top

close menu

Giving Up Children for Adoption in Arkansas [What You Need to Know]

If you’re thinking “I don’t want my children,” or wondering how to give your kids up for adoption in Arkansas, you’re not alone.

Parenting can be physically, mentally and emotionally challenging. Some parents are raising children in difficult situations, such as during financial instability, homelessness and while dealing with health issues.

Some single parents, and even couples, make the brave and selfless decision to place their children for adoption when they believe that their children may have more opportunities and a safe, loving environment with another family. If you recognize that you’re unable to give your children the time, attention and support that they need, adoption is an option for you.

When your child has siblings and you choose to place multiple children for adoption in Arkansas, it is normal to want your children to stay together during adoption. Many parents choose to place multiple children for adoption in Arkansas only as a last resort because sibling adoption can be a bit more involved than a single child adoption. But, when your situation puts your kids at unnecessary risk, then adoption is always an option and can possibly keep your kids together.

For more information on placing your children for adoption together in Arkansas, you can call us at 1-800-ADOPTION or contact us online for more free adoption information.

Legal Concerns about Giving Children Up for Adoption in Arkansas

This article can help answer some of your basic questions about placing multiple children for adoption in Arkansas. Keep in mind, this information is not intended to take the place of legal advice. You can benefit from working with a full-service adoption agency to get the legal advice and resources that you need when you put your children up for adoption in Arkansas.

Placing your children for adoption in Arkansas without an agency, attorney or court approval and the correct legal steps is often illegal. Even advertising that you’re willing to place your children for adoption is illegal in most states.

That’s why it is so important to work with a licensed child-placing agency, like American Adoptions. Keep reading to learn more about how the adoption process works and how we may be able to help.

Myths about “Giving Children Up” for Adoption in Arkansas [And the Facts]

It is important for you to know that even though many people use the phrase “give up for adoption,” you are never giving up on your child when you choose adoption. When you talk about “giving up” children for adoption in Arkansas, you are actually talking about giving your children the opportunities that they deserve through adoption.

The language that you use around your children and others when talking about adoption can help shed a positive light on the difficult choice of adoption. Here are a few adoption phrases that you can identify and change for the better:

  • You’re not “giving up children” for adoption in Arkansas. Adoption is a positive choice. You’re giving your children a chance at having their best possible life through adoption. You can say, “I am placing my children for adoption.”

  • Adoption is not a selfish act. Adoption is a selfless act. You have chosen to value your children’s needs above your own. Placing children for adoption in Arkansas can be one of the hardest things you will ever do. You can say, “I am choosing adoption because I am thinking about what is best for my children.”

  • “I don’t want my children”. Often, this statement is made out of fear. Instead, you can say, “I love my children, but I am not able to raise my children right now.”

“I Don’t Want My Children Anymore” [Sorting Through Your Feelings]

Some parents need time to reflect on how they’re feeling about their stressful situation when they think or say, “I don’t want my children anymore.” Many parents still want to continue raising their children, but they feel hopeless about their future, or doubt their ability to continue parenting through obstacles.

Parenting is one of the hardest things that a person can do, but emotions associated with not wanting your children can make you feel guilty. It’s important to understand where these feelings are coming from and to understand whether they might go away.

What you’re feeling could be caused by depression or other mental health issues that require you to seek medical attention. In this case, putting your kids up for adoption in Arkansas has little to do with your children and more to do with the side effects and nature of depression itself.

Are your thoughts of not wanting your children the results of “baby blues?” Some women recognize the possibility of mental health concerns when they ask, “I don’t want my children, is this postpartum?”

Your doctor, counselor or therapist can help you if you find yourself in the following situations:

  • Antepartum/Postpartum depression or other clinical forms of depression

  • Anxiety from parenthood or other factors not associated with parenting

  • Stress from parenthood or other life changes

  • Instability within your home, finances or other unexpected life events

Consult your doctor to determine if you may be suffering from depression. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a mental health professional that may be able to provide the assistance you need for your future and your children’s futures as well.

For many parents, the thought, “I don’t want my children anymore” is temporary. However, if you continue to have these feelings, putting your kids up for adoption in Arkansas may be the best option for your children and for you. You can always get help with American Adoptions. When you are ready to place multiple children for adoption in Arkansas, or if you have questions about thoughts like, “I don’t want my children,” you can call us at 1-800-ADOPTION, or contact us online for more free adoption information.

What Are My Options for Putting Kids Up for Adoption in Arkansas?

If you’re in a difficult or unhealthy situation, you may feel that putting kids up for adoption in Arkansas is what’s in their best interests. You can benefit from contacting us to understand what’s possible in your specific circumstances.

