If you are looking to adopt, you might get a plethora of information online. You may be wondering: how does the adoption process work? There are just so many terms and conflicting information to deal with! Worry not, we will make it simple for you.
One decision to adopt a child can completely change your family’s life. It’s a pleasure for the family members to take care of the child and bring immense happiness into the house.
Around one out of every 25 US families has one adopted child in the family. Before that, it is significant to understand the adoption process completely. Let’s explore more about adoption and different types of adoptions.
What Is Adoption?
Adoption is a process in which the biological parents don’t take care of the child. They are raised by their adoptive parents, to whom the absolute parental rights and responsibilities are transferred. The legal parents have to take care of the eligibility criteria depending upon the adoption process through which they are adopting the child.
How Does The Adoption Process Work
Around 135,000 children are adopted by loving adoptive parents each year in the United States. Everyone has their reason for adoption; however, the core desire is to bring happiness and love into the house. Many couples want to explore parenthood and adopt a child.
It reinforces a healthy relationship between the couples and helps them understand their responsibilities adequately. There are different types of adoptions, and every adoption journey is different. Let’s look at other adoption processes in the US in case you are planning to adopt a child.
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International adoptions
If you want to adopt a child from a foreign country, the process will take time and patience. It won’t be that cheap. You may need to wait for about 1 to 4 years.
The process varies depending on the country in which the child resides. The foreign adoptions in the US declined to 9319 from 19942 from 2007 to 2011.
Hague Convention Countries
If the child’s country belongs to the Hague Convention, then you need to go through the Hague process. You will work with USCIS if you want to adopt a child from Hague country.
When you work with USCIS, you will find an adoption provider in the origin country of the child. You need to get approved as an adopter. Once you find the new member, you must complete all the paperwork and legal work. After this, the child will be recognized by your name and country after the immigration.
Non-Hague Convention Countries
If their country isn’t included in the Hague country list, things may turn out to be slightly different. You have to adopt the child through a separate process called the orphan process. In this process, you have to prove that there is no one to care for and look after the child.
If the parents are alive, you need to explain that they cannot care for the child. The USCIS will analyze whether the information related to child adoption is correct or not before they approve the adoption process.
The charges for foreign adoption are very high. It may cost you between $15,000 to $30,000. The charges may increase depending on the factors like legal fees and paperwork fees of the foreign agent.
Domestic adoption
Domestic adoption is adopting a child with the help of an adoption agency in the US. You need to communicate with the agency, not the child’s parent or foster care system.
The Agencies you choose also play a vital role in the services. The agencies may work in one or all of the United States of America states. Different Agencies provide different services regarding legal advice and step-by-step hand-holding.
The process may take time because of the domestic matching between parents and children. The domestic matching process can be complicated if the child belongs to any other state in the US.
Then the prospective parent needs to fill out an Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC) paperwork. The average cost of domestic adoption can be up to $39966.
You might also like to read: How To Find A Child Given Up For Adoption?
Independent adoption
Independent adoption means that the adoption process is completed without interference from any adoption agency. Communication doesn’t occur between the person who takes care of the child and the prospective adoptive parent.
The process is completed with the help of an adoption attorney. The adoption attorney takes care that everything is above board and legal. The essential aspects like legal representation, handling the money, and paperwork done by the adoption attorney.
Various states of the United States allow adoptive parent to pay the medical charges of the birth mother. However, the law between the states may differ in the costs of the independent adoption, maybe from $8000 to $40000.
Adoption from foster care
Adoption from foster care means adopting a child who has been taken care of by foster care. You need to follow multiple steps to adopt a child. You need to go through free service training and complete a home study.
Your adoption worker will visit your home to assess your intent and capability to adopt a child. It is essential to apply to a local adoption agency that focuses on Foster adoption.
If you want to adopt a child free of cost, you can become a foster parent through public agencies. After that, you must introduce the child to your house before officially adopting them. The local state authorities evaluate the entire process.
Foster children get a monthly subsidy from the state, so there is no burden on the adoptive family. You don’t need to be married, get your own house, or have specific sexuality to adopt a child. The federal law is completely open about all these aspects.
How Adoption Works For Expectant Birth Mothers
When women in the older generation were asked about child adoption, they didn’t want to give the baby up for adoption. In the old adoption, they didn’t know about the family who was adopting the child, the locality where the child would grow up, and its future.
However, in modern adoption, you can check every minute detail of the family which is adopting the child. You can choose the future that you want for your baby.
You might also like to read: How To Become An Adoption Social Worker?
The Adoption Process
Step1: Choose an adoption professional Are all Professionals the same?
The adoption process can be too long and time-consuming, depending on your preferred type of adoption. You need to be more patient if you are adopting from overseas. It is crucial to seek assistance from an adoption agency.
The adoption social worker and adoption agency can help you to a great extent. You need to choose an adoption agency depending upon the adoption professional, as they are different. They might help educate you, provide resources and support you so that you can give your child a great future and life ahead.
They will support you and provide all the essential services. They not only help the adoptive family but also assist the prospective mother.
Suppose you associate with the wrong adoption agency or adoptive professionals. In that case, the process might turn out to become more difficult as you need to tackle different challenges in this process.
Step2: Find the perfect adoption match to create your best future
Birth parents are always worried about the future of their children. But, you can find the best family for your child. Let’s have a glance at how it works.
- Step1: birth families explain all their hopes and the future they want for their kid to the adoption specialist.
- Step2: The adoptive family creates a personal page on social media platforms like Facebook. They can explain how well they can care for their child and look after them.
- Step3: The prospective birth parents will go through the profile of multiple families as long as they are satisfied with it.
Step3: Complete the hospital stay with all the support you need
It might be difficult for the child to be in the hospital. However, during the entire process, the adoptive agencies support a lot. When the baby is born, the legal adoption paperwork can be completed, and the child can be placed into the arms of adoptive parents.
Step4: Finalize the adoption and begin a bright future
The last thing in a successful adoption journey is the finalization process. The finalization hearing takes place anywhere between three months to one years after adoptive placement. Once the finalization is completed, the adoptive parents get all the parental rights and custody of the child.
The legal parents can get all the information and updates about the adoption process and the child. An adoption social worker will support this correspondence in the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the process of adoption hard?
The adoption process can take a long time, and it may be a bit difficult due to various legal and financial aspects. However, the adoption process is a profoundly heart-touching journey for the parents.
How long does it take to adopt a child in the US?
The adoption process can be a more extended period. It may take from multiple months to a year. You must wait for more if you are adopting a child overseas.
What will disqualify you from adopting a child?
You can be disqualified from adopting a child if you are too young or old. Health problems, less financial stability, and criminal background are some other reasons for disqualification from adopting a child.
Wrap Up
Adoption can support a child’s development and encourage the child’s emotional health. You can bring the utmost joy to your family and raise the child with all the satisfaction. It’s essential to understand how the adoption process works.
We have mentioned all the steps of how the adoption process works and what things you need to pay attention to. We thank you for going through our article, and hope that it has helped you figure out the most important details that you needed to know. Let us know if you need any more information on the topic.