Louisiana’s specific adoption laws are designed to place children in loving and stable homes, and ensure their emotional and physical wellbeing long into the future. Once the adoption is complete, Louisiana law automatically recognizes the adopting individual as the child’s parent. 

The adoption process may seem complex and daunting, but understanding how it works is a useful first step. Here, we review what you can expect throughout the process.

Find an Adoption Agency and Attorney

Once you’ve decided you want to adopt, you should begin the process of finding the agency that will help you navigate the process. The agency you work with will likely be a full-service agency, meaning they will help both you and the baby’s mother throughout the process. You should strive to find an agency that works to offer women in precarious situations the option of adoption, and ensure they additionally provide counseling and other services to these women to get them through this long and emotional journey. You should also assess whether the agency is communicative and clear about expectations: For example, how long can you expect to wait before you can adopt? What are the cost estimates of the entire process, and is there a protection plan in case the adoption falls through? You’ll want to have these questions answered before you decide to work with an agency.

Acquiring legal assistance to guide you through the adoption process should be a priority, as that individual will advocate on your behalf and ensure the process is being conducted in a fair and transparent manner. The legal professional will be responsible for reviewing the adoption paperwork, attending hearings, and ensuring the terms of your adoption are both legitimate and binding. 

Steps to Complete the Adoption Process

In order to adopt a child, you will have to complete a series of steps. First, you’ll be asked to complete a home study, which will ensure that everyone in the household is ready to adopt. This process will include an inspection of your home and interviews with each family member. Later, you will complete an Adoption Planning Questionnaire, which is designed to help you determine your adoption preferences. It will help determine key factors that might influence the adoption’s completion, such as whether you would be bothered by the birth parent’s lifestyle or habits, would like to have a relationship with the birth parents, and how important these factors are against the speed of which you’d like to complete the adoption. Finally, you will complete an adoption profile, so the birth parents can get a sense of who you are.

Finalize the Adoption in Louisiana Courts

Once you have found a child to adopt and take them home with you, you are ready to complete the final steps towards adoption. You and your attorney will attend a finalization hearing, which generally takes place in the courthouse that pertains to your specific parish. A judge will review the adoption to ensure the process was carried out legally and ethically before making final judgement and declaring your adoption valid. Once an official decree has been issued, you will legally be considered the child’s parent.