Adoption is a legally sanctioned process that enables individuals to take on the responsibility of a child, offering a fulfilling experience, especially for those who may be childless due to various circumstances. It is a rewarding journey that can lead to the expansion of one’s family.
Numerous adoption options exist for individuals looking to expand their families. Consequently, it is crucial to have access to adoption information specific to the various types of adoption methods available to make informed decisions throughout the process. Christian Adoptions is a very good organization to offer such services.
The following are a few different types of adoptions:
- Step-parent adoption
Step-parent adoption formalizes the parent-child bond between a step-parent and their spouse’s child, granting legal and financial responsibilities. It relieves the non-custodial parent from obligations like child support.
- Infant adoption
Infant adoption entails legal responsibility for a newborn, typically through matching with a birth mother willing to place her yet unborn or newly born child for adoption. High demand exists for infant adoption, but the supply of available infants is limited.
- Kinship or relative adoption
Relative adoption formalizes the parent-child bond between biologically related family members such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, legally granting them the status of adoptive parents for the child.
- Foster-care adoption
Adopting a child through the child welfare system, commonly known as foster care adoption, involves choosing to adopt children, often older ones or siblings, who have been approved for adoption.
- Independent adoption
Infant adoption often involves licensed adoption agencies, but wait times can be lengthy. Independent adoption, using sources like lawyers or physicians instead of agencies, is an option, legal in most states, but not all.
- Closed adoption
Closed adoption severs all contact between adoptive and birth parents, keeping personal information and interaction entirely confidential and maintaining anonymity between the two families.
- Open adoption
Open adoption permits ongoing contact between adoptive and birth parents, involving sharing identifying information, photos, letters, phone or video calls, and maintaining a more transparent relationship between the child and both sets of parents.
- Adult adoption
In many U.S. states, adopting an adult is legal and often done for inheritance reasons. Adults who have aged out of foster care can be adopted by relatives, step-parents, or foster families, providing a supportive family environment even after they reach adulthood.
- International adoption
When you consider adopting a child from a certain foreign country, then it will be considered to be an international adoption. Such a process may have many legal complexities and be an expensive option, too.
The 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoptions sets ethical standards. UNICEF oversees its implementation to ensure child, birth parent, and adopter protection.
U.S. agencies like the Office of Children’s Issues and the Intercountry Adoption Bureau Consular Affairs offer guidance on international adoption inquiries, facilitating the process for prospective adoptive parents.
If you are one of the Waiting Families looking forward to adopting a child, then the best organization to seek help would be an organization called Waiting Family.
