Many of you who are reading thought about adoption and considered what could be the best possible way to adopt? What type of adoption should we be looking for? There are many things that come into mind and this article will share with you the types of adoption.
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14 Types Of Adoption Every Prospective Parent Should Know
Adoption is a legal process where parents, who are unable or unwilling to raise their children, transfer all their parental rights and responsibilities to another person or couple. To those new parents, the child becomes fully integrated as if he/she was born into the family.
There are many different types of adoption depending on the age of the child being adopted and their country of origin. Some examples are listed below.
1. Adoption Through Child Welfare System
This is usually an open adoption where children are adopted from foster care. These children are under custody of the state as their birth parents are considered incapable of raising them. They are usually between the age group of 0-5 years.
The number one criterion for a child in foster care to be adopted by their foster parents is that they have been living in the same home for at least 1 year or longer. They must also have exhibited clear evidence of being safe and being well taken care of by these parents during this time – either through regular school attendance, good grades, good health, etc.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Adopting A Child Through Child Welfare System
The main advantage is that the child gets a permanent home after being in foster homes for longer periods. The disadvantages are that the child might feel attachment issues with his/her adoptive parents due to earlier experiences in foster homes.
2. Private Adoption
In a private adoption, a child is adopted by a family who will be their only parents and relatives forever. These adoptions are also known as closed or confidential adoptions where the adoptive parent’s identity is never revealed to the birth parents.
Private adoptions are handled by individual agencies – which can either be non-profit or for-profit – that place children in the best, most appropriate home according to their requirements for a healthy family environment. Unlike adoption through the child welfare system, private adoptions do not usually take much time as there is no waitlist so you will be notified.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Private Adoptions
The advantages are privacy being much easier to obtain along with the availability of any age group’s children although waiting times may vary. The disadvantages are that there are no state or federal benefits available when you adopt through private agencies.
3. Foster Care
Foster care is a service that provides temporary placement of children whose parents’ rights have been terminated and who cannot be placed with another family member or in an adoptive home.
It also includes kinship care, in which relatives are given custody of the child when there is no other relative available to care for the child. More than 60% of children in foster care spend 2-5 years in the system before being adopted.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Adopting A Child Through Foster Care
The advantage of adopting a child through this means is that the child will not only need less attention than he/she would if placed in adoptive homes but also get attached to new parents without any difficulty. The main disadvantage of this type of adoption is the uncertainty of how long it will take for the child to be returned to their original families.
4. Infant Adoption
This is a little different from foster care in that the children are generally up for adoption because their parents are unable or unwilling to raise them, but they are too young for adoption by non-relatives. These children are usually between 0-2 years of age.
It’s a form of private adoption where infants are usually adopted by parents who already have children at home or women who are unable to conceive naturally on their own and want to share parenting responsibilities with a woman who cannot physically carry a baby herself, taking over all parental rights and responsibilities afterward.
Pros And Cons Of Infant Adoptions
The advantages of this type of adoption include lower costs than regular private adoptions along with having more information about the family. The disadvantages include that there is no sharing of parenting responsibilities in this case.
5. Closed Adoption
Closed adoptions are one of the earliest forms of adoption where little to no information than necessary about either party – adoptive parents or child – is shared among them, usually with an agency helping mediate between them if required at any point in time.
Closed adoption is an adoption in which the adoptive parents keep their identity hidden from the birth family, including the child. Only very little information about them is revealed to each other due to strict confidentiality rules.
Why Should You Opt For Closed Adoptions?
It helps maintain privacy while protecting both parties involved along with confidentiality which can help create stronger relationships between families over long periods instead of having constant contact immediately after placement which can be overwhelming for all parties involved.
Its main disadvantage is that there are no post-adoption services provided by agencies during any period along with very little preparation for adopting.
6. Independent Adoption
Independent adoptions do not involve any agency or intermediary between the expectant mother and the adoptive parents. An attorney or another third party is often used to make the necessary arrangements, but the expectant mother deals directly with the adoptive parents and decides which family will adopt her baby.
Independent Adoptions Can Be An Option
The main advantage of this type of adoption includes having your choice of any type of child without guidelines to follow along with lower costs than all other types except foster care adoptions.
The main disadvantage is that it can take much longer for a child to be placed in a permanent living situation compared to other types due to fewer people available who have selected independent adoptions as their first choice.
7. Open Adoption
Open adoption is a little different from closed adoption as contact between birth and adoptive families are allowed during pregnancy and after the adoption. The adoptive family may send cards and pictures or visits of the child to its birth mother during pregnancy, after delivery of the baby, and later on.
