Legality of placing Ads??

Each state has different rules about this. A recent adoption book will probably list the states where advertising is legal. If you are seeing ads in your local, mainstream newspaper, then chances are they are legal. (otherwise, I am pretty sure the newspaper would not run them). Of course, in any adoption you need an attorney, so I would consult with him or her. If you are seeking an independent adoption situation, it is ESPECIALLY important that you find an experienced attorney ASAP. A good adoption attorney should certainly know this information. edited to add: also, the attorney (or your agency, if you are working with one) will also probably have good stragies for how to avoid scams as well as for how to talk with expectant mothers without saying the wrong thing that will scare/offend/ or (worst) mislead them. Also, I skipped the last part of your question -- yes, you definitely need a homestudy, as far as I know, in ALL states... usually, I think, the only exception is if you were doing a relative placement. I am not a lawyer though, so I hope my answer will at least bump this up for you to get better advice. D.

Placing ads is legal in more than half the states. Most newspapers require that you provide a letter from your agency or attorney stating that you are legitimate. We found our 2nd daughter by placing an ad - so it can work! If you sign with an experienced adoption attorney, he/she will generally provide you a list of states where it is legal to advertise. I've found that there are some states where it is legal to advertise that certain papers choose not to run adoption ads. You would definitely need a homestudy in order to adopt no matter how you go about getting matched, and regardless of whether it is an agency or independent/private adoption. This is required by the courts. If you find a potential bmom in another state and she gives birth and relinquishes to you in that state, you will also have to go through ICPC which is the legalities of crossing state lines with a baby. It involves the courts of both states, and a homestudy is also required for that.

As I said in the previous article, I found two babies for two families. The first we knew about a few months before she was due, so arrangements were made, but the second was unexpected. I contacted a social worker friend of mine and told her I knew a family that desperately wanted to adopt(another friend of mine). She said most of their adoptions were prearranged, but they would put them on a list. This was on a Friday...the next morning they called the family and told them they had a woman come in during the night that had no arrangements made...did they want the baby? They had to find a lawyer on the weekend and had no homestudy. They were able to take the baby home on Sunday...So if they had a homestudy, it was done after the fact. The mom just signed over her rights and they took the baby home. (and paid the lawyer $450 to draw up the papers) Does this happen often? Anyway...it was 2 weeks before Christmas and they had been trying about 7 years...so was a special blessing. Just wish I could be so lucky to come upon the same deal now. Thanks for all your inputs. :p I think we are going to try DHHS again when our oldest two graduate.

In some states it could be possible to take the baby home without a homestudy (if the baby was born and relinquished in the same state where the aparents live), but a homestudy would still be required in order to finalize. When doing the homestudy, some agencies are willing to rush things more than others - but homestudies usually include fingerprint checks with the FBI, and I don't know how much an agency would be able to rush that! I agree, that type of scenario would be awesome! The waiting is really the hardest part. What you described does happen from time to time, but I don't think it's the norm!