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Adoption: Where Do I Start?
Series: Factsheets for Families |
Author(s):
Child Welfare Information Gateway
|
Year Published: 2010 |
This factsheet is an introduction to the many paths to building your family through adoption. It will give you an understanding of the basics in any adoption process and guide you to resources at each step.
- Step 1: Educate yourself
- Step 2: Understand the law
- Step 3: Explore your options/Select an agency
- Step 4: Complete a home study
- Step 5: Engage in the placement process
- Step 6: File necessary legal documents
- Step 7: Parent your child
- Additional resources
Step 1: Educate Yourself
What You Should Know
Many resources exist to help prospective adoptive parents educate themselves about adoption.
- Local community colleges, adoption exchanges, adoption agencies, hospitals, religious groups, and other organizations may offer adoption preparation programs.
- Adoptive parent support groups often are willing to assist people considering adoption. In addition, regional adoption exchanges, local agencies, and State Adoption Program Managers can send you information to help get you started.
There are also many books, magazines, and websites on this topic; some are listed at the end of this factsheet.
Some Places to Go
To learn more about what to expect when pursuing specific types of adoption, see the Child Welfare Information Gateway factsheet Adoption Options. You can also check the resources listed at the end of this document.
The National Foster Care & Adoption Directory allows users to search for adoption resources in every State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist families in their pursuit of adoption.
Step 2: Understand the Law
What You Should Know
State laws and regulations govern U.S. adoptions. Learning about the adoption laws in your State, or any States involved with your adoption, can smooth the process and help you avoid frustrating situations.
Some Places to Go
The State Statutes Search on the Information Gateway website highlights adoption topics and provides a brief overview and summaries of State laws on each topic. Information regarding who may adopt, timeframes for consent and revocation of consent to adoption, termination of parental rights laws, and more are provided in the database and can be searched by State, Territory, or region.
In many States, the process to adopt a stepchild is different from other kinds of adoption. To learn more about the legal issues involved, see the Information Gateway factsheet Stepparent Adoption.
Step 3: Explore Your Options/Select an Agency
What You Should Know
Families wishing to adopt have many options. The following is one way to think about how choices in adoption may flow from one another:
- Where will our family's child come from? (Domestic or intercountry adoption?)
- If we adopt domestically, what type of adoption is best for our family? (Public agency, licensed private agency, independent, or facilitated/unlicensed agency adoption?)
- If we choose intercountry adoption, what country will our child come from? (Hague Convention or non-Hague Convention country? See box below.)
The way you choose to adopt will depend on the characteristics of the child you wish to adopt, how long you are willing to wait for your child, and other concerns.
Some Places to Go
For more information, see the Information Gateway factsheet Adoption Options.If you choose to adopt a child from another country, you will need to know whether the country from which you plan to adopt is a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Countries that are parties to the Hague Convention have specific requirements for the adoption process, including the home study, parent training and eligibility, applicable forms, and more. The mission of the Hague Convention is to safeguard the children and parents involved in the adoption process.
- The U.S. Department of State website lists countries that are parties to the Hague Convention.
- Information Gateway's factsheet Intercountry Adoption From Hague Convention and Non-Hague Convention Countries provides more information on this topic.
Step 4: Complete a Home Study
What You Should Know
No matter which type of adoption you choose to pursue, all prospective adoptive parents must have a home study or family study. A home study involves education, preparation, and gathering information about the prospective adoptive parents. This process can take from 2 to 10 months to complete, depending on agency waiting lists and training requirements. States vary regarding home study requirements, so you should check with your State Adoption Program to learn the specific regulations in your State. Intercountry adoption may carry special home study requirements, depending on the country and agency involved.
Some Places to Go
The Information Gateway factsheet The Adoption Home Study Process provides more information about what is generally included in a home study. The National Foster Care & Adoption Directory lists public adoption agencies in each State and Territory.Step 5: Engage in the Placement Process
What You Should Know
Once your home study is completed, you are ready to begin the placement process—the time when a specific child is identified for your family. Depending on the type of adoption you are pursuing, the characteristics of the child or children you are seeking, and a variety of other factors, this process and the time involved in waiting for your child can vary greatly.
- If you are pursuing a foster care adoption, you may review information about a number of children who are waiting for families. Your agency may have adoption events, a photolisting service, TV or video segments describing waiting children, or other ways to let you know about available children waiting for families. You can also view waiting children at the national photolisting website. You will often have the opportunity for preplacement visits to get to know a child before he or she moves into your home. Your family may also be able to serve as a resource, foster, or concurrent planning family, working with the agency to support the child's return to his or her birth family as well as being considered as a potential permanent family for the child if reunification does not occur.
- If you are pursuing adoption through a licensed private agency, the expectant parents may select your family from among several prospective adoptive families.
- If you are pursuing an independent adoption, an attorney or facilitator may help you identify expectant parents, or you may locate them on your own if allowed by State law.
