Kinship care

The connection to family, relatives, and community is important to every growing child.

Kinship caregivers can be grandparents, aunts, uncles, or adult brothers or sisters. Relatives who are not closely related to your child may need to be licensed. There are lots of financial, legal, and emotional issues that kinship caregivers should consider.

Temporary foster care

In some cases, temporary foster care may be available if you need more time to decide between adoption and parenting. Foster care is administered by the county human services agencies.

Typically, you will sign a voluntary agreement to hand over custody of your child for a limited time only. When the separation is over and you are ready to resume responsibility, your child would be returned to you in accordance with the terms of the temporary foster care contract you signed. You should ask your case worker to assist and advise you as to the temporary foster care alternative, and you should also seek legal advice before you sign any such agreement.

Adoption

If you are pregnant, and you do not want to have an abortion or be a parent, you can give birth and let someone else raise your child. This is called "adoption". It is a permanent, legal agreement in which you agree to place your child in the care of another person or family.

No adoption is final until after the baby is born and you have signed the papers agreeing to the adoption. After signing these papers, you may be given a limited period of time during which you may change your mind. After that, few adoptions are reversed by the courts.

Even if the parents relinquish their rights to the child, they may be required to pay child support until their parental rights are terminated by the court.

Some things to ask yourself if you are thinking about adoption:

Am I ready to be a parent?
Can I afford to be a parent now?
What would it mean for my future if I had a child now?
Can I accept not being my child's primary parent?
Does adoption feel like what I should do, not what I want to do?
Is someone pressuring me to choose adoption?
Am I prepared to go through pregnancy and childbirth?
Will I be able to cope with the feeling of loss that I may have?
Do I have people in my life who will help me through the pregnancy and adoption process?
How do I feel about other parents who choose to place their children for adoption?
How important is it to me what other people will think about my decision?

You may want to discuss your answers with your partner, someone in your family, a friend, a trusted religious adviser, or a counselor. An adoption agency can help you answer some of the questions you might have. When you look for an adoption agency, ask questions to make sure they are a good fit for you.

You might want to ask questions like the following:
Will using your services cost me anything?
Do you offer counseling or support groups for birth parents?
Do you screen the adoptive families you work with? If so, how?
Will I be able to meet with adoptive families?
If I choose an open adoption, will you help me stay in touch with the adoptive family?
Can your agency help with prenatal care or delivery costs?
Do you work with families looking for babies of different races and ethnicities? Are there families interested in adopting babies with special medical needs? Do you work with gay individuals or couples looking to adopt?
What are the birth father's rights in my state?
If I choose adoption, when is my decision final?

Whether you decide to become a parent or place the baby for adoption, it's very important to get prenatal care early in the pregnancy to make sure you have a healthy pregnancy.

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Minnesota

Chapter: Pregnancy and Parenting

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