HEALTH EDUCATION

Adoption

What is adoption?
Adoption is the legal placement of a child with people who will raise the child as their own.

What is an "open" adoption?
An open adoption involves an agreement between a child’s adoptive family and birth family that says that the two families will keep in touch. In other words, open adoption allows for birth parents to contact the child they gave birth to through letters, pictures, and visits with the child and his family.

Is adoption permanent?
Yes. Once placed, the child becomes permanently and legally a member of the adoptive family with full rights to inheritance and a lifetime family relationship.

What qualifications must prospective adoptive parents have?
At most adoption agencies, adoptive parents go through a fairly lengthy process in order to become "approved." They attend group meetings and interviews. They complete a lot of paperwork, and they go through a "home study." Each agency prepares their families differently, but they all do their best to make sure the family is ready for a baby.

How much do birth parents know about adoptive parents?
Birth parents can be very involved in choosing an adoptive family for their child; they can also choose to be completely uninvolved. When choosing prospective adoptive families, birth parents are often given profiles of each family. Profiles include information about potential adoptive families’ ages, their physical and personality descriptions, their marriage, religion, lifestyle, occupation, education, feelings about birth parents, and more.

How soon after birth is the baby placed in the adoptive home?
Each state has different laws about this, too. There is usually a waiting period of 48 hours or more before a child can be placed. Contact a local adoption agency to find out what the laws are in your state.

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