It is reported that 60%-70% of domestic adoptions are now open adoptions.
Why Do People Go For Open Adoptions?
The main advantage of open adoptions is that information can be shared freely between all parties involved while also allowing children and families to develop relationships over longer periods than closed or semi-open adoptions. The disadvantages include higher costs than regular private adoptions due to more social services being required during the process.
8. International Adoption
International adoptions involve bringing children from another country into one’s own. They are usually between 0-5 years of age and it takes at least 3 months to complete the adoption process.
Pros and Cons Of International Adoptions
The main advantage of this type of adoption is that it’s usually less expensive than foster care adoptions while also being faster to complete the process at the same time.
The disadvantage includes a lack of knowledge about a child’s medical history which can be concerning for some adoptive parents, along with having more paperwork required before the adoption is finalized compared to other types, depending on where you adopt from.
9. Stepparent Adoption
If a child’s parents are not willing to have their rights terminated, stepparent adoption is another way by which an adoptive parent can obtain the legal rights of the child after marrying the birth parent.
When an adult legally adopts their spouse’s child as their own through a stepparent adoption, they are gaining all rights and responsibilities related to them as well with no changes made to those relationships afterward with extended family members included.
Stepparent adoption can be less expensive than independent or private adoptions while also taking less time to complete the process at the same time. The disadvantage includes having no legal relationship with their spouses’ biological parents which can sometimes cause conflict later on if they don’t agree with the adoption.
10. Adoption Of A Relative
Relative adoption is another type of adoption through which relatives can be adopted by their kin without terminating parental rights, consent, or approval of anybody else; this includes stepparents and other relatives who are not blood-related to the child but are still considered to be family members like grandparents or an aunt or uncle, etc.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Adopted By A Relative
One of the main advantages include the emotional connection that develops between them and the child beforehand, which may not have been able to develop if they had gone through other types of adoptions.
The main disadvantage is that there are usually fees required for services that extend beyond what’s covered by any government assistance programs they might receive.
11. Adoption Of Grandchild
Adopting grandchildren is another way by which grandparents can get parental rights over their grandchildren living with them under certain conditions. They must be able to provide for the care of their grandchildren without any help from others, including state agencies.
You Can Adopt Your Grandchild
One of the main advantages is that it’s less expensive than independent or private adoptions while also taking less time to complete the process at the same time. The disadvantage includes having no legal relationship with their grandchildren, meaning that they can’t make decisions related to them very easily if they’re ever in a crisis and they’re not around.
12. Adoption Of Adult
Adopting an adult is a little different from adopting other children as this person must be 18 or older and should have been under your care for a considerable amount of time. People usually adopt their intellectually disabled children who are no longer capable of managing themselves.
Pros And Cons Of Adopting An Adult
One of the main advantages is that it can be less expensive than other types while also being faster to do since there are fewer legalities involved.
The disadvantage is that there’s no guarantee that an adopted adult will treat the adoptive parents as their parents afterward, especially if they’ve never lived together before or if their outlook on life hasn’t changed since being adopted.
13. Adoption By Single Person Adoption
A single person can also adopt a child, whether married or not, if the state agency responsible for the child’s care has no objection to him/her adopting.
Pros And Cons Of Adoption By Single Adult
One of the main advantages of this type are that single adoptive people don’t have to worry about whether or not they can adopt someone. The main disadvantage includes having drawn out and complex legal procedures like those required for any other kind of adoption since drawn out and complex legal procedures are involved, more so than with some other types.
14. Adoption By Same-Sex Couple Adoption
Adopting a child by same-sex couples is allowed in most states in 2005. This allows both of the couple’s names on the birth certificate as adoptive parents of the child, along with making them eligible for any benefits from government agencies.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Adoption By Same-Sex Couple
One of the main advantages include wanting to have a family rather than having one that’s biological or created through traditional surrogacy.
The main disadvantage is that it can be more expensive than other types while also being drawn out and complex since there are usually fees required for services that extend beyond what’s covered by any government assistance programs they might receive.
Types Of Adoption – Conclusion
The types of adoption are a form of family formation. These can be either traditional, open, or step-parent adoptions.
Adoptions have been used throughout history for various reasons and include inferences to different cultures and societies that have adopted these practises throughout time. In the modern-day, there are two main types of Adoption: Open Adoption and Closed Adoptions.
Each has its distinctive characteristics associated with being able to have full knowledge of where you came from while having other people involved in your life. The main difference between open adoptions and closed adoptions is the amount of information available to the child about their biological parents, such as medical history.