Considering Infant Adoption?
Choosing to grow your family through infant adoption involves preparation, important decisions, and many questions. Unica Adoption Services helps prospective adoptive parents understand the process and prepare for the responsibilities and lifelong relationships involved in adoption.
Our team provides guidance before placement, support throughout the adoption process, and services following placement and through finalization.
How Unica Can Help
Depending on the type of adoption and your family’s circumstances, services may include:
- The legal and emotional aspects of adoption
- The home study and preparation process
- Openness and ongoing contact with birth family
- The uncertainty and timing involved in a potential placement
- Supporting a child’s identity and adoption story throughout life
- The responsibilities that continue after placement and finalization
Because each adoption is different, our team will help identify which services and requirements apply to your situation.
Understanding Infant Adoption
Infant adoption generally involves an expectant parent choosing an adoptive family for their child. The process must respect the rights, decisions, and needs of everyone involved—especially the child and the expectant or birth parent.
Prospective adoptive families should be prepared to learn about:
- An initial consultation about the adoption process
- Adoption education and preparation
- Pre-placement home studies
- Coordination with attorneys, agencies, and other professionals
- Interstate placement coordination when applicable
- Post-placement visits and reports
- Support through adoption finalization
- Counseling and additional adoption-related services
Unica helps families approach these conversations with realistic expectations, respect, and care.
Adoption Process
The Process
Although every adoption follows its own path, families generally move through several stages:
- Initial consultation
- Speak with our team about your circumstances, questions, and the services you may need.
- Application and preparation
- Complete required documents and participate in adoption education or training.
- Home study
- A qualified professional works with your family to assess readiness, gather required information, and prepare the written home study.
- Potential match and placement
- When a possible adoption situation is identified, families work with the appropriate adoption and legal professionals to understand the circumstances and next steps.
- Post-placement support
- After placement, required visits and reports help document how the child and family are adjusting.
- Finalization
- Once legal and post-placement requirements have been completed, the adoption may be presented to the court for finalization.
The timeline cannot be guaranteed and will vary based on the circumstances of each adoption.
The Home Study
A home study is both a required assessment and an opportunity to prepare for adoptive parenting. It typically includes interviews, background checks, documentation, education, and conversations about your family, relationships, home, health, finances, support system, and understanding of adoption.
Open Adoption and Birth-Family Relationships
Many infant adoptions include some level of openness between the adoptive family and the child’s birth family. This may range from sharing updates to maintaining ongoing direct contact.
The appropriate relationship will differ for every adoption and may change over time. Families should be prepared to consider openness from the child’s perspective and honor agreed-upon relationships whenever it is safe and appropriate to do so.
Legal Counsel
Adopting parents are represented by an attorney during the legal adoption process. Child protective services in the child’s state of residence may provide reimbursement for attorney fees associated with the adoption process.
Unica can provide families with a list of New Mexico attorneys experienced in foster care adoption. Legal guidance and advice are provided by the family’s attorney.
Interstate Adoption
Unica also supports families involved in interstate foster care adoption.
When a child is placed across state lines, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) guides the process. Unica assists with the required documents, reports and coordination to meet applicable requirements in both states.
Once the required ICPC approvals are received, the child can enter or leave New Mexico for placement.
Support After Adoption
Support continues beyond adoption finalization. Unica views adoption as a lifelong experience and offers ongoing professional and peer support as families grow and their needs change.
Post-finalization support is available for as long as families request it and may include training, resources and referral information, consultation, and opportunities to connect with other adoptive families.
Unica can also help families connect with additional resources within the agency and community.
Application Criteria
At a minimum:
- Each adopting parent must be at least 18 years old.
- Family relationships within the home must demonstrate stability.
- Applicants must demonstrate emotional stability.
- Household members complete required criminal background and child abuse and neglect checks. A conviction for child abuse, neglect or abandonment prevents agency approval. Other criminal convictions are reviewed individually.
- Families must demonstrate financial responsibility.
Additional requirements are reviewed with families during the application and home study process.
Adoption Fees
Application & Orientation: $500
Domestic Home Study: $2,200
Adoption Preparation Training: $500
Annual Home Study Update: $700
Annual Background Check: $67 per adult
Matching Services: $100/hour
Post-Placement Services: To be determined based on the case
Legal Fees: To be determined
Adoption Consultant/Out-of-State Agency Collaboration: $550, when applicable
Home studies are valid for one year. New Mexico requires annual home study updates, including updated background checks.
Post-placement fees are typically covered through child protective services contracts with Unica. Legal fees vary depending on the attorney and circumstances of the adoption.
Travel outside the Albuquerque area may include additional mileage, travel time, lodging and per diem expenses.
Start the Conversation
Contact Adoption Services
Teléfono: 505-313-3181