A place to begin
What do we need to know about adoption?
Five guided lessons to help you understand the process, ask better questions, and prepare for what comes next.

5 guided lessons
A clear path, one stage at a time.
28 deeper answers
Open the questions that matter to you.
A certificate request
At the end of Lesson 5.
Your course, one step at a time.
Follow the lessons in order, or choose the place that meets you today.
04
What happens from matching to placement?
Relationships, the hospital, legal steps, and traveling home.
A moment to make it yours
What’s on your mind today?
Choose the question closest to where you are. Your starting point can change as you learn.
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A little practice. No score. Your responses stay on this page.
Looking for a particular answer?
Every question has a home within a lesson. Open a group below or search by topic.
Getting started
- What Types of Adoption Are There?
- Which Type of Adoption Is Right for Our Family?
- What is domestic agency adoption, and how does it work?
- Is Domestic Infant Adoption Right for Our Family?
- What Should Adoptive Parents Know About Prenatal Substance Exposure?
- What Is Birth Father Risk in Adoption?
- How Much Does Adoption Through Heart to Heart Adoptions Cost?
Getting approved
Preparing for matching
Matching & placement
- How Does Adoption Matching Work at Heart to Heart Adoptions?
- What Happens After We Are Matched for Adoption?
- How Do We Build a Relationship With the Expectant Mother?
- What Should We Expect When We Meet the Expectant Mother?
- What Should Adoptive Parents Expect on Delivery Day?
- What Are Consent and Relinquishment in Adoption?
- What Rights Does a Birth Mother Have in Adoption?
- What Rights Does the Birth Father Have in Adoption?
- What Does Placement Mean in Adoption?
- What Is ICPC and Why Do Adoptive Families Have to Wait?
A few things before you begin.
Do we need to open every resource?
Follow the five main lessons for the course. The deeper answers are there when you want more detail. You can open them without leaving the lesson.
Can we come back later?
Yes. These lessons are public resources you can revisit whenever a new question comes up. The lesson menu shows where you are; there are no locked lessons.
How do we request a certificate?
At the end of Lesson 5, use the certificate request form. You will enter your name and email and confirm that you reviewed the five main lessons. Heart to Heart can tell you how this course applies to your education requirements.
You can begin with one question.
You do not need to know every answer today.
Heart to Heart Adoptions · Adoptive parent education
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