Let's Get Started: Domestic Adoption

Attend a Domestic Adoption Program Introduction

• Program Introductions are held at FRC on a monthly basis.
• This overview covers information on the types of domestic programs, the availability of children, and the process itself – and will answer many of your questions, from “How long will it take?” to “What will it cost?”
• Click here to register for a Program Intro or call the office at 773-334-2300.

Choose One or More Program Options

• Traditional Adoption Program (TAP) Your profile and family information is shared with birth parents who are working with FRC.
• Agency Assisted Adoption Program (AAAP) Families meet birth parents through their own independent advertising or networking.
• Families may begin in TAP while also participating in independent advertising and networking. If these methods result in contact with a birth parent, families transfer into AAAP.

Submit an Application
Complete FRC’s Application Form and send it to FRC with the $3,500 Application, Evaluation and Orientation Fee. (See Fee Schedule for more information)

Participate in an Initial Assessment Interview (IAI)

• Upon receiving your application, a member of FRC’s adoption staff will telephone you to schedule an Initial Assessment Interview (IAI). This interview is conducted at FRC’s offices during regular working hours, and may last up to three hours.
• Most interviews are completed in one session, but additional interviews may be requested.

Complete DCFS Foster Family Home Licensing Forms (click here for sample forms)

• At the IAI you will begin the DCFS Foster Family Home Licensing process. This license is required for all domestic adoptions in the State of Illinois, and involves medical exams, fingerprinting, and background checks.
• Licenses are valid for 4 years.

Participate in a Home Study Interview

• Upon completion of the licensing paperwork, including medical examinations fingerprinting and background checks, you will be assigned a Home Study Worker. This person will contact you to schedule a home study interview. The home study is an interview/education session that is conducted in your home, where basic evaluations are done (is the home safe, of adequate size, etc.)
• Home studies are generally scheduled during regular working hours, and may last up to 8 hours. Most home studies are conducted in one session, but additional interviews may be necessary.

Participate in Specialized Training
DCFS and FRC require 9 hours of education prior to issuing a license and placing a child in your home. Training must be adoption-specific and cover grief, loss, and attachment issues in adoptive parenting; birth parent and adoptive parent relationships; and parenting an adopted child. For a list of current training sessions click here. In order to maintain the license over 4 years, a total of 16 hours of training is required.

Create a Family Profile Album in Preparation for Birth Parent Contacts

• In FRC’s Traditional Adoption Program, birth parents independently choose families for placement. You will want to create an album and web profile that capture who you are, and why you want to adopt, so that birth parents can get to know you. Albums and profiles generally contain photos plus a letter to the birth parents that describe your family’s composition, lifestyle, home, background, and expectations of life with an adopted child.
• Albums and web profiles are available for birth parents to review when a family is “active” with FRC. A family is considered active once it has participated in a home study, been issued a license, and paid the Phase II Program Participation Fee of $3,100. The fee is paid after the home study and upon acceptance by FRC into the program. (See Fee Schedule for more information)
• Albums are presented to birth parents whose circumstances match an adoptive family’s preferences. For example, a birth mother who is delivering a child who is fully Hispanic would be presented only with albums of families who are open to children who are fully Hispanic. In general, the more open a family is to various circumstances, the more often their albums will be presented.

Remain Active in FRC’s Programs

• While waiting for a placement, we encourage all of our hopeful adoptive parents to participate in training and take advantage of the Domestic Adoption Program services.
• We recognize that the wider the exposure, the more likely a family is to find a placement. For that reason, we encourage families to do whatever they can afford emotionally and financially to receive a placement. Remember that FRC does not guarantee a placement for any family. Our policy is to support families in all their endeavors, so we do not prohibit individuals from pursuing natural pregnancy, fertility treatments, independent advertising and networking, FRC’s International Program options or other agencies’ adoption programs while also being active in TAP. We simply ask families to inform us of additional pursuits.