Domestic Infant Pool Program

To learn more about any of our adoption programs, please complete this short inquiry form and we will send additional information via email.

The Domestic Infant Pool Placement Program (or Pool Program) refers to adoption situations in which our agency is providing services to an expectant parent who wishes to make an adoption plan for their child and they place with one of our Pool families. Occasionally, we will work with a family who has already given birth or who wishes to place an older child but this is not typically the case.   

How do we get matched with a baby? 

Catholic Charities serves woman and families through Pregnancy and Parenting Support programs throughout the Diocese of Arlington. We do this through:  

• Initial assessment and stabilization
• Comprehensive and unbiased pregnancy options counseling
• Ongoing counseling and case management
• Parenting support if the client’s goal is to parent
• Adoption support if the client’s goal is adoption  

If a client is pursuing making an adoption plan for their child, they will select a family from our Domestic Infant Pool of Waiting Families. These families are home study approved and trained to navigate matching, pre-placement, and placement situations. As an agency, we assign a separate worker to the birth parent(s) and to the family, to ensure everyone has an advocate in the process.   

How early will we be matched?

We do not match an expectant parent with a family until the expectant parent is in the third trimester of pregnancy.  Prior to that, we provide ongoing counseling aimed at planning for the baby. If, after ongoing counseling and exploring all options, the client determines adoption is the best option for them and their child, they will be able to select a family. This is done to protect the family from the emotional toll of an early match when things are still uncertain and also to protect the client from any potential pressure or coercion to follow through with the adoption based on feelings of guilt. Remember -- ethical adoptions foster healthy adoptions.   

Do you do closed or open adoptions?

All adoptions through our domestic pool program are open- meaning there is some level of contact between the birth parent(s) and the adoptive family if that is the birth parent(s) desire. This level of contact can range from the family sending annual updates through the agency to ongoing visitation and contact with the birth family. Every adoption situation is different, and the agency will assist the family and birth parent in developing a plan for openness that works for all. We also focus a great deal on preparing for and navigating openness in training, so if this is a concept that is new to you, be sure to wait until training to determine your level of comfort with it.   

What are the benefits of open adoption? 

Open adoption provides benefits to each member of the adoption triad. For the birth parents, it assists in navigating the grief and loss process by seeing evidence of their child thriving and happy in the adoption that they chose for their child and ensures they can be a part of their child’s life, even though chose not to parent.

For the adoptive parents, it provides important links to their child’s birth family and history, gives them opportunities to invest in their child’s self-image and worth by building positive relationships with the child’s birth family, increases their empathy towards birth parents and results in benefits in their relationship with their child.

Adopted children are more satisfied for their identity as being adopted when there is an ongoing relationship with their birth family, it helps them to make sense of their adoption and leads to higher self esteem and increased trust in their adoptive parents.  

Why work with an agency?

Adoption is deeply emotional and complex. Families should choose a licensed and reputable agency to assist in navigating this process with. When it comes to infant adoption especially, there is so much to be cautious of and sadly, there are a great deal of unethical practices that prey on hopeful adoptive families and woman in crisis.

To learn more about choosing an adoption provider, check out our blog: Adoption Options: Who Should We Work With? and be sure to send us an inquiry to get more information about our programs.   

What our families are saying: 

"We chose Catholic Charities because we wanted to be supportive of an agency that had values we supported. We were drawn to CCDA’s overarching mission, and the approach to handling adoption/birthparents more holistically."    

"Catholic Charities has done a great job with the trainings. The speakers are great and informative. We love the family picnic and events!"

“I remain happy that we chose CCDA for our home study as well. I really appreciate how you have made it a process by which we can learn about the adoption journey, ourselves, and our motivations. We have learned and worked through so much as a couple because of this, and I truly feel much better prepared because of it.”  

"We were deeply impressed by the work CCDA does, both helping expectant mothers as well as adoptive families. We especially appreciated how much support was given to birthmothers, whether they ultimately decided to parent, or to create an adoption plan. It was very apparent how selfless their work is."

"Thanks to the training we received at CCDA, we had really gotten to a point of openness in our adoption journey that we could not have imagined when we first set out. We had gotten over a lot of the fear and anxiety of open adoption. This allowed us to keep saying "yes" to having our profile shown to birth moms. There's no way to fully prepare for the emotional demands of the adoption journey. However, our adoption worker and the training we received from other staff members, should have all the credit in getting us to a point of readiness to accept where this journey might take us. We were able to handle all of the good and the challenging parts, and work through it each step of the way. The support and love from CCDA throughout our adoption, and beyond, are the reason we have our son. "

"Thank you so much! It's such a great blessing to have you and the entire Catholic Charities team in our lives. The process seemed so complicated in the beginning, but you guys made each step so easy to understand along the way."  

Additional resources

Policy on Agency Adoptions

Eligibility Requirements 

Explanation of Fees for All Adoption Programs

Client Rights