107,000 children waiting to be adopted from the United States Foster Care System. UMCH Family Services works to place these children with permanent families through adoption so that no children are left to age out of the system. At UMCH Family Services we offer the complete continuum of adoption care, from pre adoption through the adoption process and even including post adoption services to ensure each family is successful in their adoption journey.

Frequently Asked Questions About Adoption

Who can adopt?

Anyone 18 years of age or older who can provide the necessary documentation for the home assessment is eligible to adopt. Legally married couples or single individuals are eligible.

What are the training requirements?

Prospective adoptive parents are required to attend 24 hours of training referred to as, Pre-Service Training. Training is offered through UMCH Family Services on a quarterly basis. Training schedules are available to view on our website. This training must be completed before a home assessment can be approved.

What is a home assessment?

A home assessment is a combination of collected information and interviews that are compiled into a document that represents your family. A certified adoption assessor meets with your family to assess items such as child rearing skills, life experiences, and strengths to determine the type of adoptive child each individual could best parent. A criminal background check, fire inspection, safety audit and medical examination are also required.

What if I already have a home assessment?

UMCH Family Services will work with your current agency to facilitate a transfer at your request.

What adoption opportunities does UMCH provide?

Our primary focus is identifying and placing waiting children through our Foster to Adopt Program and our Adoption Only Program. A waiting child would be any child in the permanent custody of a county children services agency. There are about 102,000 children awaiting adoption in the U.S. and many of these children have special needs to consider such as being older, being a part of a sibling group or requiring counseling to deal with emotional or behavioral struggles.

Am I able to adopt children who live outside of Ohio?

UMCH Family Services will assist you in facilitating the adoption of children in Ohio and can also help you by facilitating (through an Interstate Compact) placement of children residing outside the state of Ohio.

What is the cost to adopt through UMCH Family Services?

Our adoption fees start out at $2,250 to initiate your home assessment. You can find a full list of our adoption-fees here. Families may arrange a payment plan with our agency at their convenience.

Is there financial assistance available?

UMCH Family Services does not offer any financial assistance; however, we are able to support you in navigating the options that may be available to you. In the case of adopting a waiting child, adoption subsidies may be available through the custodial agency. Financial assistance may also be available through your employer. Federal tax credits may also apply.

Does UMCH offer support to adoptive families after the adoption is finalized?

UMCH Family Services provides a range of services to support and help families through a variety of issues that may result due to an adoption. Services include our Post Adoption Program.

How do I get started?

The first step in the approval process is contacting our Adoption Specialist to learn about our Adoption Program and answer any questions you may have. Our Adoption Specialist will connect you to the application for Pre-Service training. Through the Pre-Service classes, you will learn more about beginning the home assessment process and the various options to build your family through adoption.

Adoption and Foster Care are tremendous commitments you make to a child or children. When you choose to foster or adopt, you agree to support, encourage, nurture and love a child. It’s an exciting and challenging decision. The information below will tell you more about the processes.

Links

Foster Care and Adoption standard rules: UMCH Family Services holds an active approval and certification to provide both Foster Care and Adoption Services for the State of Ohio. For the minimal standard rules that govern our business practices view Policy 5101:2-5

Standards for Providing Adoptive Care: As Adoptive Parents are approved to care for children in their home, they also are held to a standard in providing care for children as detailed in Policy 5101:2-48

Ohio Adoption Subsidy Guide

Ohio Adoption Guide