- If you are pursuing intercountry adoption, you may review information about your prospective child and may have the opportunity to meet your child in his or her placement setting (foster home or orphanage).
Some Places to Go
Information Gateway's Obtaining Background Information on Your Prospective Adoptive Child provides suggestions for obtaining a child's medical, social, and educational history.
Foster Parents Considering Adoption, also from Information Gateway, outlines considerations in this type of adoption.
Information Gateway's Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? provides more information on the placement process when adopting a child from another country.
Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements provides summaries of State laws regulating the use of advertising and facilitators in private placements.
Most adoptions of children from foster care are handled by public child welfare agencies. The national online photolisting at AdoptUsKids provides pictures and general descriptions of children in foster care around the country who are waiting for families.
Information Gateway publishes resource lists of links to photolisting services in each State:
Step 6: File Necessary Legal Documents
What You Should Know
All domestic adoptions need to be finalized in court. The process varies from State to State. Generally a child must have lived with the adoptive family for at least 6 months before the adoption can be legally finalized. During this time, a social worker may visit several times to ensure the child is well cared for and to write up the required court reports. After this period, the agency (or attorney in an independent adoption) will submit a written recommendation of approval of the adoption to the court. You or your attorney can then file with the court to complete the adoption.
For intercountry adoptions, the actual adoption procedure is just one of a series of required legal processes. In addition to the laws of your State, you must also follow the laws of the child's country of origin and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requirements. If you adopt from a country that participates in the Hague Convention, the process carries further requirements to safeguard the parties involved. The process to finalize the adoption depends on the type of intercountry adoption, the type of visa the child has, and the laws in your State.
Some Places to Go
The National Foster Care & Adoption Directory provides an attorney referral service for each State.Two Information Gateway factsheets provide more information about finalization of intercountry adoptions:
- Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?
- Intercountry Adoption From Hague Convention and Non-Hague Convention Countries
Step 7: Parent Your Child
What You Should Know
The final, and most important, step in the adoption process is to be a parent to your adopted child. Adoption is a lifelong process. Your family, like many families, may need support adjusting to life with your new child. Your family and your child may have additional questions at different developmental stages.
Some Places to Go
Read more in the Parenting After Adoption section of the Information Gateway website. This includes information about:
- Parenting adopted children of different ages
- Adoption and school issues
- Transitioning from foster to adoptive parenting
- Parenting a child who has been sexually abused
- Postadoption services
- Selecting and working with an adoption therapist
Additional Resources
General Adoption
Adopting.com
Extensive index of adoption resources on the Internet
Adoptive Families Magazine
Bimonthly information source for families before, during, and after adoption
How to Make Adoption an Affordable Option (PDF - 2274 KB)
Booklet from the National Endowment for Financial Education (current through 2004)
Pediatricians With a Special Interest in Adoption and Foster Care Medicine (PDF - 52 KB)
Nationwide listing from the American Academy of Pediatrics of physicians and clinics specializing in assessments of international adopted people
Domestic Adoption
Insight: Open Adoption Resources & Support
Resources and support for families involved in open adoptions
Openness in Adoption: A Factsheet for Families
A factsheet to help you decide if open adoption is right for your family
Foster Care Adoption
State Child Welfare Agency Websites
Contains links to State child welfare agency websites in all 50 States and the District of Columbia
AdoptUsKids
National photolisting service of children in foster care waiting for families
Intercountry Adoption
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (click on Adoption)
Downloadable forms and frequently asked questions about intercountry adoptions
U.S. Department of State
Publications, news and statistics, factsheets, information on the Hague Convention, and country-specific information
The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption
The full text of the May 1993 convention
Joint Council on International Children's Services
Membership organization that sets standards, conducts legislative advocacy, and provides country-specific adoption information
State Recognition of Intercountry Adoptions Finalized Abroad
More information about States' laws on intercountry adoption finalization
Kinship Adoption
Kinship Caregivers and the Child Welfare System: A Factsheet for Families
The benefits, barriers, and resources for kinship placements, including subsidized guardianships
Kinship/Relative Care
Linked list of organizations and resources for grandparents raising grandchildren
AARP Grandparent Information Center
Information about being a good grandparent, visitation rights, and raising grandchildren
State Factsheets for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children
State-by-State information about kinship care
Generations United
Programs, trainings, resources, public policy, and events of interest to grandparents and other relatives raising children
Tools for Working With Kinship Caregivers (PDF - 130 KB)
Training materials, handbooks, assessment tools, links, and publications from the Casey National Center for Resource Family Support
Special Circumstances
Military Families and Adoption: A Fact Sheet for Families
Answers to questions about adoption often asked by military families
Stepparent Adoption
Factsheet explaining the steps involved in stepparent adoption
Transracial/Transcultural Families
Resources for professionals and families who have adopted or are considering adopting transracially or transculturally
Adoption Publishers/Booksellers
Adopting.org (online)
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