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Catholic Charities carefully screens all applicants wanting to adopt through our agency. Couples who apply to adopt through Catholic Charities are required to participate in an educational seminar on adoption. After completing a seminar, prospective adoptive couples will undergo an assessment process. Serious consideration will be given to the martial, emotional, and financial stability of each applicant. Home visits, interviews, references, autobiographies, medicals, and criminal record checks are required.
Eligibility Requirements for Domestic Adoptive Parents
-All applicants must be married at least 3 consecutive years. Persons divorced more than once will not normally be considered.
-Prospective adoptive couples for the domestic program must be adopting due to infertility and have no more than one child(either biological or adopted)
-Applicants must be active participants in a Christian church and will be required to provide a letter or recommendation from their minister/priest.
-Applicants must be in good health with a medical prognosis for continued good health.
-Applicants must demonstrate financial stability. This implies not wealth, but adequate income with management ability to provide wisely for the child i.e living within means, steady employment.
-New applicants will not be accepted if either party has reached forty-eight (48) years of age. Couples already accepted into the program are eligible for adoptive placement until either turns 50 years of age.
-A prospective adoptive couple must be able to attend to the care of children and demonstrate emotional stability. Catholic Charities reserves the right to request psychological/psychiatric evaluation as indicated.
**At any point during the application or the home study process, this agency reserves the right to disqualify an applicant for any reason other than race or national origin.
Domestic Adoption Fees
In addition to a $1000 fee which includes our required educational adoption seminar and a domestic home study, adoptive placement fees are charged to adoptive parents at the time of adoptive placement. These fees are on a sliding scale based on the income of the adoptive parents. These placement fees are used by Catholic Charities to assist birth parents with legitimate adoption expenses such as legal fees, medical care, counseling, etc. Adoptive parents are not expected to pay for birth parent expenses.
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