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How Can I Adopt a Child
There are so many reasons that both couples and single individuals would be interested in adopting a child. Some families cannot have their own biological children while others want to share the blessing of having a loving family with children that are less fortunate. Whatever the reason for wanting to adopt a child, there are some very basic steps that potential adoptive parents need to take. This article will try to answer the question, "How can I adopt a child?"
Step One: Research
Before committing to anything, potential adoptive parents need to do a lot of research to understand the various types of adoption and the steps that are involved in going about adopting a child. During the research phase some people decide that they lengthy and sometimes difficult process of adopting a child is not for them. Research can give committed potential adoptive parents the information they need to make decisions regarding what kinds of agencies are out there, what types of adoption processes could be best for them, and how best to get started with their adoption process.
Step Two: Finding an Agency
There are a lot of different kinds of agencies available to potential adoptive parents. To make sure that you have the best experience possible during the adoption time you really need to find an agency that fits with your needs. Each agency is different and offers a variety of different services to help parents make the adoption as smooth of a process as possible. Most agencies encourage parents that want to adopt to come in, meet the staff that will be handling to adoption, and ask any questions that come up with regards to how that agency handles the adoption process.
Step Three: Selecting the Kind of Adoption Best for You
After you find you agency they will help you to determine what kind of adoption is best for your particular situation. Different kinds of adoption include open adoptions, semi-open and semi-closed adoptions, and completely confidential adoptions. Each one has its own set of advantages and drawbacks. Talk with the agency representative handling your adoption to examine the options before selecting the one that sounds like something you would be interested in.
Step Four: The Adoption Itself
There are a lot of factors that go into how long it takes to go from the starting point in the adoption process to when you finally get to take your child to his or her new home. Usually you will have to be evaluated by the agency after home visits and background checks before being cleared to adopt a child. Depending on the adoption plan you selected, this stage will involve meeting the biological parents who are about to have a baby or meeting the child that you will be adopting. Once the biological parents give up their rights to the child, the child has been in your home for 6 months and a social worker submits their approval recommendation to the courts, a judge will formally finalize the adoption.