FAQ's

Why is adoption so expensive?
In short, adoption is a complex process that includes a variety of individuals such as social workers, lawyers, medical professionals, and administrative teams. Furthermore, Bethany Christian Services takes all the necessary precautions to ensure that they are placing children in stable and trustworthy environments. The process itself is expensive because so many parties are involved; we are not simply buying a person.

Do you know the baby’s race/gender?
No. Like other couples expecting a baby, we are excited to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. Additionally, we do not know what race our baby will be and will welcome our new addition with love.

Are you doing an “open” or “closed” adoption? And what’s the difference? 
We’ll start by simply defining these terms. A closed adoption is when there is no contact between the birth family and the adoptive family. Bethany would facilitate all legal and placement matters, and we would know very little about our child’s birth family. An open adoption is one that has a varying degree of openness between the birth family and the adoptive family. Open adoption can include sending pictures and letters through Bethany with no face-to-face meetings. It can also include scheduled visits and ongoing contact. The degree of openness is initially decided upon by both families involved, but like any relationship, it can grow and change over time. We are choosing an open adoption plan and are hopeful that we can have a healthy and mutually supportive relationship with our child’s birth family.

Are you going to tell your son/daughter that he/she is adopted?
Yes. We see adoption through Bethany as a very loving act by birth families. Instead of talking about a birth family giving a child up for adoption, we will emphasize the fact that the birth family did what they thought was best for their son/daughter and that they wanted the best life possible for him/her. Adoption is not something we will hide or pretend did not happen. Throughout our child’s life, we will talk about adoption in age-appropriate ways and in ways that reveal God’s plan in bringing us together.

How long will this all take?
You can see how far we’ve come up to this point and where we are in the process by looking at our timeline. It is hard to say exactly how long this will take because we do not know when we will be matched. Birth families look through profiles of waiting families. You can see our profile on the Bethany website. When there is a birth family considering us, we will be notified and if the birth family decides they want to meet us in person to see if it is a good match, then Bethany arranges a meeting. In all honesty, the waiting period could take anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple years after our profile is posted. It all depends on when a birth family chooses us.