Many states have handbooks and webpages that assist prospective adoptive parents in negotiating the adoption process. Below are some webpages and handbooks that are available online.

• Alaska:
  Adoption and Guardianship Guidebook
  This guidebook is about choosing adoption or guardianship for a child in state custody. It provides basic information on adoption and guardianship, the process for both options, a comparison of adoption and guardianship, and information about how the adoption and guardianship subsidy program works.

• Arizona:
  Steps to Be a Foster or Adoptive Parent
  This guide provides information on the following steps of the process of becoming a foster or adoptive parent: first contact, orientation, application, pre-service training, mutual assessment and family home evaluation, licensing and certification, placement. (2009)

• California (Los Angeles):
  Building Your Family Through Adoption: A Handbook and Workbook
  This LA County DCFS resource provides an introduction and includes Chapters on the following topics: Legal Procedures; Adopting Children Already in Your Care; Putting Children Together with Families - Unattached Applicants; Signing Adoptive Placement Papers; the Adoption is Official; the Adoption Assistance Program and Medi-Cal; Post-Adoption Services; and, Specialized Adoptions Handled by the L.A. County DCFS.

• District of Columbia:
  Become an Adoptive/Foster Parent
  This District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency webpage provides information about becoming an adoptive/foster parent, including answers to frequently asked questions.

• Illinois:
  Making the Adoption/Guardianship Decision
  This handbook provides basic information about adoption and guardianship, family considerations in decision-making, an adoption/guardianship comparison, answers to common questions about financial assistance, birth parent rights, responsibilities of adoptive families and guardians and more. (July 2003)

• Indiana:
  The Indiana Department of Child Services website provides information about becoming an adoptive parent, including answers to frequently asked questions, terminology and definitions, discussion of legal issues, and more.

• Maine:
  The Adoption Process through a Family for ME
  This Maine Department of Health and Human Services webpage provides information on the steps of the adoption process, as well as answers to frequently asked questions and contact information for accessing further information.

• Massachusetts:
• A Guide for Foster and Pre-Adoptive Parents
  This guide was developed by the Massachusetts Department of Social Services to provide foster and pre-adoptive parents with some basic information about foster parenting, placement, health care, legal issues, emergency procedures, support and training, financial support, and suggestions for where to turn for help. It is available in both English and Spanish. (2003)

• Adopting in Massachusetts
  This resource is a step-by-step guide to help people through the process of adoption. A 69-page consumer friendly publication, this book is offered as a public service by the Center for Adoption Research. The book provides clear information about getting started, exploring options, choosing an approach, and selecting an agency. Additionally, the financial and legal implications are explored. (2000)

• Michigan:
  Adopting a Child in Michigan
  This guide from the State of Michigan Department of Human Services provides definitions of terms and information on: common aspects of adoption in Michigan, types of adoptions in Michigan, temporary placements prior to adoption, assistance in adoption, the role of the family court, the children’s ombudsman, information services, and recommended questions. (Revised January 2008)

• Minnesota:
• Answers to Your Questions about Adoption
  People have many questions about adoption. This booklet by the Minnesota Department of Human Services Child Safety and Permanency Division provides some answers about adoption procedures to birth parents and adoptive parents. It also includes a list of licensed adoption agencies and other organizations that support adoption in Minnesota. County social service agencies and licensed adoption agencies can provide more specific information about adoption. This information is available in other forms to people with disabilities; contact information is included in the booklet. This publication is available in English, Hmong, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. (2007)

• Completing an Adoption in Minnesota: The Rights and Responsibilities of Birth Parents, Prospective Adoptive Parents and Adoption Agencies
  This booklet explains the legal process for adoption in Minnesota. It also reviews the responsibilities of birth parents, adoptive parents and agencies in completing adoption. (August 2006) This information is available in other forms to people with disabilities; contact information is included in the booklet. This publication is available in English, Hmong, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

• Missouri:
• Adoption Guide
  This guide from the Missouri Bar was written to briefly explain the adoption laws in the state of Missouri and the process a prospective adoptive family must complete before the adoption is final. (2006)

• Welcome Home
  This step-by-step guide from the Missouri Attorney General's Office leads prospective parents through Missouri's adoption process from finding children to bringing them home for the rest of their lives. Contact information and other resources are provided. (Revised March 2009)

• Nebraska:
  Adoption: A Guide for Nebraska Foster & Adoptive Families
  This publication serves as a guide for potential adoptive parents interested in adoption through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. (Agencies and organizations may also benefit from this publication.) The information outlines what you can expect from the time of foster/adoptive placement through the finalization of the adoption. In Nebraska potential adoptive parents must be licensed as foster parents. However, exceptions can be made for relative placements. This publication does notcover the foster care licensing process, but assumes the reader has already become licensed and is now preparing to adopt. (May 2003)

• Nevada:
  Guide to Adoption in Nevada
  This extensive online guide to adoption in Nevada by the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services answers some of the most commonly asked questions about adoption and adoption related services. It includes information for birth parents. See the Table of Contents for more details on the many topics addressed in this guide.

• New Hampshire:
  Division for Children, Youth & Families Adoptions Webpage

This webpage provides information about adoption in New Hampshire.

• New Jersey:
  Path to Adoption
  This State of New Jersey Department of Children and Families webpage provides information on the adoption process, including: the inquiry process, the home study, selection and pre-placement, placement and supervision, and finalization.

• New York:
  How to Adopt a New York Waiting Child
  This brochure provides step-by-step guidance from the New York State Office of Children & Family Services. (Revised June 2007)

• North Carolina:
  Steps to Adopting a Child in North Carolina
  This North Carolina Department of Social Services webpage provides information on the steps to adopting a child in North Carolina. (December 2010)

• North Dakota:
  Adoption Program
  This North Dakota Department of Human Services webpage provides information on adoption, including types of adoption, steps to adoption, openness in adoption, adoption assistance information, a glossary of adoption-related terms, a listing of licensed adoption agencies in North Dakota, and much more.

• Ohio:
  Ohio Adoption Guide: A Handbook for Prospective Adoptive Families
  This online booklet gives a general overview of the adoption process and options open throughout Ohio. (Revised August 2010)

• Oklahoma:
  Adoption FAQs
  This Oklahoma Department of Human Services webpage offers answers to frequently asked questions about adoption. (August 2010)

• Oregon:
  Oregon Adoption Assistance Handbook
  This handbook focuses on Oregon's special needs adoption assistance program. (Revised August 2010)

• Rhode Island:
  Questions about Adoption
  This Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families webpage offers answers to questions about adoption.

• South Dakota:
  Adopting through DSS
  This South Dakota Department of Social Services webpage provides information on the steps to the adoption process through South Dakota DSS. Information on post-adoption services available for adopted children is also available on this webpage.

• Vermont:
  Vermont Adoption Handbook
  The purpose of this guide, produced by the Vermont Adoption Consortium, is to help people who are thinking about building their families through adoption to consider all of the options available to them, understand the implications of each, and choose the one that is right for them, and to help people who have already built their families through adoption to connect with post-adoption services, supports, and resources available to them. (2006/2007)

• Virginia:
  Steps to Adoption
  This Virginia Department of Social Services webpage provides information on the steps to the adoption process.

NRCPFC thanks the Child Welfare Information Gateway for help in compiling these resources