Intercountry Adoption
Premier Adoption Agency was one of the first adoption agencies in the United States to achieve Hague Accreditation in 2008. Our Hague accreditation is curent and we are in good standing with our accrediting body (IAAME) and the US State Department. We hold licenses for both Incoming and Outgoing adoptions.
Our agency was founded in 1999 as an international adoption agency and we have 22 years of international adoption experience.
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We are passionate about permanency for children in the United States and around the globe. There are many children who need the love and security that only a permanent home and family can provide by means of adoption.
We are passionate about family building and creating adoption programs to facilitate permanency for children based on ethical practices.
Which Inter-Country Programs Do You Offer?
We are accepting applications for families wishing to be accepted into our Outgoing USA newborn program. We work with prospective adopting families who have a completed home study and have a provincial approval letter, Article 4 or Article 15 letter from the countries of: Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom.
Outgoing USA Newborn Program
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Who can adopt?
We are accepting applications from prospective adoptive families residing in the countries of: Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. We will consider other countries on a case by case basis.
Families must have their Article 15 letter and be open to either gender, any ethnicity, birth parent expenses and open to some alcohol and/or drug exposure during pregnancy.
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What children are available?
Children available through our outgoing program are primarily newborns. Occasionally, we place older children ranging in age from 0-5 years of age. However, most placements are infant placements. Our birth parent outreach brings in a representative cross section of all race and socio-economic demographics.
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How long does it take to receive a child?
Families entering our program cannot be guaranteed that a child will be placed in their home within a specific time frame. Your profile could be chosen the first time it is shown to a birth parent or after many times. We have also found no rule that universally applies to what attributes birth parents are looking for in the family that will adopt their child (i.e.: age, number of children, ethnicity, external appearances, socio-economic standing, religion, etc.). You will be selected by a birth mother who feels good about her child being raised in your family. Due to Premier Adoption Agency’s commitment to counseling our birth parents on all their options and respecting freedom of choice, no placement is ever guaranteed with a birth parent matched with a family even if living expenses have been paid on a birth parents behalf. We will never pressure a birth mother to place her child if she no longer feels adoption is the best decision for her and her baby.
The Process
After receiving your application fee ($450) we will assist you in making preparations to begin your homestudy . If your homestudy has already been completed by another agency we will review it and request accompanying documentation for your file. We will also assist you in putting together a family profile book to be shown to potential birth parents.
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Premier Adoption Agency is very excited to announce that as of Fall 2014 our matching process has changed to present to our waiting families information on EVERY birth parent we are currently matching. Registered families now have the option to determine whether or not to enter the matching pool of families being presented to a birth parent. This change will allow our waiting families greater transparency as well as greater flexibility to determine for themselves whether or not to be presented to a specific birth parent for consideration. All information on our birth parents is password protected for confidentiality and privacy. Please do not share your password as it is reserved only for Premier’s registered families. If you would like to be a registered family click here.
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The process is very simple. Once you become a registered family with Premier you are given a password to access information contained on the Adoption Situations page. We suggest you bookmark it and visit often to review all new posts as registered families are not notified when a new situation is posted.
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After reading over the information contained in the posting you indicate whether or not you wish for your profile to be presented by entering your name, email address, and clicking “Consider My Profile”. You will then receive an email inviting you to attend a conference call with the birth parent caseworker who can answer specific questions regarding the situation you are interested in. All interested families have the opportunity to be on this call. A moderator is used so that all questions are answered. These calls will be recorded and posted as a replay if you are unable to be on the call.
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Please note the date that a situation is expiring. After this expiration, the link goes inactive and no additional profiles will be accepted for review. The situation will be reopened if the birth parents do not make a selection from the initial group of profiles shown and we are seeking more families for consideration. You will know that a situation has been reopened because the link is again active.
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You will be notified that you have been selected by the birth parent(s) by phone along with a follow up email with instructions as to how to proceed. If your family is not selected you will be notified by email. If you are selected, you will be given all available medical records and any other information to assist you in moving forward. We will also help facilitate any phone communication or face to face meetings should both parties desire.
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Once you accept an adoption referral you are considered officially “matched”. You will pay the file activation/matching fee ($3,500) and reimburse the agency for prior expenses for the birth parents and commit to continued financial support to term. Once a birth mother/family match is made we continue to facilitate communication needs and requests while waiting for the baby to be born. The hopsital plan and birth may or may not involve the adopting family. After birth there is a mandatory waiting period to sign relinquishment of parental rights. In Utah it is 24 hours, Arizona is 72 hours, and Nevada is 72 hours. What happens during relinquishment and hospital time is usually dictated by the birth parents birth plan. This birth plan is put together by the birthparents several weeks prior to delivery with the assistance of their adoption case worker. You will receive a copy of this plan to prepare for placement.
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If interstate travel is required, plan on a ten day trip to complete all necessary paperwork (ICPC). If the baby was born in the adopting family’s home state, ICPC is not necessary and the family can return home immediately after the relinquishment documents are signed and the baby is released from the hospital.
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Finalization of the adoption varies depending on your state of residence but usually consists of hiring an attorney who submits post-placement supervisory visits and adoption paperwork to your local courts. In the states of Utah and Nevada non-residents are able to finalize their adoption if they so choose. If they are placed with a child in the state of Arizona the adopting family must finalize the adoption in their home state.
Costs
Our agency fee is $17,500. Birth mother expenses vary. In addition, families are required to pay for their pre-placement home study, application fee of $450, file activation fee of $3,500, Hague fee of $6,900, post-placement supervisory visits, legal expenses and travel expenses (if applicable). Our Fee Schedule is found here.
How Do We Get Started?
Interested families must first fill out our Readiness Survey. Upon submission will be emailed our International Inquiry packet which contains information about our program, requirements, and fee sheet. We will review the information you provide us to determine whether your family is a good fit for our program. We understand that adoption is time consuming and costly. We want to ensure that your preferences match what types of birth parent situations we see most often.
