Services Available at Adoption Agencies in Georgia

If you have decided to pursue adoption, figuring out where to start can be overwhelming and daunting. But if you are a resident within the state of Georgia, many wonderful organizations and agencies can help. Whether that be needing your home study completed, counseling after your child is already home, or anything in-between, Georgian adoption agencies seem to be leading the way in offering supportive services. Within the state, many qualified and ethical adoption agencies provide necessary services. From your very first agency application to your post-adoption reports after bringing your child home. Finding one to fit your family won’t be an issue once you decide you’re ready to pursue expanding your family.

GALAA

To help prospective adoptive parents find the best possible agency fit for their family within the state of Georgia, an association provides resources to the adoption community to make sure that the agencies and attorneys locally uphold a certain level of professionalism and morality. The group is “Georgia Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies,” better known as GALAA. GALAA makes it easy to search for professionals in your area that have met their standards. They ensure that approved organizations follow all local and federal laws and truly put you and your child first. This may be a critical place to begin for families just beginning their adoption journey and searching for adoption agencies in Georgia.

Available Services

Many Georgian agencies provide services to both adoptive and foster families and may prove a wonderful resource. Many agencies pride themselves on serving and providing the best possible home for every child they have the honor of working with. They tend to focus on the children that have waited the longest for a family. Agency websites clearly list the services offered, almost providing a checklist for the various steps you need to take. Most agencies in Georgia provide adequate, required pre-service training before approval for foster or adoption. This type of training provides prospective parents with opportunities to learn about trauma, loss, possible issues and behaviors, etc.

You will also need a home study performed in order to foster or adopt. Many adoption agencies in Georgia act as both a home study service agency and a placing agency. Having one agency that services all aspects of your journey may be an important quality to help streamline your experience. Your home study will be geared towards the avenue you are interested in, whether that be adoption or foster care. Then you will be offered help finding a match so they can place children into families well-equipped to meet their needs. Once your placement has been completed, your caseworker will be available for resources, support, and encouragement.

Many adoption agencies in Georgia work with local adoption and foster care opportunities. These would be a great resource for your family if you are wanting to stay close to your Georgia roots.

Many ethically approved adoption agencies in Georgia have been accredited by GALAA. Most offer many different services to adoptive families who are wanting to expand. For prospective parents, many adoption agencies in Georgia service families interested in domestic infant adoption, international adoption, and foster care. Available services are clear and concise on agency websites and make it easy for prospective parents to navigate the options. 

Domestic Infant Adoption

For domestic infant adoptions, there is often an application process, training requirements, and home study preparation. A caseworker will be assigned to you for your home study through many of the agencies themselves so you can utilize the same agency throughout your journey. They then lead parents through the various necessary steps until finalization (which occurs a few months after placement) and maintain a relationship with the birth mother for years afterward. Many Georgian agencies limit the number of families they work with, so some have a shorter timeline than others.

If you are interested in a domestic infant adoption where the birth family is an integral part of your family, many agencies may be a perfect fit for you. Many provide the required training necessary to adopt and also help you complete your home study in-house. They then help match and place families to children and birth families, all while providing counseling for all sides of the adoption triad. Often, adoption agencies in Georgia pride themselves on being some type of counseling-based agency that supports, advocates for, and solely works with open adoption stories. Most often, they provide multiple reviews from both adoptive parents and birth families to help prospective parents navigate their choices.

International Adoption

For many international adoption services, specific Georgian agencies service families interested in adopting from many countries, including Bulgaria, China, El Salvador, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Peru, Poland, and Ukraine. There is an application process where you will choose which country you are interested in. You will then have the opportunity to look through waiting lists and discuss hosting, training requirements, and a home study.

Many agencies do the home study in-house if you are a resident of Georgia, so they assign a specific caseworker to guide you. Once your home study has been completed and approved, you will apply for USCIS approval, complete your dossier, and then wait for a match! Once a match has been met by your child’s birth country, you will travel, get a visa, sign for finalization, and complete post-adoption reports. Your adoption agency in Georgia will then keep in contact with you as their adoptive family to help provide necessary resources and support to help ease the transition.

