Expectant Parents Guide: Comprehensive Overview

This multi-part guide from Adoption & Surrogacy Choices of Colorado is a comprehensive resource that covers every stage of the adoption decision and process. It emphasizes the expectant parent’s absolute rights and control throughout the journey.

Key Sections Covered in the Guide

• Initial Options & Rights
  • Explores primary options: parenting with support, adoption, or temporary care/DCFS/relative placement.
  • Stresses the right to honest information, free from pressure.
  • Details rights including cost-free counseling and legal advice, and the ability to change their mind at any time before signing consent.
• Choosing an Adoptive Family
  • Expectant parents are fully in control of selecting the family.
  • Families presented have met strict standards (home study, background checks, interviews, education).
  • Parents can decide on family values, lifestyle, location, and desired level of openness.
• Legal Rights and Protections
  • Consent, which terminates parental rights, must be signed voluntarily after birth.
  • Must be witnessed by state law and clearly explained by an attorney.
  • Colorado Specific: A birth parent can sign consent four business days after the child’s birth.
• Open Adoption
  • Defined as allowing ongoing contact, with options ranging from fully open to semi-open or closed.
  • Colorado state law permits a Post-Adoption Contact Agreement (PACA) to be signed and filed.
• Creating Your Hospital Plan
  • Expectant parents decide all key details, including:
    • Who is in the delivery room.
    • Who holds the baby first.
    • How long they wish to spend with the baby.
• Financial Assistance & Support
  • Payments are provided through the agency/attorney, never directly from the adoptive parents.
  • Cash payments or gifts viewed as coercive are not allowed.
  • Emphasizes the need for Emotional Support and long-term resources, recognizing that healing is a lifelong relationship.