Adopting a Baby

Adoption is our founding program at The Children’s Home! Starting in 1893, we were focused on finding forever homes for sibling groups and started placing infants the 1930s.

The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh provides all services needed for families living within the Pittsburgh area to adopt a newborn baby.

We begin by providing an orientation session, followed by educational trainings, home study service, matching with a birthparent, placement of the child, post-placement supervision, and finally finalization of the adoption.

How does the adoption process work?

Step 1

Attend adoption orientation

Step 2

Attend educational classes

Step 3

Completion of Home Study

Step 4

Matching with a birthparent

Step 5

Placement of your baby

Step 6

Post Placement Supervision and support

Step 7

Finalization of the adoption

Who is eligible to adopt through The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh?

Adoptive families must live within 50 miles of The Children’s Home, live in the state of Pennsylvania, and be U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, or legally residing in the U.S. We place infants with families who are parenting no more than one child and are experiencing primary or secondary infertility (exceptions include same-sex couples, single parents, and couples with genetic or other health issues). Due to court requirements, we work with adoptive parents who are married or who are adopting as a single parent.

The Children’s Home does not discriminate on the basis of gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic background, income, age, or race.

Why The Children’s Home?

Our caring, professional, Master’s level adoption staff will work with you on the adoption plan that is just right for your family.

Although the adoption process is not always easy, we are confident that it will be worth the effort and that you will be supported by our staff every step of the way. If you choose to work with our agency, you will have a lifetime of support services for anything that might come up for you or your child. We also offer events two times per year to connect with other adoptive families.

What is the fee to adopt?

The current fee to adoption an infant at The Children’s Home is $30,000. This fee is payable in three installments. The first installment is due after your application has been approved. The second installment is due after the completion of your family study. The third installment is due after a child is placed with you. Special arrangements are sometimes made for children with special needs, and financial assistance is occasionally available in those cases.

Additionally, families can pursue the Adoption Tax Credit which is available to adoptive families to help offset the adoption fee. For more information, please visit North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC): Federal Adoption Tax Credit.

For More Information

It is the philosophy of The Children’s Home’s Infant Adoption Program to continually evaluate how many new adoptive families we can bring in to our program at a time so that their wait for a baby will be reasonable.

Our waiting list for new infant adoption families is now closed. We are unsure of if/when we may reopen this. We welcome you to contact us directly to discuss other adoption options or schedule an adoption information session with one of our counselors. We also continue to offer home study services for families looking for a home study for a private placement or out of state agency. 

Please review our FAQs in determining whether our program might be a good fit for your family prior to joining our waiting list. To join our waiting list, please contact Jodi Horn. If you have questions about adoption, you can also feel free to contact Adoption Social Worker, Joe Ritacco, or our Director of Adoption and Permanency Services, Erika Schmitt.

Request more information