Adoption Law in Texas

Did you know that there are a multitude of ways to adopt in the state of Texas, there's everything from private adoption, agency adoption, foster care adoption, as well as medically complex adoptions. Today, we're having a conversation with Heidi Cox from the Gladney Center.  She's going to share more about adoption law in the state of Texas, the different types of adoption, as well as the overall process and how you can protect yourself in the adoption process. If you haven't already done so please take just a moment to subscribe or follow the podcast. And if you're loving the content you're hearing, I sure would appreciate a rating and review as well. Okay. Please join me in welcoming Heidi to the show. Heidi, thank you so much for being willing to join us today. Welcome to the show.

HEIDI:  Well, I'm glad to be here. Amanda, thanks for the invitation.

AMANDA:  Awesome. Do you mind to start by just sharing a little bit more about yourself with the audience?

HEIDI:  Thanks. Sure. So I've been involved in child welfare for about 36 years practicing law. And then I've been specifically working in the adoption field for 33 years now. So I’ve been doing this a long time. I'm in-house at the Gladney Center for Adoption, which is a licensed agency in several states, and have been on the board of the National Council for Adoption, and then worked in the Child Protection section of the State Bar of Texas as well trying to work on the foster care side of things. 

AMANDA:  Thank you.  You bring such a wealth of experience and such a diverse background to the audience. I know they are really going to enjoy the conversation today. I'd love if we could just start at the very beginning talking about adoption law in Texas. I know, it's a very broad brush. And I know we're not starting any sort of attorney client relationship here. And it's purely for informational purposes. But I think it's helpful for hopeful adoptive families to really just get a baseline understanding.

HEIDI:  Yeah, thank you for saying this does not establish any kind of relationship, but I can kind of give a high brushed view of it. So every state, of course, is very different. And every state has their great parts of it that make it so much easier. And every state has the protections they put in place to protect families and children, which a lot of times we see as barriers, and a lot of times they are barriers. But the goal is to be protective. Even when I disagree with something a state's doing I know the intention was good. So I want to start there. 

Adoption Revocation Period In Texas

So I would say one of the things people love about Texas, if you're from another state, is that an expectant mom can relinquish her rights, 48 hours after birth, and that it's different if you're working with an agency or a licensed attorney.  If it's a private adoption, non-agency, that relinquishment is revocable for 10 days, or it can be irrevocable for up to 60 days, and you have to rush into court to get everything done within that 60 days, or she can change her mind on day 61. So it's very complex. And the reason behind that is because no one in a private adoption is really looking out for the child. And sometimes there's no one looking out for the birth mother. So in a private adoption, it's a little bit different on the relinquishment.  If it's an agency adoption, that relinquishment signed at 48 hours or later, is irrevocable, because the agency is required to jump through a lot of hoops to make sure that birth mother understands what she's doing, that she's had the counsel she needs, etc. So that's a big difference between private and agency adoption in Texas. In both situations, a biological father, if he's not married to the mother he's not a legal parent, can sign a waiver of interest in the child prior to the birth. So that's one of the things people like about Texas, because a lot of other states, you have to wait until after birth to do anything with him. So  you don't know what's going to happen with the father. So the other thing that makes people flock to Texas sometimes is that we have a putative father registry. So a birth mother in Texas does not have to identify or notify the biological father, unless he's a legal parent, of her pregnancy or adoption. So we check a paternity registry after the child is at least 31 days old. And if there's no man's name on that registry, the court will terminate the rights of the mother and any potential father after that point. So when you're thinking about the 10 day revocable or the 60 day, you know, revocable or  irrevocable documents, you have to really think through the strategy around your case. So that's why it's really important to work with an expert in your adoption in Texas, and not just someone who's advising, but someone who really has lived it a lot. So those are some of the things that make people want to come to Texas.  Some of the things that you need to be aware of that could get you in trouble, include you're not allowed to advertise, not if you're a facilitator. Now, we know that the world of Google is, you know, it's pretty hard to enforce that. But there is a statute that says you cannot advertise. And you cannot pay expenses for a biological mother or biological father for the adoption.  You have to pay the agency and a licensed agency can help with a limited number of birth related expenses, like rent and making sure she has a phone, food, but you cannot make car payments. So it's pretty specific about what you can and cannot do. But the goal is to make sure you have a healthy pregnancy and healthy delivery, not that you are trying to buy a child.  So in Texas, the theory is if it's through a licensed agency, we're audited, we are reviewed by licensing, you have to have receipts, we have a lot of checks and balances on that. Whereas in a private adoption, someone just starts paying money. And nobody knows what's going on. And I've seen some bad situations happen, where an adoptive family will just create a bank account for an expectant mom with a debit card, you start funding that, and then come to us and say, oh, I found out I need an agency. I don't want to touch that at that point. And I did touch one of those at one point years ago. And at the end, the birth mother relinquished then she changed her mind. And what do you think her argument in court was?  That the family set up that account for her and they were sending her money and that she felt like they were buying her child. And she felt like she had no other option, but to let them have her child. So that's why that statute is there to protect everyone. And if we are paying expenses for a biological parent, we are not allowed to even ask that it be reimbursed. So if she ends up parenting, you can't say, we gave you $2,000 in food expenses and rent. Now we need that back because you chose to parent.  That is completely not allowed.

