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Child Adoption Requirements

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The adoption process requires a lengthy list of checks and evaluations that are either required by state or federal law or are insisted upon by the agency facilitating the adoption process. A lot of individuals looking to adopt a child are often deterred by the extremely large amount of child adoption requirements that they must undergo before they are approved to adopt a child. When you are considering giving a child a home you should keep in mind that it is well worth the extra effort that you have to go through before the adoption process is finalized. Here are some of the requirements that are included in most adoptions.

Step 1: Home Checks

You can expect to receive a home check from both the agency facilitating the adoption and a social worker from the government. Even though they can seem somewhat intimidating, home checks are nothing to be nervous about. The individual performing the home check simply wants to examine the environment that the child will be coming home to. The checker may recommend some changes, such as safety improvements in the event that you are bringing home a small child, in order to adequately prepare the home for the child.

Step 2: Background Checks

Background checks on the parents are necessary to ensure that children are being placed into safe homes. These kinds of checks examine your past and are looking for things that would raise concerns about the parents' ability to provide a safe and loving home for a child. If there is something in your past that could raise a flag for the agency you should be forthcoming about it and explain why you believe that you would make a great parent in spite of a past transgression.

Step 3: Personal Evaluations

Some agencies will require the potential adoptive parents to go through psychological evaluations. These are similar to background checks in that the people performing the evaluations are looking for things that might raise a concern about the parent's ability to raise a child. Sometimes couples will have to undergo an evaluation together that checks out the dynamics of the relationship. These kinds of evaluations can be intimidating, just keep in mind that the agency does not expect you to be absolutely perfect; these evaluations are used to find anything that would serious hinder a person's ability to raise a child or something that could potentially endanger the child in the home.

Step 4: Parenting Classes

The depths to which these classes cover parenting issues differ dramatically. Some "classes" are simply informative sessions aimed at educating adoptive parents about some of the important things to consider or keep an eye out for when adoption a child. Generally more involved parenting classes are recommended and encouraged by the agencies but are typically not mandatory.

Step 5: Court Validation

A judge is required to finalize the adoption process. There are a few things that are required before a judge can do this; the biological parents have to give up their rights to the child, the child has to be placed in the home for no less than 6 months, and a social service worker has to give their recommendation for approval to the judge after evaluating the situation.