Traditional Adoption Program

Traditional Adoption Placement Program

ACI offers three distinct domestic infant adoption programs: Domestic Home Study Only, Agency Assisted, and the Traditional Adoption Placement (TAP) Program  

In the TAP Program, families continue with ACI after completing their Home Study by submitting the Phase II fee and photo books. Families are then presented to expectant parents who are working with ACI Counselors to explore making an adoption plan for their child. See below for more information on the matching process. ACI then facilitates the adoption placement and provides the necessary post-placement supervision, as required by Illinois law. 

To minimize prospective adoptive parents’ financial risk, there are no matching fees and our agency pays all birth parent expenses. The first step for all programs is submitting an ACI Application with the Program Phase I fee. Please visit our Program Fees and Documents Page to view detailed fees for each specific program. 

Matching Process 

During the Home Study process, hopeful adoptive parents will review their openness to different situations and conditions such as age, race/ethnicity, prenatal substance exposure, and various health conditions. Willingness to commit to different levels of post-placement contact with birth parents will also be reviewed. When these factors align with circumstances and expressed interest of an expectant parent with whom we are working, the family’s profile will be presented. In general, the broader a family’s adoption preferences, the more frequently their profile will be presented. 

Important note: Because expectant parents select the adoptive family with whom they would like to place their child, it is impossible to predict when an adoption will occur. As such, we do not guarantee placement for any family. 

Please contact Teresa Bernu, Domestic Program Supervisor, at 773.321.0310 or at tbernu@adoptillinois.org with questions regarding the TAP Program.