More Questions About Adoption

Will I have to pay for services at Luthern Social Services of Illinois (LSSI)?

Open adoption means that there is communication between you and the adoptive parents after the adoption. This can be through pictures, letters or in-person visits.
Closed adoption is when no identifying information is exchanged between you and the adoptive parents.
You choose how much communication or contact you want. If you want ongoing contact, you and the adoptive parents come up with a plan together.

In Illinois, you cannot sign the final surrender until 72 hours after the birth of your baby. If you are not ready to sign after 72 hours, we will not pressure you and will work with you to make your final decision.
The options for the father are a little different – we can help the father decide on the best plan for him.

Yes. You can change your mind up until the time you sign a voluntary surrender of parental rights. Once you sign the final papers, the decision is permanent and cannot be taken back.
Your LSSI counselor will assist you until you are confident in your decision.
If you decide to parent your child before signing the final papers, we will support your decision and assist you with community resources to help you get started as a parent.

The mother and father share equally in the decision-making responsibility, and fathers are encouraged to be involved in adoption planning.
If one parent wants to make an adoption plan and the other does not, the court may have to be involved. We can assist with this process.

You and the adoptive parents will discuss a plan for the type of ongoing contact you would like after the adoption.
This can include updates and photos, phone calls or emails, or even getting together for visits. You and the adoptive parents will agree on a plan before the adoption. LSSI will strongly encourage both families to honor their verbal agreement, but in Illinois, these agreements cannot be legally enforced.

Later you may decide you would like to hear about how your child is doing. You may be interested in getting an update about your child or a picture. Maybe you would even like to get together with your child and the adoptive parents.
LSSI has a service that can help you try to re-connect with your child after adoption. Most of LSSI’s families are willing to have open adoptions, so re-connecting with them after the adoption may be possible.
If your child is under 21 years old, the adoptive parents will have to agree to what kind of contact there will be. LSSI can help you reach out to the adoptive parents.
Learn more about LSSI’s search and reunion services.

First, we want you and your baby to be healthy and safe, so we would encourage you to get prenatal care and not do anything that would hurt you or your baby.
We have many families who are willing to adopt a child who has been exposed to drugs and/or alcohol or has other special needs. It is important that you tell your counselor about this, so that we can show you families who are prepared to parent a child who may have some special needs.

We can still help. If you have already given birth and you are thinking about an adoption plan, we can help you make the best decision for you and your child.

LSSI can help you no matter where you live in Illinois. You can phone us or email us – whatever you like. Call 1-888-671-0300 or email us at pregnancyinfo@lssi.org