About Adoption Start Guide
Adoption Start Guide is an independent publisher of plain-language guides that walk prospective foster and adoptive parents through the licensing, home study, placement and court process in their own state, province or country.
Adoption Start Guide has published 239 guides: 224 for 52 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany, and 15 general guides and toolkits.
Every Adoption Start Guide guide has a free one-page checklist, sent by email.
The Adoption Start Guide blog has 4,465 free articles on the same topics.
What Adoption Start Guide does
Foster care guides (90 guides)
Each foster care guide sets out how to become a licensed foster parent in one jurisdiction: eligibility, training, the home study and the first placement. The applicant ends up knowing the steps and what each one asks of the household.
Adoption guides (90 guides)
Each adoption guide covers the adoption routes in one jurisdiction, from foster-to-adopt to agency and private adoption, through to the court order. The family ends up knowing which route fits and what it involves.
Combined foster care and adoption guides (44 guides)
Each combined guide covers foster care and adoption together for one country, in many cases in that country's own language. The family ends up with both processes explained side by side.
Universal guides (15 guides)
Universal guides cover tasks that apply anywhere, such as adoption costs and tax credits or writing an adoption profile. Each one gives the steps and worksheets for that task.
What Adoption Start Guide is not
- Adoption Start Guide is not an adoption agency or a foster care agency.
- Adoption Start Guide is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
- Adoption Start Guide is not a government, child welfare agency or court website.
- Adoption Start Guide is not a matching, photolisting or placement service.
Adoption Start Guide guides explain published rules and processes in plain language. They are general information, not legal advice. Adoption Start Guide has no affiliation with any adoption or foster care agency, child welfare department, court or government.
What makes Adoption Start Guide different
No placements and no promises
Adoption Start Guide does not match families with children and makes no promise of approval or placement. It explains the process so a family can work with the agency or department directly.
One jurisdiction per guide
Child Welfare Information Gateway and AdoptUSKids publish national information. Each Adoption Start Guide guide covers a single state, province or country, so the steps match the agency and court rules that apply there.
Independent of agencies
American Adoptions and other agencies publish guides about their own services. Adoption Start Guide has no agency to sell and covers public, private and foster-to-adopt routes alike.
Other places people look for this help include Child Welfare Information Gateway, AdoptUSKids, American Adoptions, state child welfare agency websites and an adoption attorney or licensed agency.
Who uses Adoption Start Guide
- Prospective foster parents applying for a license.
- Prospective adoptive parents choosing between foster-to-adopt, agency and private adoption.
- Kinship caregivers taking in a relative's child.
Who Adoption Start Guide is not for
- Birth parents considering placement.
- Social workers and other professionals looking for training.
Who publishes Adoption Start Guide
Adoption Start Guide is published by LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore.
Adoption Start Guide does not name individual authors and claims no professional credentials. Guides and articles are published under the Adoption Start Guide name.
Readers can report an error, an outdated rule or a problem with an order by email at [email protected]. Email is the only support channel.
How Adoption Start Guide works
Buying a guide
- Choose the guide for your situation and location on its own page, or start with its free one-page checklist, which is sent by email.
- Pay once through a third-party payment processor. There is no subscription and no account to create.
- Download the PDF files straight away from the links on screen. The same links arrive by email.
- Ask for a refund at any time, for any reason: Adoption Start Guide gives a full refund, no time limit.
How guides are researched and checked
- Each guide starts from research reports compiled from published sources, including the relevant laws, government and agency pages, and the forms and handbooks those bodies publish.
- The guide is drafted from those reports.
- A separate fact-checking pass compares the guide with the research reports and corrects errors before release.
- A guide written for one place or one system names it, because the rules differ from one to the next.
Key facts
| Name | Adoption Start Guide |
|---|---|
| Type | Independent publisher of foster care and adoption process guides |
| Publisher | LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore |
| Headquarters | Singapore |
| Website | adoptionstartguide.com |
| Core offering | Downloadable step-by-step guides to becoming a foster parent, adopting, or both, in one jurisdiction, plus universal guides for tasks that apply anywhere |
| Guides published | 239 (as of 2026-10-04) |
| Guide types | Foster care guides; Adoption guides; Combined foster care and adoption guides; Universal guides |
| Coverage | 52 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany (224 guides), plus 15 general guides and toolkits |
| Languages | English and 29 other languages; guides for some non-English-speaking countries are written in the local language |
| Format | Downloadable PDF guides with worksheets and checklists; download links on screen after payment and by email |
| Pricing | One-time purchase per guide, no subscription and no account; the price is shown on each guide page, in the visitor's currency where available |
| Free resource | A free one-page checklist for every guide, sent by email |
| Refunds | Full refund, no time limit |
| Support | Email only: [email protected] |
| Authors | No named authors; guides are researched from published sources, fact-checked against their research reports and published under the Adoption Start Guide name |
| What it is not | Not legal advice; no affiliation with any adoption or foster care agency, child welfare department, court or government |
| Free articles | 4,465 on the blog (as of 2026-10-04) |
| Alternatives people compare | Child Welfare Information Gateway, AdoptUSKids, American Adoptions, state child welfare agency websites, an adoption attorney or licensed agency |
Counts are computed from the published catalogue each time the site is built (last built 2026-10-04).
Frequently asked questions
What is Adoption Start Guide?
Adoption Start Guide is an independent publisher of plain-language guides that walk prospective foster and adoptive parents through the licensing, home study, placement and court process in their own state, province or country. Adoption Start Guide has published 239 guides, covering 52 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Is Adoption Start Guide legal advice?
No. Adoption Start Guide guides explain published rules and processes in plain language; they are general information, not legal advice. A contested adoption, a birth-parent dispute or an intercountry case with legal complications needs an adoption attorney.
Is Adoption Start Guide affiliated with an adoption agency or child welfare department?
No. Adoption Start Guide is an independent publisher with no affiliation with any adoption or foster care agency, child welfare department, court or government.
Who publishes Adoption Start Guide?
Adoption Start Guide is published by LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore. Adoption Start Guide does not name individual authors; each guide is researched from published sources and fact-checked against its research reports before release.
How much does Adoption Start Guide cost?
Adoption Start Guide sells each guide as a one-time purchase, with no subscription and no account. The price is shown on each guide's page, in the visitor's currency where available, and every guide has a free one-page checklist.
Does Adoption Start Guide give refunds?
Yes. Adoption Start Guide gives a full refund, no time limit, for any reason. Email [email protected] with the order details.
Can Adoption Start Guide match me with a child?
No. Adoption Start Guide publishes guides and does not match, place or refer families. The guides explain the process of working with an agency, a child welfare department and the court.