Vicki Carlson There are many different types of adoptions available to prospective birth and adoptive parents. The best one for your family will depend upon your family’s circumstances and needs.
Adopting Foster Children
Children who have been removed from parents who can not care from them are often placed into foster care, which is intended to be a temporary living situation. If you are interested in adopting a child from a foster home, you may be able to find more information from an adoption facilitating service in your area.
Fost-Adopt
In this type of adoption, a child is first placed in your home as a foster child. However, rather than intending this to be a temporary living arrangement, the expectation is that the child will eventually be legally adopted by you.
Infant Adoption
In infant adoption, the legal guardianship of the child is transferred directly from the birth parent to the adoptive parent or parents while the child is an infant without the need for a period of fostering. Infant adoptions are usually the most difficult because more people want to adopt infants than there are infants who need to be adopted.
Closed Adoption
When a closed adoption is chosen, no information about the birth or adoptive parents is exchanged between the two parties and there is no contact between them after the adoption is complete. Once the adoption is finalized, the records are sealed. Depending upon the laws of the state, these records may or may not be available to the adopted child once they reach the age of 18.
Open Adoption
If the parties agree to open adoption, some information may be exchanged and some contact, such as sending letters or pictures, may be allowed after the adoption is complete. This type of adoption is more common in situations where the child or children involved are older and may already know who their birth parents and siblings are and desire continued contact with them.
Adopting a Stepchild, Relative or Adult
In some cases, families may wish to adopt a child or adult who is known to them, such as a stepchild or grandchild. The laws of the state where the adoption occurs govern the specifics of how these adoptions are handled.
If you are considering adopting a child, there are many adoption options open to you. An adoption professional can help you select the best option for your family’s needs.
