Adoption - The Legal Process

Adoption creates a new and permanent family for a child. The adoption process takes place in a courtroom with a judge. The adoptive parent or parents are given all the rights and responsibilities of a biological family member.

Before the parents are given the rights to the child, the court decides if the biological or placing parents have legally, with full understanding, either voluntarily given up their parental rights or the rights have been terminated by the court. Either one of these actions - the cutting away of the biological or placing parents' rights and the conference of parental rights on the adoptive parents, will finalize the process. Both actions may be done at the same time.

The judge reviews information about the child, the biological parents and the adopting parents during the finalization of the court hearing. The information that is reviewed can include some of the following:

Whether the adopting parents and the child are suited for each other
Reports about the adopting parents and placing the child with them.
Notes and recommendations from the case workers.

Some of the people that may attend the finalization hearing may include:

Adopting parent(s)
The adopting parent(s) attorney
Biological or placing parent(s)
The biological parent(s) or placing parent(s) attorney
The child or children to be adopted
The child's case worker
Case worker of the adoptive parent(s)
Biological or placing parents' case worker or advocate

The judge may ask questions of all parties, including the child or children if they are old enough to communicate. The judge will then make his/her decision and approve or disapprove the petition to adopt.

If the judge approves the adoption, it is finalized and an Adoption Decree is issued.

In the US, when the adoption is finalized, the child's name is legally changed and the child receives an amended birth certificate on which the adoptive parent(s)' name replaces that of the biological or placing parent(s) and the child's birth name is replaced with his/her new name.

All documents and the original birth certificate are sealed and not usually available to the parties of the adoption, as per the state law in the US.

When adopting from other countries, the laws and regulations of the countries involved are observed as well as the laws and regulations of the US.

People Who Can Adopt

People who adopt may be married or single and already have children or may be childless at the time of the adoption.
A person that adopts a child may have a disability; this does not disqualify you from adopting. However, agencies want to ensure that a person can care for a child and meet the child's needs.
If a person is divorced this does not automatically disqualify them from adoption.
A person that adopts does not have to own their own home or have a high income in as long as they meet the needs of the child - permanence, stability, a lifetime commitment and a chance to be part of a family.

One does not have to be a perfect parent to adopt. The child needs caring and committed parent(s) who are willing to meet their needs and to incorporate them into a nurturing family environment.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Adoption