AMANDA:  So there were a couple of terms in there. I just want to back up and break down for our audience. So first do you mind just touching upon the difference between private adoption and agency adoption in case those terms are new for folks?

Private Adoption Vs Agency Adoption In Texas

HEIDI:  Sure. So in the field, when we talk about a private adoption, typically we're talking about the parent and a biological parent are placing directly, the birth mother signs a document a consent of relinquishment directly to the adoptive parents, completely private with no licensed agency involved, they had to have had a home study. But there's no one who's making sure that the adoption is following all the rules until you get to court and then the judge makes that decision. An agency adoption means that the licensed agency is making sure everything's done properly, the legal is complete, the birth parent has had all the counseling, that any expenses are paid correctly, pre-adoption, training and support for the family, post adoption support, all of those things should be combined into the agency. And then of course, agencies are different, you may have a transactional agency and Gladney is full service, family for life. So we're here in 100 years if somebody needs something.  You need to figure out what you are getting with that agency, but generally, that's the difference. And then that also distinguishes with a state placement, which is through the child protective services or foster care. So we say we're private agency placement but we also do state placements. So we're a licensed agency that works with the state to do foster placements as well. 

AMANDA:  So I think that touches upon a really important topic. There are different types of adoption in the state of Texas, as well as everywhere. Do you mind just to talk a little bit about the different types of adoption and how a family can really navigate through considering those different types?

The Different Types Of Adoption In Texas

HEIDI:  Sure.  Thank you for asking that.  You know, there’s intercountry adoption.  When people want to look at that, you’ve got a lot of different countries to consider.  And when you're looking at an intercountry adoption, you want to figure out if there is a country you already know you have a heart for and then you want to look for an agency that specializes in that. If you want to adopt from Pakistan you wouldn't come to Gladney for that, for instance. So then there is Child Protective Services adoption out of foster care, and there are ways to do it. You can be a foster parent who adopts children, or you can just do a straight adoption where you don't previously foster that child, you just come in and say, when a child's legally free I'm available to adopt. It's easiest to work with an agency in the state in which you live for that. It's harder for me to place a child in Texas from foster care into Arkansas, for instance.  Too many government bureaucrats create additional issues. So if you're a Texas family interested in helping a child in foster care, or sibling group, then we do those, and there's no fee for that. So you just need to know in Texas, at least, all of those expenses get covered by the state government, and by donations. So another type of adoption is medically complex children. So we have seen more and more medically complex kiddos coming to us with Down Syndrome, Prader Willi, all kinds of things that we had not seen a lot of in the past. So if you're wanting to adopt a child, medically complex, you need to work with a licensed agency, because you can't get a subsidy, unless you have a licensed agency taking the consent and then helping you work through that. There are a lot of agencies that won't touch those because they're complex. And you can be in any state, so you'll need a home study from your home state. But if we had a Texas child who's medically complex, then we would place into Arkansas or Louisiana or Nebraska, anywhere, and then work with you and help you get a subsidy lined up. So then, of course, you have your child and toddler private and private agency adoptions. So there are a lot of options for families out there. And I don't know if that helps you, or makes it more complicated, because now you have more choices.

