What Is Required to Adopt a Child?
Adoption is a wonderful option for many reasons; it provides people who cannot have children of their own an opportunity to have a family, it gives those who were adopted an opportunity to give that same love to another adopted child and it provides an alternative method of starting a family for those who do not want to have children naturally. However there are many requirements that need to be met before a couple can take home their adopted child. Some of these requirements are set in stone and have no flexibility while others may vary due to circumstance. Before considering adoption, it is always good to know what these requirements are so you can prepare ahead of time.
State Requirements
Each county has their own set of requirements for prospective adopters and these requirements will vary from state to state. They are generally imposed by the county in which the adoptive parents reside. There are some states that will allow an adoption to take place in their courts by nonresidents of their state, but this a rare event. For the most part, this requirement is not one that is flexible and cannot be modified.
Agency Requirements
The requirements of the adoption agencies will vary according to agencies and their requirements go above the state requirements. There are many variables for which the agency bases their requirements on and they include the economic resources of the agency, the organizations that support the agency, the types of adoptions the agency handles and the philosophy of the agency. There are always valid reasons for the requirements the agency has in place, and a couple interested in adopting should look around for the agency that best meets their needs.
Birthparent Requirements
Birth parents are now playing a large role in choosing a family for their unborn child due to an increase in the number of open adoptions taking place. Because of this, they may have their own requirements which need to be met before an adoption can take place. In these situations, they can impose any requirements they choose; however, the adopters are free to walk away from the prospective adoption if they feel the birth parents are being unreasonable. In cases when a child is being adopted from a public agency, the birth parents have usually had their parental rights revoked by a court, which means they will have no requirements to impose on the adoptive parents.
Marital Requirements
Though there are single-parent adoptions, it is usually easier to adopt a child if you are married. Both the adoption agency and the birth parents feel that the child will receive more care, attention and support from two parents versus one. If you are married, the general length of marriage required is three years. In cases where the adoptive parents were previously married to someone else and it is their second marriage, they simply need to prove that their marriage is stable and that they both agree to the adoption.
Age Requirements
Most agencies have a minimum age requirement of 18 and a maximum age requirement of 40. Some require that the parents be at least 20 years older than the child and no more than 40 years older than the child. There are some agencies who will allow older adults adopt, provided they are physically fit and active. Their viewpoint is that they want the child to grow with the parents in a natural way and not be traumatized by a parents death at a young age.
Substance Use Requirements
Because there has been a great deal of attention in recent years on the effect of second hand smoke, many agencies will not allow adoptive parents who smoke to adopt. If an agency is sponsored by a religious organization that prohibits the use of alcohol, they may also deny an adoption if the adoptive parents consume alcoholic beverages. In addition, they look at the history of both parents to ensure that neither one used illegal drugs prior to their application.
Financial Requirements
The adoption agency will obviously require that the adoptive parents have the ability to pay the fees and costs associated with the adoption. They will also look at the parents ability to pay their bills, manage their money and support any other children they may have. The agency will require that at least one of the parents have a stable job, and may even require that the mother stay at home with the child for the first six months. They will look at the employment history of one or both of the parents, and project the stability of their current job. The type of job the parent has may also be in question as well, especially if it is a job that requires them to spend a lot of time from home or is considered a dangerous job.
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