Meeting the Legal Requirements of Adoption
There are several steps you must complete in order to be approved to adopt. They include a home study, writing a dossier, going through a background check, and assembling all the paperwork you need to present to the judge who will finalize the adoption.
Public and private adoption agencies have their own internal idiosyncrasies — all of which are supervised by the state where their offices are located. You can find a great deal of information about state laws by accessing
Be aware that the U.S. federal government and each of the fifty states have their own laws and regulations governing the adoptive relationship, and foreign countries are even more complicated. Therefore, the required forms will vary considerably, but there are certain general prerequisites, described below.
This document is required by every state and country; it is designed to ensure that you are who you say you are. A background check usually requires you to go to your local police department for fingerprinting and to fill out a Background Screening Application. The BSA requires a photocopy of your driver's license and or passport. A criminal records check will be run as well. If you have lived in your resident state less than three years, on average, you may also be asked for a clearance from your previous state. A fee is normally charged for these checks. Things will get more complicated if you were born outside of the United States or lived abroad more than sixty days in any calendar year. In that case, you'll have to rely on your agency or an adoption attorney to direct you.
This autobiography will help your agency understand who you are and which child would best suit you. Try to enjoy writing this very important document, because it can give you great insight into yourself and your motivations. Describe your childhood, where you lived, your relationship with your parents, and people who influenced the direction of your life. You should also be specific about your parenting philosophy and what you feel you would offer a child. Photos from your childhood, as well as your life right now, should illustrate what's important to you. These can be very effective in gaining the attention of those who will decide which child will be yours.
If you are planning to adopt a baby from a birth mother or private agency, you will probably also need to write a Dear Birth Mother Letter, which is a shorter version of your biography. Some parents also put together scrapbooks for the birth mother to look through. None of these are legal requirements, but if you are searching for a birth mother to pick you, they might be worthwhile.
You will likely have to attach a birth certificate and a marriage certificate, if applicable. You will need to include information about your salary, job, friends, religion, activities, and hobbies.
The dossier also contains letters of reference from acquaintances, business associates, clergy, and others. In addition, you will have to provide a medical form signed by a licensed physician that attests to your physical and mental health.
This study is done by a social worker who visits your home and summarizes information from your biography. It helps your agency visualize the place where you live, determine if it's suitable for a child of a particular age, and determine if you are able to care for a child.
You will have at least two interviews with the social worker conducting the study. The first interview usually takes place in the social worker's office and the second in your home. Among other things, your social worker will require a floor plan of your home, an emergency exit strategy, and a safety inspection.
Adoption agencies look for your home to be clean and safe. Exactly what “clean and safe” means can vary by agency. Most social workers will have a checklist that they fill out during home studies. If you're looking to adopt an infant or child under five, that list will be different from the requirements for older children and teens. Ask your agency or professional for a copy of the checklist in advance. Don't get too upset about this checklist; no one expects you to have a fully furnished nursery or preschooler room ready to go or a completely childproofed home. Very few people are rejected based on the home study.
Keep things in perspective when it comes to your home study. Don't get bogged down with worry about too many details. Vacuuming and dusting before the social worker arrives is probably appropriate, but having the house repainted or remodeled is probably not.
Some adoption agencies have health codes that require your house to have a minimum square footage for each member of the family, which might necessitate enlarging your living room or adding on a bedroom. However, many agencies are only concerned that the house is large enough to allow separate bedrooms for boys and girls. In addition, each child should have her own bed, but you don't have to have walk-in closets and attached baths. The requirements are very basic and simple, and your agency will work with you to solve any problems.
Once you've completed all the paperwork and have a child selected for you, you will need to work through the courts to get your adoption finalized. The birth parents or state will need to give legal consent for the adoption. In some states, a birth mother has the option of revoking her consent within a certain time period, so you may have to wait through that as well. If you are adopting a child that was an at-risk placement, you will have to wait for parental rights to be terminated. If you are adopting internationally, you will have to work through the foreign court and meet immigration requirements before bringing your child home and beginning an adoption proceeding in your home state. Remember that the court process is not a trial in any way. The court wants to finalize your adoption, and must simply be sure that all legalities are met.
