Adoption In Missouri, Explained By People Who Are Actually Licensed Here

Here is something nobody tells you when you start looking into adoption in Missouri: a number of the websites you are about to read are run by organizations that cannot legally do anything for you in Missouri.

We can. Adoption & Beyond has been licensed by the Missouri Department of Social Services since 1998, and by the Kansas Department for Children and Families for just as long. Same agency, both states, no handoffs.

You are probably here for one of two reasons. Let us sort that out first.

If You Are Pregnant and Considering Adoption

Nothing on this page commits you to anything. Not a phone call, not a form, not a decision.

Everything we provide to expecting parents in Missouri is free. Counseling. Help understanding every option, including the option to parent. Material assistance. Someone with you at the hospital if you want that. Support that continues long after placement, not just until the paperwork clears.

You choose the family. You choose how much ongoing contact you want. You can change your mind.

Support For Expecting Parents

If You Want to Adopt

You need a home study. That is true in all fifty states and there is no way around it, so let us not pretend otherwise. What varies enormously is how much the process costs you in sanity.

We are licensed to complete home studies in Missouri for domestic, international, private, embryo, and foster care adoptions. We typically finish our portion in about 60 days. We publish our fees on our website, all of them, because you should not have to schedule a call to find out what something costs.

 

Missouri Adoption Home Study | Adoption Costs In Missouri

What Missouri Adoption Actually Involves

Missouri handles adoptions through the circuit court system, which works differently from Kansas district courts in ways that matter if you live near the state line and half your paperwork is on the wrong side of it.

If you live in Missouri, you need a Missouri-licensed provider for your home study. Not a Kansas one. Not a national organization with a Missouri-sounding name. A provider actually licensed by MO DSS. Ask any professional you talk to for their license number and licensing state, including us. Ours is Missouri Adoption License #00124113.

Steps, in order, without the fluff
Every adoption is its own story, so treat this as the shape of the process rather than a schedule. But this is the actual order of operations in Missouri.
  1. Home study. A licensed provider assesses your family and produces a written report. Missouri requires this before a child can be placed with you, not after. We typically complete our portion in about 60 days.
  2. Waiting and matching. If you are working through a full-service program, this is the stretch with no deadline attached to it, which is the hardest part for most families. Nobody can tell you how long it lasts.
  3. Placement. Missouri does not allow the birth mother’s consent to be signed until the baby is at least 48 hours old. That waiting period exists to protect the expectant parent’s decision, and it is not negotiable or waivable.
  4. Transfer of custody. This is the step that surprises families coming from other states. In Missouri, a court has to enter an order transferring custody to you. Your attorney files that petition, and the court appoints a guardian ad litem to represent your child’s interests. Your sworn accounting of every adoption expense is filed with the court and reviewed again before finalization.
  5. Post-placement supervision. Your caseworker visits at least quarterly and stays in monthly contact between visits, reporting to the court. Missouri requires your child to be in your lawful and actual custody for at least six months before a judge will finalize.
  6. Finalization. A hearing, usually brief, where the judge reviews the guardian ad litem’s recommendation, the post-placement reports, and an updated financial affidavit, then signs the decree. Families often bring extended family and take photos. It is a good day.
  7. New birth certificate. The court certifies the decree to Missouri Vital Records, the original certificate is sealed, and a new one is issued naming you as your child’s parents.
If you live in one state and your child is born in another, add the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children to this list. It is a required approval before you can travel home, and it is the single most common reason placements sit longer than families expect.

The Part Where Most Pages Get Vague About Money

We are not going to do that.

Adoption costs money. Domestic infant adoption in particular costs real money, and the range published across the industry is wide enough to be almost useless as guidance. What we can tell you is that our fees are published, itemized, and do not grow surprise line items halfway through.

 

Adoption Costs In Missouri

Our Missouri Team

Adoption is a relationship business dressed up as a paperwork business. So here is who you would actually work with.

Michelle Crain, LMSW, covers St. Louis and eastern and central Missouri.

Shannon Wilson, LCSW, covers southwestern Missouri.

Kelly Ware, LBSW, and Shawna Super, LBSW, cover the Kansas City metro on both sides of the state line.

Steffany Aye, LCSW in Missouri and LSCSW in Kansas, founded the agency in 1998 and is an adoptive parent herself.

Why Families Choose Us Over a National Agency

We are a boutique on purpose. We cap home study enrollment at six families a month, which is either a feature or a frustration depending on the week, but it means nobody here is a case number.

We have served over 8,000 families and completed over 7,000 home studies since 1998. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Hague accredited, and we are still answering our own phone.

Talk To Us. No Cost, No Pressure.
Start Your Missouri Home Study

FAQ

Are you licensed in Missouri?
Yes. Missouri Adoption License #00124113, through the Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division. We are also licensed in Kansas, license #36622-4, through the Kansas Department for Children and Families.
Your main corporate office is in Kansas. Do I have to drive to Overland Park?
No. Your home study visits happen at your home, wherever you are in Missouri. Everything else, paperwork, training, consultations, runs through phone, video, and your online portal. The only reason to visit us is if you want to.
Do you charge expecting parents anything?
No. Not for counseling, not for support, not ever.
Can you complete my home study if I am already matched or working with another professional?
Yes. Whether you are with another agency, working with an adoption attorney, or matched privately, we can complete your home study and handle post-placement supervision.
How long does a Missouri home study take?
Our portion typically takes about 60 days. The full timeline also depends on how quickly background checks clear and references respond.

Last reviewed: September 2026