AMANDA:  Yeah, for sure.. And I think it's really important that as folks are starting out in their adoption journey, that they spend the time to research and really ask themselves, which type of adoption is right for them? I think there's a lot of misconceptions attached to different types of adoption. But the best thing you can do for yourself throughout the entire journey is to research, to ask the question, to raise your hand and say, I'm confused. I don't understand what this means. I know that was really tough for me as I started, because I just didn't know where to go to even find information. So just shedding the light on what the opportunities are is amazing. Thank you.

HEIDI:  Yeah, and the problem with that is I can look up the statute, but then what does the law say, and what's the real practice?  And I can tell you county to county, it's different. So for me, I know what counties I need to avoid, or be in because of different cultural norms within the judicial system there. But also, as part of your research, I recommend that you talk to one or two or three agencies, have a conference and go to their orientation.  It doesn't cost anything, but time typically. And if it costs a little bit, I say, invest it, and maybe look at agencies that have multiple types of programs so you can see what feels right because looking at it on paper and reading it intellectually, and then sitting down and having a more emotional conversation with someone who can tell you the stories behind it could be very different. So when we do orientation for our infant/toddler program, we have a birth mother who comes and talks about her experience.  We have adoptive parents come and talk about what their experience was. So many families come in sometimes wanting a very confidential process because they have some fears. So having a birth mother sit there and tell you what her experience was and why she had an open adoption, why that was important, helps everyone take a deep breath and understand that we're all looking for the best thing for a child including the birth mother especially.

AMANDA:  Yeah, this is super helpful. There were a couple of other terms, I just wanted to make sure that the audience is really clear on.  First was around the legal father.  Is being married the only way for there to be a legal father, or are there other ways to be a legal father? 

 

What Is A Legal Father In Texas?

HEIDI:  Yeah, good question. Because you obviously know the answer that there are other ways to be a legal father.  This is not your first rodeo Amanda. So most people are adopting infants when we're talking about private or agency adoption if they're coming in wanting an infant or toddler. So we typically talk about the married couple, the husband and wife, and he the legal father. Now if she's married to a man who is not the father. He's still a presumptive father in almost every state. So you still have to involve him but it may be in a different way. But if you have a little bit older child or if the man was at the hospital, if his name is on the birth certificate, then he is considered a parent, the legal parent or a presumed parent, or if there's ever been a paternity suit. So you might have someone who comes in with a three year old that she was on some kind of support and the state will automatically file the lawsuit to establish parentage. And she may or may not realize that it's already happened, because sometimes she's just not familiar with the process. So you may have someone who's been established as a father. So if you're working with a parent who has a little bit older child, there are a lot more questions you want to figure out and make sure there's not already a court that has jurisdiction over that that's been working on it.

AMANDA:  Yeah, that totally makes sense. I know as we went through the example, earlier, you talked about revocation period, and finalization, do you mind just to ground our audience in what those are, and then also remind them again, about the day or the count, if you will, associated with each.

HEIDI:  So in Texas, a legal parent cannot sign a relinquishment, until after the child is at least 48 hours old.  In Texas we call them relinquishments, other states use consent or some other term. It may be 72 hours if you're placing the child into another state, sometimes that state wants you to wait 72 hours. So even though Texas is 48, you need to be working with attorneys in both states who understand the process there, so you get through the interstate process smoothly. So after 48 hours in the state of Texas, a legal parent can sign a relinquishment to a licensed agency that is irrevocable.  In a private adoption, it will be either revocable for 10 days, or it may be irrevocable for up to 60 days. And then unless the Court has issued an order within 60 days, terminating the parental rights of the parents, then the birth parents can change their mind on the 61st day. So one thing that's a little bit different from Texas, another thing is that we have a termination order. And then we have an adoption order. And they're two different cases, they can be in two different lawsuits. So some states will have a consent and you take that consent that is irrevocable or becomes irrevocable at a magical date, and then you finalize on adoption with that document. In Texas,I'd say it’s a bifurcated system. So she relinquishes, he relinquishes or signs a waiver or you have a registry. You take all the documents to court, maybe have testimony, the court terminates all rights of the parents, the court will appoint an agency like Gladney, they would be appointed as the guardian, we call them a conservator in Texas. In a private non agency adoption, the adoptive parents would be appointed as the guardian or conservator of the child, and they now become the people that are legally responsible for the child, then the court would finalize the adoption.  Depending upon how long you've had the child, it can happen quickly or not. Again, there are lots of different ways to do it. But they can do it all in one lawsuit. Or they can do it in two lawsuits. Statute of limitations or lots of legal reasons why you might want to do things in two cases and spend the extra $300 or $400 in filing fees to have two cases filed.

