This handbook covers all aspects of adoption proceedings and addresses all types of adoptions including same-sex adopting parents, surrogacy, intercountry, special needs, transracial, DCFS, and unique situations. Adoption court procedures specific to Cook County are addressed. A new chapter added to this edition specifically addresses the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act.
General Editor — Genie Miller Gillespie, Gillespie Law Group, LLC, Chicago
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — Genie Miller Gillespie, Gillespie Law Group, LLC, Chicago
Chapter 1 — Basic Concepts of Adoption
Cailee J. Alderman, López Law Group, P.C., Chicago
Chapter 2 — Sample Adoption Forms
Diane E. López, López Law Group, P.C., Chicago
Chapter 3 — Adoption Court Procedures — Cook County
Hon. Maureen Ward Kirby, County Division, Circuit Court of Cook County, Chicago
Chapter 4 — Court Procedures - Collar Counties and Other Parts of the State
Sheila A. Maloney, Sheila A. Maloney Attorney at Law, Downers Grove, and Robert R. Parker, Parker & Parker, Peoria
Chapter 5 — Agency Adoptions
Genie Miller Gillespie, Gillespie Law Group, LLC, Chicago
Chapter 6 — Independent or Private Adoptions
Sheila A. Maloney, Sheila A. Maloney Attorney at Law, Downers Grove
Chapter 7 — Related Adoptions
Genie Miller Gillespie, Gillespie Law Group, LLC, Chicago
Chapter 8 — Adoptions of Children in Care
Christina M. Schneider, IL Department of Children & Family Services, Office of Legal Services, Chicago
Chapter 9 — Adult Adoptions
Shelley B. Ballard, Shelley B. Ballard, PC, Chicago
Chapter 10 — Intercountry Adoptions: Avoiding Procedural Pitfalls and Common Problems
Genie Miller Gillespie, Gillespie Law Group, LLC, Diane E. López, Esq., López Law Group, P.C., Kathleen M. Vannucci, Robert D. Ahlgren and Associates, and Jane Turner, Adoption Center of Illinois at Family Resource Center, Chicago
Chapter 11 — Interstate Adoptions: Avoiding Procedural Pitfalls and Common Problems
Shelley B. Ballard, Shelley B. Ballard, P.C., Chicago
Chapter 12 — Transracial Adoptions
Michelle M. Hughes, Law Offices of Michelle M. Hughes, P.C., Chicago
Chapter 13 — Standby Adoptions
Linda S. Coon, Linda S Coon, Attorney at Law, Chicago
Chapter 14 — Open and Closed Adoptions
Denise J. Patton, Law Office of Denise J. Patton, Palatine
Chapter 15 — Contested Adoption Proceedings
Clarke M. Gillespie, Gillespie Law Group, LLC, Chicago
Chapter 16 — Revocation of Parental Consents and Surrenders
Christopher S. Haaff, Law Office of Christopher Haaff, Crystal Lake
Chapter 17 — Family-Building through Traditional Surrogacy and Gestational Carrier Surrogacy Arrangements
Nidhi S. Desai, Desai and Miller, Chicago
Chapter 18 — The Indian Child Welfare Act
Tiffany Arrott Horstein, Family Forward Law, LLC, Chicago
Chapter 19 — Financial and Practical Issues
Jenny R. Jeltes, Law Office of J. Jeltes, Ltd., and Judith Hannah, Law Office of Judith Hannah, Chicago
Chapter 20 — Health Problems in Adoption
Dr. Todd Ochs, Pediatrician, Chicago
Chapter 21 — Consumer Protection in Illinois Adoption Law
Robert R. Parker, Parker & Parker, Peoria
Chapter 22 — Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act
Genie Miller Gillespie, Gillespie Law Group, LLC, and Christina M. Schneider, IL Department of Children & Family Services, Office of Legal Services, Chicago