The road to adoption as a way to create or add to your family is different for everyone. One of the first decisions is which type of adoption best suits your family. There are three types of adoption: foster care, domestic infant, and intercountry. Regardless of the type of adoption, Massachusetts requires that all families work with a licensed adoption agency.
Adoption from Foster Care
MARE’s mission supports adoption from foster care. All of the children MARE serves are in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and reside in either foster homes or residential facilities. Many of these children are ages six and older, are children of color, are a part of a sibling group and many have not yet been legally freed for adoption. There are no fees involved in adoption from foster care. MARE works with DCF and private agencies that contract with DCF to find permanent, loving homes for these children.
Domestic Infant Adoption
Domestic Infant adoption involves working with a private agency to adopt a newborn infant. Often the adoptive family will be matched with a birthparent that is making an adoption plan for her baby. There are varying degrees of openness between the adoptive and birth families. There are fees associated with this type of adoption that may include fees for the homestudy, birthparent expenses, and post placement services.
Intercountry Adoption
Intercountry Adoption involves working with a private agency to adopt a child from another country, most commonly from Eastern Europe, China, Central and Latin America, Africa, and India. Children adopted from abroad are typically toddler age or older. In addition to the Massachusetts adoption agency requirements, families must meet the requirements of the foreign country in which the child resides and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. There are fees associated with this type of adoption that may include fees for the homestudy, fees to the agency in the foreign country, post placement services and travel expenses.
