Adoption, at its very core, is a deeply emotional topic.
Whether the motivation to adopt is based on infertility, or a God-given call to bring an orphan or vulnerable child into your family, there is a chasm of deep seeded emotions involved before you ever begin the adoption process.
It is not uncommon for couples to consider the thought of adoption for many years, prior to taking the first steps towards their own personal adoption journey.
This passing of time, prior to adoption, can stem from the lingering hope of biological children, spouses not being on the same page or simply not knowing the first steps to take to bringing a child into their family.
This series of articles is designed to address 5 Key Challenges many couples face when considering adoption.
Commonly speaking, women tend to be ready for adoption much sooner than their husbands.
So even though the common agreement to pursue adoption is one of the key challenges many couples face, we are going to proceed with this article as though our couples have mutually agreed to proceed towards adoption.
Mutual agreement on adoption does not necessarily guarantee smooth sailing towards the adoption goal. It only leads us to the first challenge and decision many couples face.
What Type of Adoption Should We Pursue?
TYPES OF ADOPTION
Domestic Adoption
- Foster to Adopt:
This is a form of adoption where a child will be placed in your home as a foster child, with the expectation that he/she will become legally free and available to be adopted by the foster parents.
- Private / Independent Adoption:
Prospective adoptive parents in Private or Independent Adoptions are advised by an adoption attorney, instead of working with an adoption agency. You will want to check with your state to determine if a private or independent adoption is allowed.
- Agency Adoption:
Agency adoptions involve the placement of a child with adoptive parents by a public or private agency licensed or regulated by the state.
Public agencies generally place children who have become wards of the state for reasons abandonment, neglect or abuse.
Private agencies are sometimes run by charities or social service organizations. Children placed through private agencies are usually brought to the agency by a parent or parents who have or are expecting a child they want to give up for adoption.
- International Adoption:
International Adoption is where an individual or couple becomes the legal and permanent parents of a child who is a naturalized citizen of a foreign country. An international adoption is also referred to as Intercountry Adoption or Transnational Adoption. In such an adoption, the prospective adoptive parents must meet the legal adoption requirements of their country of residence and also of the country whose nationality the child holds.
- Hague Adoptions
International adoptions in many countries are regulated by The Hague Conventionon Protection of Children. The Hague provides guidelines to agencies in order to protect the best interests of internationally adopted children. It will be important to check with your adoption agency to determine if the country you are interested in adopting from, is a Hague Country.
In Part 2 of our series we will be tackling these two critical challenges:
- The absolute first person you need to talk to about the adoption process (other than your spouse, of course)
- How much money you really need in order to qualify for approval from an adoption agency (it depends, so this will be very valuable information)
