Frequently Asked Questions

Premier Adoption Agency offers a range of comprehensive services to assist families and individuals in the adoption process. These services include adoption counseling and support, home studies, adoptive family assessments, matching services, and post-adoption support.

Our agency is committed to providing personalized care and guidance to both birth parents and prospective adoptive parents throughout the entire adoption journey.

We also provide educational resources, workshops and trainings to our community partners to ensure that families, expectant parent(s), and professionals are well-informed and supported.

Our goal is to create loving and permanent homes for children in need. We are committed to ensuring that every adoption is ethical, legal, and always in the best interests of the child.

At Premier Adoption Agency, our goal is to provide a streamlined and supportive adoption experience for both prospective adoptive parents and birth parents.

The first step in the process is to submit an application and pay the application fee. This fee helps cover the cost of processing and reviewing your application, including background checks and your home study.

Once your application is accepted, you will work closely with our team to create a personalized adoption plan that meets your needs and preferences. We will guide you through the initiation and completion of the home study process, provide assistance and feedback in putting together your adoptive family profile book, and provide you with education regarding our matching process with expectant parent(s).

Once your file is complete, you become a registered family and ready to be matched.

Whether you are selected from a pool of waiting families or selected by an expectant parent online, you will be provided with social and medical histories, any pregnancy related medical records, possible risks, and total projected expenses.

When your family is selected, we will contact you and give you instructions on how to proceed. We will also help facilitate any phone communication or face-to-face meetings, should both parties desire that. If you decide to accept the child referral, you are considered “matched” and the file activation/matching portion of the agency fee is due in addition to reimbursing the agency for prior expenses for the birth parents, and all projected expense money to support the birth mother.

After a match is made, Premier Adoption Agency continues to facilitate communication needs and requests while everyone is waiting for the baby to be born. A birth plan is put in place, outlining the birth mother’s requests at the delivery and the duration of her stay at the hospital.

Four weeks prior to the birth mother’s due date, the remainder of the agency fee is due. It is sent via secured funds and held in escrow until the birth mother signs her relinquishment/consent paperwork in accordance with state law.

Placement documents between you and Premier are signed at placement outlining the physical and shared legal responsibilities for the baby until the adoption is legally finalized.

Post placement visits are required in accordance with the laws of the state where you are finalizing your adoption. At 6 months post relinquishment signing by the birth parent(s), your adoption is legally final. Your child is issued a "revised" birth certificate with you as parents. It is a wonderful day with so much joy and cause for celebration!

Throughout the entire process, we prioritize communication, transparency, and ethical practices to ensure a positive and successful adoption journey for all parties involved.

The home study process with Premier Adoption Agency is a comprehensive assessment of your home environment, family dynamics, and readiness to provide a loving and stable environment for a child. This process typically involves multiple in-person interviews with each member of the household, as well as a thorough background check, including criminal record and child abuse clearances.

Additionally, our agency will conduct a thorough review of your financial stability, personal history, and parenting philosophy. A home study also includes an evaluation of your physical home, ensuring that it meets safety standards and provides an appropriate space for a child.

The home study process is designed to ensure that our agency is placing children in safe and loving homes, and to provide prospective adoptive families with knowledge and resources to support them throughout the adoption journey.

An adoptive parent matching profile book, also known as a family profile or adoption profile, is a personalized book created by prospective adoptive parents (you) to introduce themselves to expectant mothers considering adoption. The profile book typically includes photos, written narratives, and other relevant information to provide a comprehensive and authentic portrayal of your family.

In the case of Premier Adoption Agency, our trained professionals guide and support you throughout the process of creating your adoptive parent matching profile book. We encourage you to select photos that are of good quality and accurately represent your family. We will help proofread your narratives which reflects your values, lifestyle, and aspirations for your future child.

Our goal is to help you present an honest and heartfelt depiction of your family to expectant mothers which will help them to make an informed decision regarding the placement of their child.

The goal is to create a family profile book that is both compelling and respectful, ultimately increasing the likelihood of a successful match with an expectant mother seeking an adoptive family for her child.

Our Agency requirements are as follows:

· Prepare five books no larger than the standard 8½” x 11” format. Keep one copy for your own reference, as we cannot guarantee that we will be able to return any books to you.

· Please refrain from including identifying information (i.e. last names, addresses, phone numbers, email/website address, social media handles, etc.

At Premier Adoption Agency, the timeline for adopting a child can vary depending on several factors when narrowing down your child placement preferences. These factors may include the age of the child, ethnicity, health, whether you are open to special needs or drug exposure, birth parent expenses, legal risk, post placement communication preferences, the availability of a suitable match, and the completion of required paperwork and home study.