AMANDA:  I think that example alone demonstrates why you need an adoption attorney. One, state law is different in every state.  Two, it's very important to have an attorney in home state and receiving state because things are so different. You need to have an adoption professional beside you guiding you through no matter which method of matching you end up choosing, you need to have someone to guide you throughout so that you don't make a misstep that ultimately either puts you in serious jeopardy or puts your adoption opportunity in jeopardy. I know that you had talked about advertising being one of those things that can put an adoption opportunity at jeopardy. Can you talk a little bit more about what is defined as advertising, if I were having a conversation with my hairdresser, and I live in Texas, and I’m hoping to adopt and she's like, oh, you know, my neighbor's daughter is considering placing, is that considered advertising? Or is it more things that are more formal, like Google ads or things of that nature?

Advertising Your Adoption Profile In Texas

HEIDI:  Well, that's two different things. So that's not advertising, but that could be a facilitated adoption, which is also illegal in Texas. So your hairdresser cannot be your intermediary, or your priest or your lawyer. I received an email this morning from a couple in another state saying we want to share our profile.  If you have an expectant mom, we would love to match with her and hire you to do whatever. No, I can't do that, that is not legal. But you know, people all the time will say, hey, I've got this friend who's pregnant, can I just introduce you guys, and then they step out of it. So if I introduce you to someone, you're just introducing someone, and then they make their plan. But if you act as a facilitator, at a lot of churches that happens, you know, kind of matching and then staying.  I mean they can't be confidential, if I'm matching with you, and you know your birth parents names. And you're not making this decision. So only a parent can make an adoption plan or licensed agency, an unlicensed facilitator or a minister or social worker or lawyer or doctor cannot facilitate the matching and putting people together.

AMANDA:  So that is super helpful to really understand what the word facilitator really means. And how to protect yourself throughout the process.  Could you also touch a little bit more around advertising. So there's a difference between facilitating and advertising. When it comes to advertising. Are there rules around free ways? Like, you know, I'm putting my name on a Facebook page, or paid ways, like I'm using an actual ad to get people to come and look at my profile?

HEIDI:  You know, it's not specific, it's specific and the statute in Texas says advertising for a child is illegal, including digital and newspaper and it's very specific. But the difficulty for the authorities is how are you going to enforce all of that when you've got people Google adding all over the place? So I think you could be running a risk and where the risk really hits you is if something goes upside down in that adoption, because that's how it gets used. If something's going badly, and you're doing things you shouldn't be doing in addition to that like paying expenses and all then that's even worse. But when people do the home study, there's a section in our home study statute that's supposed to be investigating how did this match happen? They're supposed to be making an inquiry and then also making a report to the authorities if it's been handled in a way that's not within the code. And I'll say that there's a statute that's being proposed in many states right now that the Uniform Law Commission has been pushing, and it's called the Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act. And they passed it through the Uniform Law Commission, which is an American Bar Association commission. And now they're trying to get it implemented state by state by state. So it may become more and more uniform among the states to try and reduce the types of ads and they want families to be prepared for the child they take into their home, they want someone to be accountable for how it happened. And when you just have someone out there, piecemealing it, then there's no accountability, and it's to protect the children. And that's the whole thing. And it protects adoptive parents, too. But we really want to protect these kids from what's happening with them.

AMANDA:  Yeah, absolutely. And this is, this has just been so amazing. Thank you. I'm just so excited about the wealth of information that you've shared with our audience. Are there any final thoughts that you'd like to share with our audience as it relates to either the adoption process in general, or specifically as it relates to adoption law in Texas?

