Adoption Services
How Catholic Charities Helps
Adoption is a rewarding way to create a family. Catholic Charities helps birth families, stepfamilies, relatives, adoptive families, infants, and children with special needs to build and strengthen their adoption-created relationships.
Catholic Charities' adoption program helps to establish the legal relationship of parent and child between those who are not so related by birth. The program provides children with permanent homes and new legal parents with the same rights and responsibilities that are inherent in the birthparent/child relationship. It assesses and prepares families for the uniqueness of adoptive parenthood, especially for parenting children with special needs.
Catholic Charities offers a full range of services to families planning to adopt including home studies, matching, placement, supervision, and finalization services. Post-adoption services are also available and may include counseling, emotional support, referrals, and search and reunion.
Catholic Charities works with all families interested in the following types of adoption.
Domestic Infant Adoption
Catholic Charities’ Domestic Infant Adoption Program assists birth parents in making an adoption plan for their child. Prospective adoptive families are selected from profiles they create through the home study process. The degree of openness is determined by mutual agreement of the parties involved, and may include the sharing of pictures, meetings, or even visitation with the child. The placement fee is determined based on a sliding scale.
Identified Adoption
Identified adoption is a specific type of domestic infant adoption in which the birthparent(s) and adoptive parents know each other first, and then seek adoption services. This type of adoption is more open than traditional adoption and often involves more contact between birth and adoptive parents.
Special Needs Adoption
Special Needs adoption or adoption of a child from the foster care system is an important part of our adoption program. There are approximately 500,000 foster children in the United States. About 110,000 of them are in need of permanent adoptive homes. These children range in age from toddler to 17 years. While some of these children may have physical, emotional or developmental challenges, others may not. There is a great need for adoptive families for older children and sibling groups.
International Adoption
Catholic Charities can provide home study and post-placement services for families who wish to adopt internationally. While we do not currently have our own International Adoption Program, we will work closely with the international agency and the adoptive family.
Step-Parent/Relative Adoption(Delaware only)
Delaware law requires the completion of a social study by a licensed adoption agency for all stepparents and relatives petitioning to adopt. Catholic Charities can assist these families by order of the Family Court only.
Program services
· Comprehensive medical and social assessment of the child, birthparents, and adoptive parents
· Pre-placement care of children
· Recruitment and preparation of adoptive families
· Acceptance of parental rights
· Adoptive placement and supervision
· Preparation of necessary court documents (petitions, social reports)
· Post-adoption counseling
· Search and reunion
How To Get Help
Call the location closest to you for assistance if you are interested in becoming an adoptive parent, or want more program information.
New Castle County Office
2601 W Fourth Street
Wilmington, Delaware
Phone: 302-655-9624
Fax: 302-655-9753
Kent County Office
1155 Walker Road
Dover, Delaware
Phone: 302-674-1600
Fax: 302-674-1005
Sussex County Office
406 S Bedford Street, Suite 9
Georgetown, Delaware
Phone: 302-856-9578
Fax: 302-856-6297
Lower Eastern Shore Office
1201 Pemberton Drive, Suite 1-A
Salisbury, Maryland
Phone: 410-749-1121
Click here to send an email for more information.
How You Can Help
Click here to donate to Adoption Services using a credit card. You may also send a check to Catholic Charities, 2601 W 4th Street, Wilmington, DE 19805, and designate Adoption Services on the check memo line.
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