Frequently Asked Questions by Adoptive Families

Each adoption program has a specific set of general eligibility requirements.  A New Beginning offers an Infant Adoption Program, Foster-Adopt Program and provides necessary services for International Adoptions.    Between the three programs, we are searching for

• Marital Status:  married couples, singles and same-sex partnership families.
• Age requirements:  25 years or older, note international programs may differ
• Residence:  For Infant program, must be a US Citizen;  For Foster-Adopt and International, must be an Idaho resident.

Please visit each of the program pages for the specific program requirements.

Infant Adoption
Foster-Adoption
International Adoption

There are many children available for adoption, domestically and worldwide.  A New Beginning Adoption Agency works with birth families who select an adoption plan for their babies, network with Health and Welfare Departments across the nation to help find homes for older children and sibling groups currently in foster care and partner with various International Adoption Agencies  who help place orphans ages baby – seventeen.   Each of A New Beginning’s adoption programs are a little different.  Please visit the program pages for more specific information.

Tips when considering your program:

• Infant Adoption – There are far more families who wish to adopt, than infants who are adoptable.  It is very likely that when your family begins their adoption process, your baby is likely not born yet.
• Foster-Adoption – Over 100,000 children are in foster-care right now, waiting to be adopted.  They are living in foster-homes, but the rights of their biological family have been terminated and the reunification process has been exhausted.  These children are waiting for a forevery family.
• International Adoption – there are millions of orphaned children worldwide, who need permanent families.  The individual country’s requirements, restrictions and culture determine which children are available for international adoption, at what age they are adoptable and the the health status.

Infant Adoption Program
Foster-Adopt Program
International Adoption Program
Individual Adoption Services

Adoption Tax Credit
Yes.   There is a federal adoption tax credit available to eligible adoptive families at $13,000 per adopted child (the amount changes each year).   Please connect with your accountant to verify your eligibility and to maximize the credit.  For more information, visit here.

Adoption Benefits through employer
Several companies provide adoption assistance.  The Adoption Benefit is often considered a non-traditional benefit and may not be published in the regular human resources documents.  Contact your employer’s Human Resources department for more information.

Fundraising
Families have creatively raised funds through various self-hosted events or through crowd-funding.  

Grants
Grants are available through various resources and could include your place of employment, associations in which you are part of, bank etc.  We encourage you to research and locate potential grants specific to your situation.  Google “Adoption Grants” and determine which of the grants may work for you.

Home Equity Loans/Retirement Plans
Many adoptive families have been very successful when borrowing against their home and/or other assets to pay for their adoption.  It’s often a lower interest rate than other convential/personal loans.

The time it takes to complete an adoption varies greatly based on specific programs selected.    Variables include the length of time it takes adoptive families to complete paperwork, collect documents and finish interviews and training, the child-family matching process, state/federal/international government processing and/or the Health & Welfare committee process.  Also note that the adoptive parents specific requirements for the child they adopt can impact the length of time as well.

Each state has its own laws regarding birth parents rights to change their minds.  Idaho requires birth families to go to court shortly after the birth of the child to sign a document to terminate their rights.  The termination of parental rights are permanent.  It’s important to be honest with your adoption specialists to determine what you are comfortable with as each state is different.

Your adoption specialist will provide all necessary medical and social history available.  Note the information provided will be the history provided by the birth family.  Each adoption situation is different.  Our goal is to alert adoptive families to and additional risks that may be involved, including additional financial risks.

State, National and International adoption programs require a Home Study.  Many programs specifically require home studies to be completed by an adoption agency or the state Department of Health & Welfare.

Yes.  A New Beginning requires adoptive families in the Infant Program and the Foster-Adopt program to complete 12-27 hours of specific parent training.   International Adoption agencies have program specific requirements and are provided by the International agency.  Each of the trainings address program specific issues or potential issues and drastically impacts the success of your adoption.  A New Beginning provides training four times per year.   Visit our schedule for the next training date.

Open adoption is a form of adoption in which the biological and adoptive families have access to varying degrees of each other’s personal information and have an option of contact. In Open Adoption, the adoptive parents hold all the rights as the legal parents, yet the individuals of the biological and adoptive families may exercise the option to open the contact in varying forms: from just sending mail and/or photos, to face-to-face visits between birth and adoptive families.  Each open adoption situation has a tailored agreement to meet the needs of both the birth family and adoptive family.

Absolutely.  Sometimes families have home studies completed by certified adoption professionals or other agencies, however, be aware that not all states, agencies or adoption program will accept home studies or services provided by a certified adoption professional.  Families who are unaware of this, might find it necessary to start over and pay additional fees.  All families utilizing A New Beginning Services are required to apply to the agency.  If they have a home study from somewhere else, we will require a validation of that home study.

International Adoption agencies will not accept certified adoption professional’s home studies and some states are “agency only”states, which means they will only accept home studies and post placement supervision from a private agency.