After you’ve decided to start the process of adopting a child, there are several things that need to be done. If you’re new at this, keep in mind that some of these steps may take months or years before being completed.
It’s important not to become discouraged during this process. And remember, if you decide later on down the road that this isn’t for you, it is possible to stop the adoption process at any point without any legal repercussions.
What are the steps needed to adopt a child? When thinking about starting the process of adopting a child, here are some things that need to be considered before you go full steam ahead with the process:
1. Are you able to financially support a child? When adopting, both the prospective parents need to have stable jobs and be able to support themselves before being approved for adoption. Additionally, any debts or other financial obligations that are currently in place will need to be taken care of first.
2. What kind of adopted child are you looking for? There are many different types of adoptions available depending on what your preferences are. If you’re interested in legally making the child part of your family permanently, then consider an open adoption.
With this option contact between the birth parents and adoptive parents is allowed by law after all fees have been paid by the adoptive parent(s). If you prefer to remain completely anonymous with no type of communication whatsoever with the birth then you can do a closed adoption.
With this option, the birth parents will not be told of the adoptive parents’ information or what they look like. The child can only be contacted at age 18 if they so choose to do so by law.
3. What are you willing to consider? Some adoptive parents accept children with disabilities while others may reject children with certain conditions due to personal preferences or financial limitations.
If you’re open on what type of child you’d like, then include that in your profile for adoption agencies and social workers to see – it won’t work against your favor because everyone has different expectations on what an “ideal” child is like.
4. Who’s going to do all the paperwork? You don’t have to! Once you’ve chosen an adoption agency, they’ll take care of all the legal paperwork for you! All that’s left to your part is providing your medical records, personal information, and background check.
5. Will it be expensive? It depends! It can cost anywhere between $15,000 – 25,000 USD which includes health screenings, housing accommodations for birth moms, counseling sessions, and other necessities.
If you decide to adopt through foster care the costs will be less and it can also be a shorter wait as you can bring your child home because there are always kids waiting in foster homes until an adoptive family has been found.
6. What are the steps needed to adopt a child?
a. The first step is talking with an adoption agency, whether you want to adopt through foster care or private adoption they’ll take care of all the legal paperwork for you! All that’s left to your part is providing your medical records, personal information, and background check.
b. The second step will be filling out your court papers, which include proving paternity of the child if not obvious (which is usually done via DNA test), signing over custody rights from the parent(s) to adoptive parents, and picking who can get information about the child after he/she has been adopted.
c. The third step requires social workers or counselors to have meetings with everyone involved in the adoption process. This ensures that everyone is doing this for all the right reasons.
d. The fourth and final step is living with your adoptive child or children before making it official. This allows the child to get familiar with their new parents and feel secure in their home, as well as see just what kind of people they’re going to be living with.
If the child’s old enough, it also gives them time to process everything and ask questions about how things will work out before signing adoption papers officially bringing them into a new family.
There you have it, a simple but clear outline of what the adoption process can be like. The biggest aspect will probably be funding, but there are many agencies that you can work with that will guide you in the right direction.
