Adoption
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Adoption : The Adoption Process
The adoption process legally forms a new parent-child relationship. It gives the adoptive parents the same rights and responsibilities as birth parents, and gives the child being adopted, the adoptee, all the rights and responsibilities of a family member.
Adoptions can take place through one of three means:
- Private Domestic Adoption : An agency acts as an intermediary, bringing together potential adoptive parents and families who want to place a child in the care of others.
- Foster Care Adoption : This is a type of domestic adoption where a child is initially placed in public care; from there they are then placed with their adoptive parents.
- International Adoption : Used when the family wishing to place their child in the care of others are located in a different country to where prospective adoptive parents are being sought.
Each mechanism has slight differences in the way that an adoption takes place but the basic steps of the adoption process, common to all types of adoption, are as follows:
- Select a type of adoption
- Choose an adoption agency
- Undergo a home study / assessment
- Wait for a child to be placed
- Finalize the adoption
The first step in the adoption process is to decide whether to adopt through a private or public agency. As you research these two options, you’ll see that there are advantages and disadvantages to each, the best one for you being dependent on your personal circumstances.
Whichever type of agency you opt for, they will likely invite you to attend an orientation. There you will learn about their adoption process in detail and will be given the opportunity to ask specific questions. When the orientation is complete, you’ll be given an application to complete and return to them.
It’s recommended that you attend more than one agency's orientation so as to be in a position to fairly compare the differing procedures and philosophies. Doing so will allow you to get a sense of which agency you will be most comfortable working with.
After your application has been reviewed and accepted by your chosen agency, you’ll need to complete a home study. The purpose of this step of the adoption process is to assess the environment the child will be brought up in and to help you prepare for the arrival of the child.
You will be required to have a physical exam and undergo a background check. The home study will also include meetings with a social worker and some discussions between yourself and other adoptive families. The average time for the completion of the home study assessment is 2 to 3 months.
The period of waiting to find a suitable child varies significantly as adoptive parents and birthmothers must be matched according to the requirements of both the adoptive parents and the birthmothers. As a guide though, if you are adopting a Caucasian newborn, many agencies have a waiting list of at least two years. Adopting a child of another race may reduce the waiting period to around a year.
Once a suitable child has been found you will undergo a probationary period of adoption during which the child lives with you full-time. After the child has been in your home for at least six months, and the social worker has submitted a recommendation for approval, a judge will finalize the adoption by awarding the adoptive parents all legal rights and responsibilities.