Adoption

Adoption is the social, emotional, and legal process in which children who will not be raised by their birth parents become full and permanent legal members of another family while maintaining genetic and psychological connections to their birth family. Adoption has many facets and touches people in different ways—depending on their role and perspective.

Types of Adoption

• Foster Care.  These are children whose birthparents cannot care for them and whose parental rights have been terminated.  The children are temporarily in foster or group homes while preparing for adoption. 

• Foster-to-Adopt. This is a form of adoption where a child will be placed in your home for your family to foster, but with the expectation that they will become legally free and available to be adopted by you.

• Infant adoption. There are more people pursuing infant adoption than there are infants available to be adopted. Many people who want infants will try to adopt through an intermediary such as a lawyer, physician, or other facilitator rather than through a licensed adoption agency.  This is known as independent adoption which is legal in most (but not all) states.

• Independent adoption. There is usually no counseling for birth parents, and the infants are not usually eligible for financial assistance for any special needs that may not have been noticeable at birth. It is also possible to adopt an infant through a public or private agency, but there may be a long wait before a child is identified for you.