Choosing Adoption in Florida Jails and Prisons

Being pregnant in jail or prison in Florida isn’t that uncommon. However, if you’re pregnant and in jail, you might not know what your options are. What happens when you have your baby while in jail in Florida? Is prison adoption possible?

If you’re pregnant in prison, your options are to place your baby with family or a friend, allow the state to take custody of your child, or create an adoption plan. You may be at the Lowell Annex for pregnant women in Ocala, at the Women’s Detention Center in Miami, at the Hernando Correctional Institution in Brooksville, or any of the other women’s correctional facilities in Florida. Whichever facility you are at, we can help you with your adoption plans.

Take time to consider each of your options. If the state takes custody of your child, he will be placed in foster care. You will not have the ability to choose who or where your child is placed. You may never see or hear about your child again. You have no control.

You may want to place your child with a friend or family member. If this will be a safe, loving situation and you feel comfortable that your friend or family member has truly thought through what raising a baby will entail and will not change their mind, this could be the answer. If they change their mind or endanger the child, he or she would likely be placed into foster care.

For many women, adoption is the best answer. An adoption plan will allow you to choose parents for your child. They have put together profiles, participated in parent education, and completed a home study. This means they have been thoroughly background checked, interviewed by a social worker, and completed all the necessary steps to qualify to adopt a child. You can choose an open, semi-open, or closed adoption. The choice is yours.

Whatever you decide to do, it’s important to understand all of your options with modern adoption. That way, you’ll know which is the right choice for you and your baby.

How Does a Jail Adoption Work?

You can create an adoption plan if you’re pregnant in jail in Florida. Lifetime will work with you to help you make your own individualized adoption plan that’s right for you.

Your prison caseworker will work closely with Lifetime to help you create an adoption plan that fits your situation. Here are the steps you’ll take with a prison adoption:

1. Choose an Adoptive Family

You can select the adoptive parents for your baby if you’re pregnant in jail. Depending on your situation, you may be able to email them or speak with them before you give birth. You can choose an adoptive family that lives in Florida or anywhere else in the US. You will let your Lifetime adoption coordinator know what characteristics you are looking for in a family for your baby, and she will send you adoptive family profiles to read.

2. Create an Open Adoption With the Adoptive Parents

You can have ongoing contact with your baby’s adoptive family, even if you’re pregnant and in jail. The contact you have with them could be through letters, photos, or phone calls. The adoptive couple can also send you updates on your child as he or she grows up. In the future, when released, you can even get together for annual visits.

3. Give Birth

If you’re pregnant in jail, you’ll probably be transported to a nearby hospital to give birth. Depending on your situation, you might be able to interact with the adoptive family at the hospital and choose who is present for the birth.

4. Sign Adoption Paperwork

You’ll probably sign your adoption consent paperwork during your hospital stay. An adoption lawyer can explain exactly what you are signing and how it affects your legal rights.

Decide What’s Right for You

At the end of the day, you’re the only one who can decide what’s best for you and your baby. We’re available to give you all of the information and resources that you need about prison adoption to make this decision. It’s important to find a solution that will provide both you and your child the best opportunities — for you when you’re released from jail, and for your baby to grow up in a stable environment.

Contact Lifetime Today

To get started with adoption, just call or text Lifetime Adoption at 1-800-923-6784. You can send a message using the form below as well.

If you need money for phone calls or toiletries, we can put money on your commissary account so we can stay in touch. We can help you. Please reach out today.