Your profile could be chosen the first time it is presented to a birth parent or after several times. There is no rule that universally applies to what attributes birth parents are looking for in the family they choose to adopt their child (e.g., age, number of children, ethnicity, external appearances, socio-economic standing, religion, etc.). You will be selected by a birth mother who feels that your family is the very best choice for a permanent placement.

Placing a child for adoption is a life altering decision for any parent. Premier Adoption Agency counsels our birth parents on all their options and respect her freedom of choice. No placement is ever guaranteed, even after a match where living expenses have been paid on her behalf for pregnancy related items.

Our team at Premier Adoption Agency is dedicated to guiding you through every step of the adoption process. There can be many ups and downs before your child is placed in your home. We are committed to providing you with support and will keep you informed along the way.

The majority of children available placed through our domestic adoption program are newborns. Occasionally, we place older children ranging in age from 6 months-5 years of age, but this is infrequent.

We understand the importance of collecting data and considering various demographic categories to determine the types of training to provide to our prospective adoptive parents.

We collect data on all adoptive placements for the prior year which takes into account various demographic categories such as gender of the child, any drug exposure, what type of exposure, ethnicity, age of the mother, etc.

If you are interested in reviewing our latest statistical data collected, please let us know. We are happy to share.

At Premier Adoption Agency, we understand that the decision to adopt is a deeply personal and important one.

If after being matched you feel uncertain or uneasy about proceeding, we encourage you to communicate your concerns with our team. We are committed to providing a supportive and understanding environment, and we will work with you to address your feelings and determine the best course of action.

Should you choose to withdraw from the match, you may do so. The file activation/matching fee and any financial support for a birth parent is forfeited.

If an expectant parent or birth parent changes her mind about placing her child for adoption, it can be a challenging and deeply emotional time. We will work closely with all parties involved to navigate the changes in the adoption plan.

We believe in honoring the choices of birth parents, and our agency is dedicated to facilitating a respectful and ethical adoption process for all involved. If she has not yet signed her relinquishment documents, she has the right to change her mind. Our team will also work closely with her to provide counseling and support as she navigates this decision.

We will help you to explore alternative options and will be placed back in the pool of waiting adoptive applicants. The file activation/matching fee and any birth parent financial support paid out is considered "at risk" and not recoverable. However, all birth parent expense money not expended is returned. When you are re-matched with another expectant parent, the file activation/matching fee is repaid. This process repeats until placement. We will do what we can to prioritize your family after a failed match bearing in mind that the majority of our adoptive placements are open adoptions where the expectant mother selects your family from an approved pool of other expectant parents.

You are eligible to remain on Premier's active family list as long as you have an active homestudy. This homestudy must be updated annually in order to keep your file with the Agency active.

It is legal and allowable to provide the birth mother with living expenses during the time she is pregnant and for up to 2 months after the delivery of the baby. Living expenses can include: rent, utilities, transportation, insurance, food, medical expenses, toiletries, etc. Expenses are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Living expenses are considered a “loss” and will not be refunded back to you in the event the birth mother changes her mind about the adoption. However, no further expenses are given once we know she has changed her mind. The unused expenses will be returned to you.

After birth, it is mandatory that the birth mother wait a legally designated amount of time prior to signing relinquishment of parental rights (72 hours after birth in Nevada and Arizona and 24 hours after birth in Utah). What happens between the delivery of the baby and the signing of relinquishment documents is dictated by the birth parent’s birth plan. If inter-state travel is required, plan on a seven to ten day stay to complete all necessary paperwork (i.e., Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children documents) after placement. When such travel is not necessary, the family can return home immediately after the birth mother has signed relinquishment documents and the child is released from the hospital. Finalization of the adoption varies depending on your state of residence, but usually consists of hiring an attorney to file your adoption petition, terminating parental rights if a birth father has not consented to the adoption, completing post-placement supervisory visits according to the laws of the state in which you will finalize your adoption, and submission of other paperwork as required by local courts.

Post placement reports chronicle the visits in report form made by a social worker between the time of placement and prior to finalization, in accordance with the laws of the state in which you are finalizing your adoption. These visits determine how you and your child are adjusting. The number of visits required varies in each state. If you are completing your adoption in the State of Nevada, you will need monthly post-placement visits before being able to finalize. In the State of Utah, one post-placement visit is required to finalize.

Adoption is expensive. There are many resources available to you. Click here for for more information on our website. Consider the tax credit and fundraising options.

If you need help or have any questions, please call us for assistance and suggestions.

Total agency fees vary depending on the gross combined annual income of the adopting parents. Nevada state law requires that we establish a sliding scale based on income. Our fees, based on this sliding scale, range from $15,000 to $25,000. Birth mother expenses also vary. In addition, families are required to pay for their pre-placement home study evaluation, application fee of $800, file activation/matching fee of $7,500, post-placement supervisory visits, legal expenses, and travel expenses (if applicable).