Foster to Adopt

Finally, many offer services to families wishing to service the foster community within the state of Georgia. Some foster care programs, one of which is called the Suitcase Movement, helps pair families with waiting foster children. This particular program focuses on the children who have been waiting the longest, those with special needs, and sibling groups.

Sifting through all the adoption agencies in Georgia can be difficult, but finding the right fit for you won’t be difficult. There are so many qualified agencies that can make your journey more streamlined. With many agencies offering over 20 years of advertised work within the field, they provide services to prospective parents wishing to grow their families through domestic open adoption. Many adoption agencies in Georgia pride themselves on supporting and advocating for all members of the adoption triad.

Prospective adoptive parents often have training requirements. This can include understanding your agency’s adoption practice and how the adoption triad works together to best support the child. For many foster care families, most agencies will place children in families where their needs will be best met. Many agencies find their greatest need is matching children with special needs or sibling groups with families that are a good fit.

Prospective foster parents go through required training and certification and will have caseworkers walk alongside each step of the way. Finally, some adoption agencies in Georgia serve birth families through assistance programs. These provide counseling, medical care, transportation, and housing assistance, along with support through the adoption process. Most Georgian adoption agencies strive to be an ethical choice for all sides of the adoption triad. They want to find families who can best support the needs of the children they work with. 

Faith-Based Agencies

There are also faith-based Georgian agencies that provide placement and counseling to all members of the adoption triad. These Christian agencies provide services to birth families and prospective parents interested in adopting infants domestically. Many do have eligibility requirements to use their agency, one of which is often to sign their statement of faith. The general timeline of steps for each agency looks similar to each other, including that home studies are done within their agency by their caseworkers. Many adoption agencies in Georgia also follow through with the adoptive parents once placement is finalized. Sometimes they can help alleviate any challenges the parents may have in the future.

Other faith-based non-profits provide multiple services to adoptive, foster, and birth families within the state. Some adoption services include specifically serving infant and special needs children. Some Christian-based agencies also provide home study services to prospective families not using their services for placement (whether that means the family is adopting through another agency or privately). They do often have a list of requirements that parents must meet for this service, with the signing of the statement of faith being one of them. Many also provide a birth mother ministry to families in Georgia. These have various ways you can volunteer, donate, or partner with them to achieve their outreach and support goals.

Agencies Across State Lines and Various Services

Many agencies licensed in Georgia are also licensed in other states and therefore cover both home study and post-placement needs. Many home study services cover a multitude of avenues including domestic, international (Hague compliance, typically), and even embryo adoption. Once your adoption is finalized, many adoption agencies in Georgia then provide post-placement report support and counseling opportunities. Some can provide adoptive families with resources that may help them along their parenting journey. Although not all Georgian agencies provide matches for families, all seem to be extremely qualified. They are focused on providing all the paperwork and support you may need before and after placement.

Some adoption agencies in Georgia may have their main offices in other nearby states, like Florida, but do have an office within the state of Georgia to expand their service potential. They often provide home study services, along with education and training requirements. Some even hire a private investigator to help with the paperwork portion of the pre-adoption requirements. Many have attorneys on-staff to help with legal advice and then continue in the process by helping with child-matching. Some adoption agencies in Georgia provide post-adoption support for families utilized their agency for other services. These agencies stand behind their reputations for strong counseling support. Many are available 24/7 and excel in finding referrals for community services for you or your child. 

Georgia is full of wonderful organizations and agencies that can help prospective adoptive parents grow their family. They have so many services to offer at a multitude of agencies that one will fit your family. Whether you are planning to adopt internationally and want to use a local agency or want to adopt within your state, adoption agencies in Georgia cover it all.

If you are seeking to become a qualified foster parent, wanting to volunteer to support birth families, looking to adopt an infant domestically, or plan to travel overseas to find your child, Georgia is not short on options for families. There are tons of wonderful, ethical, and accredited options within the state. They should help you feel confident throughout your decision-making process. Finding the right agency for you is critical, but the available adoption agencies in Georgia can streamline the process for any family.