Your legal options for placing multiple children for adoption in Arkansas will depend on the ages of your children.

Children Under the Age of 4

Putting your kids up for adoption in Arkansas may be possible through a private adoption agency if they are under the age of 4. Private agencies, like American Adoptions, are almost always able to keep infant and toddler siblings in the same adoptive home.

Keep in mind that “giving up” kids for adoption in Arkansas means you are relinquishing your parental rights. You can still maintain contact with your children’s adoptive parents and see your children grow up through open adoption in Arkansas, but you will no longer be their parent.

If permanently placing children for adoption in Arkansas is not what you’re looking for, then you may be able to choose temporary guardianship for your children in Arkansas. This involves a legal process in which you agree to place your children with a guardian for a set amount of time, but you retain all parental rights to your children.

Children Age 4 or Older

If your oldest child is 4 or older, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to work with an adoption agency.

When you want to place multiple children for adoption in Arkansas who are over the age of 4, you can consider the following options:

  • Kinship adoption in which you would terminate your legal parental rights, putting your kids up for adoption in Arkansas with a friend or family member permanently. You will no longer have a legal parental role in your children’s lives, even if you maintain contact.

  • Temporary legal guardianship in which you would place your children in temporary custody with a trusted friend or family member instead of terminating your parental rights by putting your kids up for adoption in Arkansas. You would have the option to resume parenting your children whenever you’re ready to do so.

  • Local or state resources and organizations that can help you continue to parent your children so that you can avoid putting kids up for adoption in Arkansas. They may be able to offer financial help, access to food and necessities, health insurance for you and your kids, childcare while you work, or even respite care.

  • Local child welfare agency. You may be familiar with Child Protective Services, but typically you cannot voluntarily place multiple children for adoption in Arkansas through foster care. CPS serves a different function for the well-being of children who cannot protect themselves from harsh mistreatment.

If your children are not safe at home, CPS may choose to provide them with temporary care. The state tries to keep siblings together, but there’s never a guarantee in this situation. Contact your local Arkansas Child Protective Services department to learn more — they may be able to direct you to resources that can help you continue to parent your kids instead of putting your kids up for adoption in Arkansas.

It is important to note, however, that you cannot choose to place your children in CPS care. Voluntary relinquishment into the foster care system is not an option.

The Importance of Placing Children for Adoption Together in Arkansas

In the case of siblings, placing children for adoption together in Arkansas is incredibly important. A person’s relationships with his or her siblings are an important part of who they are. The removal of a child from his or her biological parents is always a traumatic event and removing the child from his or her siblings increases that trauma. Whenever possible, adoption professionals prefer placing children for adoption together in Arkansas.

Because of this, you may be wondering,

“If a couple wants to adopt a child in Arkansas but doesn’t want the sibling, will they get separated?”

Adoption professionals do try placing children for adoption together in Arkansas to maintain sibling relationships. But, it’s not always a guarantee.

Unfortunately, groups of siblings generally wait longer to be adopted than individual children. Few adoptive families have the time, space or resources for multiple new children at once.

How to Give Your Children Up for Adoption in Arkansas

If you believe that you are no longer able to parent your children and you are considering placing children for adoption together in Arkansas, you can benefit from working with an adoption agency that can connect you with a trusted adoption attorney.

Your adoption process will be different depending on your unique situation, especially if you are placing children for adoption together in Arkansas. You can consider the following three steps to help guide you in beginning your adoption:

Step 1: Make sure that putting kids up for adoption in Arkansas is right for your children.

Step 2: Get all the adoption information that you need.

Step 3: Contact American Adoptions if you want to place multiple children for adoption in Arkansas that are infants and toddlers. Call us at 1-800-ADOPTION, or contact us online for more free information.

The ideal way to keep siblings together in Arkansas is to continue raising them within the original family unit. If that’s no longer possible and you want to place your children for adoption in Arkansas, finding an extended family member or close friend who is able to temporarily care for or permanently adopt all your children could be a good solution for you and your children.

Keep in mind, the chances that siblings in Arkansas will stay together decrease if they are taken into state custody, despite the best efforts of foster care professionals who always try to keep them together. You can get the help and the resources that you and your kids need to stay together as a family. Reaching out to the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services for help in using all available resources to continue parenting can be a good way to reduce the stress of instability that you may have in your life.

Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. American Adoptions provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.

Request Free Information

View Waiting Families
Want to speak to someone who has chosen adoption?
Meet Michelle — A Proud Birth Mom
Ask an Adoption Question
View More Waiting Familes