Welcome. We’re here to answer your adoption questions.

Begin by understanding which type of adoption you are considering. The main pathways include private domestic adoption, international adoption, adoption through government care, step-parent adoption, and relative adoption. Each has different requirements, costs, and timelines.

Private domestic adoption usually involves an expectant or birth parent voluntarily making an adoption plan withi Alberta. The birth parent may review approved family profiles and choose the family they feel is the best fit.

International adoption involves adopting a child from another country. It requires coordination between the child’s country of origin, Alberta adoption authorities, the Government of Canada, immigration or citizenship authorities, and licensed agencies.

Domestic adoption may include direct birth-parent choice and an open adoption relationship. International adoption follows another country’s legal and matching process. Both require preparation, education, and a home study.

Contact us and tell us which type of adoption you are considering. We can explain current program availability, eligibility, education requirements, home-study requirements, fees, and realistic next steps.

Eligibility depends on the adoption program. Prospective adoptive parents are assessed for safety, stability, readiness, and their ability to meet the needs of an adopted child. International programs may add their own age, health, marital-status, or family-size requirements.

They may be eligible to adopt in Alberta, depending on the adoption pathway. International programs also apply the laws and policies of the child’s country of origin.

Yes. Abide serves families throughout Alberta, including rural communities and smaller towns. Some education and meetings may be virtual, while home visits and certain assessment steps must happen in person.

A home study is both an assessment and an education process. It includes interviews, documents, checks, and conversations about your relationships, parenting, health, finances, support system, motivation, trauma, loss, openness, identity, and readiness to adopt.

It depends on the family, document timelines, education requirements, and social-worker availability. Six months may be possible for a family that moves steadily through the process, but no responsible agency should guarantee the same timeline for everyone.

There is no guaranteed timeline. In domestic adoption, approval does not mean a birth parent will choose your family within a certain number of months. International timelines depend on the country program, matching, legal processing, travel, and Canadian immigration or citizenship steps.

Costs vary by program and may include agency fees, education, home study, legal work, documents, government fees, translation, travel, international program costs, and post-placement reporting. Abide provides current fee information before a family commits.

No. Fees pay for professional services, education, assessment, administration, and program work. They do not guarantee that a birth parent will choose your family or that an international placement will occur.

Birth parentreview approved family profiles and choose the family they feel is right for their child. They may consider location, values, family structure, culture, religion, openness, shared interests, or a personal connection.

No. We do not believe domestic adoption should work like taking a number at a counter. Birth parents are making a deeply personal decision about who may parent their child. We also keep our pool of waiting families limited so families receive more personal support.

A family profile introduces you to an expectant parent considering adoption. It usually includes your story, home, relationships, community, values, parenting hopes, and thoughts about openness. The strongest profiles feel honest rather than staged.

All domestic adoptions are open. This means the mutual exchange of information between birth families and adoptive families. Many domestic adoptions also include some degree of open relationships, from photos and messages to regular visits. Openness should not be treated as something a family tolerates to receive a placement. It is part of the child’s identity and lifelong story.

We provide education, communication, support groups, and opportunities for connection. We also encourage families to use the waiting period to learn about openness, trauma, race, culture, identity, and the lifelong realities of adoption.

Families may need help with attachment, grief, trauma, openness, behaviour, cultural identity, talking about adoption, birth-family relationships, school issues, and parenting support. The questions change as children grow, so support should not end at finalization.

No. Approval depends on the home study, required checks, eligibility, and readiness. No ethical agency can promise that a birth parent will choose a particular family or guarantee an international placement.