HEIDI:  Yeah, so it's complex, and I'm someone who tries to simplify everything, believe me.  Our relinquishments are probably the shortest of anybody else's in the state, because I want to make it simple, easy to understand.  But having said that, it’s complex because everyone’s trying to add a layer of protection for families and for children.  And it’s expensive.  I know we are trying to do it as quickly and as inexpensively as possible.  Someone just wants to be a family.  They’ve been going through infertility, maybe for years, and spent a lot of money that insurance doesn’t cover.  Insurance doesn’t cover anything for the adoption whereas with assisted reproduction, more and more insurance will help cover some of those expenses.  I would say, ask whoever you’re working with, ask them what does that fee cover?  Is it the entire fee and I’m not going to be expected to pay more or will there be added expenses?  If I have an expectant mom that ends up parenting, am I going to have to pay more money in the future? Or is it that this is the fee until I end up as a parent? And then what does this cover? If I call you three months after the adoption do I have to pay another fee to get information about something?  So when I say we at Gladney talk about family for life.  It’s an expensive fee.  It’s an expensive investment.  We’re investing in you because we’re expecting you to be great parents.  And we want you to come back to us if there is a question or we can help you with your child because we’re measuring outcomes at Gladney, not output. And an output is an adoption.  That’s easy to measure.  Outcomes are different and harder to measure and we want to see how our kids are doing, and we want to make sure our families are safe and protected and our kids are thriving for years.  Whether it's from intercountry, foster care, complex medical –  all of these kids, we want them to be in the best place possible. So ask some of those questions about where does this money go? And how long does this money last? And what can I expect longer term? So I would just say, those are some of the questions that you might not even think to ask. So I would add those to your toolbox of questions.

AMANDA:  Yeah, and I think you touched on something really important there, which is, don't be afraid to ask the question.  I know that when you're starting out, you can think I don't know the right way to word this, or I'm afraid I'm gonna insult someone, or I am afraid they're just gonna think that I'm not very smart, right? And I always want to encourage folks just ask the question,  ask the question, the safe way and the anonymous way, if that's what makes you feel more comfortable, but go to a licensed professional, whether it be an adoption attorney, agency, etc.to ask the question.  I love our Facebook communities. And I love how we support each other through the process. But there's nothing that we can say on Facebook that can replace the actual advice of a licensed professional throughout the adoption process. It's really important. 

HEIDI:  Yeah, you're right.

AMANDA:  How can our audience get in touch with you, if they want to learn more about you or ask a question?

HEIDI:  So if they go to the Gladney website, it's just adoptionsbygladney.org. And then my email is heidi.cox@gladney.org. So I'll try to answer questions. Again, I'm not giving anyone legal advice. But I'm happy to start you on your journey and try and make a referral. And I'll tell you, I'm not the right person for every adoption, and Gladney is not the right agency for every family. So if I feel that's not the right situation, I want to help you find where you need to go.  I’ve  been doing this a long time, and I know a lot of attorneys and agencies around the country.  I'm happy to make a referral and help you find the best place because you need to be in the place of most potential for you and for your child and family.

AMANDA:  That is very important, and thank you for the offer for that for our community.  It is really important that you interview and find the right partner and connections and getting connected and pointed in the right place is really a large part of the adoption process. So I appreciate your offer to do that. And we really appreciate you taking the time to join us today.

HEIDI:  Thank you, Amanda, thank you for what you're doing for the community too. This has been a great opportunity to visit with you.

AMANDA:  Thank you so much. Wow, wasn't that conversation just amazing. Heidi was so kind to really cover all the bases in giving us a baseline understanding of the adoption process in the state of Texas, as well as the adoption law in the state of Texas. I think one of the biggest things that I would hope that you would take away from this conversation, is it’s really important you start out your adoption journey on a strong path to really figure it out what type of adoption is right for you. If you need help deciding which type of adoption is right for you, check out the finding my adoption Pathway Program. Inside the program I walk you through each different step of determining which method of matching is right for you in a step by step video with resources of .pdfs that actually help you walk through the decision process. They give you suggestions of different adoption professionals that you should interview to help you make the right decision. Remember, my friend you are worthy of support, and I'm here with you every step of the way. I'll see you soon. 

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is not to be considered legal advice. We are not attorneys. Should you wish to hire the attorney mentioned in this post, please contact them directly.

Hi, I Am Amanda

I am an adoption profile expert on a mission to teach you how to adopt and help you create and share your family's story more affordably!