Understanding the Adoption Process

The processes of getting approved to foster and adopt are very similar. Many states require that families applying to adopt also become licensed to foster as well. 

The legal process of adopting, from application to finalization, can be a lengthy one. It may take six months or more from the time you apply before a child is placed in your home; it will take at least three to twelve months after that before the adoption may be finalized in court.

The basic tasks in the adoption process in New York State can be broken down into three basic operations: Certification, Placement and Finalization.

Becoming Certified to Adopt

Choosing an adoption agency: In New York State, there are more than 130 adoption agencies. Each of New York’s 58 social services districts has an adoption unit, and more than 70 authorized voluntary agencies statewide work with adopting families. It is very difficult to change agencies once the adoption process has begun, so do your homework first. It can be very useful to go to an agencies orientation meeting or prospective adoptive parent training or event to meet them and see how they operate.

Submitting an application to adopt: After choosing an agency, you must submit an application to adopt. This application seeks information on your background, family composition, and the number of people living in your home. You will need to describe the type of child you feel most suited to adopt, and the agency can help you with this description. This information is necessary to ensure that each child is placed with the family most able to meet the child’s needs.

Completing the homestudy process: A homestudy is a series of meetings, interviews, and training sessions involving the agency and the prospective adoptive family. Generally within four months of a family’s Application to Adopt, New York State regulations require agencies to complete a homestudy for most families registered with the state. Sometimes prospective adoptive families find the homestudy process difficult, but it is an essential part of adoption that helps them decide whether they are ready to adopt. A homestudy also allows agencies to find out more about what the prospective family has to offer. This helps agencies appropriately place children in their care. The process can be intense, but it is in the best interest of both the child and the prospective adoptive family. Some families withdraw temporarily to consider whether they are ready to adopt. Most decide to have the homestudy completed. After completion of the homestudy, the caseworker prepares a written summary about the family. The agency uses this summary in the placement process. Prospective adoptive families can review and discuss the written summary and add their own comments.

Attend trainings: Comprehensive training is a vital necessity for ALL ADOPTIONS. Each adoption agency generally expects applicants to participate in adoptive parent training. This training usually consists of multiple sessions designed to: help families understand adoption and it’s impact especially on the child, examine the strengths they bring to adoption, decide whether they are ready to adopt, provide skills and knowledge needed when adopting, help families understand the needs of foster children, as well as the kind of child they would best parent.

Placement of a Child in Your Home

Working with your caseworker to find the appropriate child: Once a homestudy has been approved, the family and the agency work together to place a child. There are no special formulas for this process. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. The agency and family team up to decide what placement would promote the best interest of the child. Sometimes an agency can directly link a prospective adoptive family with the child they wish to adopt. However, an agency must often contact other agencies to inquire about a child. When a family inquires about a child, the child’s adoption agency provides a summary with additional information beyond that provided in the child’s photolisting. Usually, this is exchanged for a copy of the homestudy. The family and the child’s agency then review the material. If both parties remain interested, the agency includes the family in its final selection process. When selecting a family for a child, agencies try to select a family that will maintain the child’s connections. Maintaining connections provides continuity in the child’s life and respects the link between the child and his or her family, siblings, foster family, heritage, and culture. The fundamental standard for all adoptive placements is the best interest of the child, which is decided on a case-by-case basis.

Visiting with the child: After an agency decides that a child is ready to meet the prospective adoptive family, the family and child can begin visiting. Visits take place in the agency, in the home where the child lives, or in the adoptive family’s home. Visits start as short meetings, increasing in length as the family and child get to know one another. Visitation can last for a period of weeks or months before the child moves in with the hopeful adoptive family.

Bringing your child home: Adoption does not become official the day a child is placed with an adoptive family. Unless the adoptive parent is seeking to adopt a foster child for whom he or she has already been providing care, New York State law requires that agencies generally supervise families for three months after placement before an adoption becomes legal. This waiting period is very important. It allows the agency to ensure that the family and child are comfortable together and that the family can meet the child’s needs. During the supervisory period, a caseworker will visit regularly to provide support and assistance. After three months, if the placement is deemed successful, the agency will consent to the family’s petition to adopt.

Finalization of the Adoption in Court

Completing the adoption in court: Adoption creates a legal relationship of parent and child. After the adoption is final, as the adoptive parent you assume all the rights and responsibilities for the child that a birth parent would have. The child receives the same rights and responsibilities as would any child who was born to you. Until the adoption is finalized by the Court, the local social services district, foster care agency, or adoption agency remains the child’s legal guardian and will continue to be responsible for the child.

An adoption generally is completed with the assistance of an attorney retained by the adoptive parents; the attorney files a petition in court. It is your responsibility to file an adoption petition with the Court to begin the legal process of adoption. By petitioning the Court, you are asking the judge to make the adoptive relationship final by issuing an order of adoption. You are highly encouraged to have an attorney prepare this petition, along with the additional supporting paperwork, and file the documents with the Court on your behalf.

When all the agency papers have been submitted, the adoption is finalized in court. The family agrees to assume full legal rights and obligations for the child’s care, and the agency’s supervision is no longer required.

Adoption is Life Long Journey

While it is natural for families to feel satisfied after complete the court process and technically the adoption is “done”, there is no court in the land that has a magic wand that can erase the complexity of adoption.

The adoption experience requires that families and children make a series of transitions. Many of these changes are exciting, but some are difficult. There may be times when an adoptive family needs assistance from the agency after the adoption has been finalized. Asking for support during this process is a sign of strength, not weakness. Most successful adoptions occur in families who seek support from the start. Because adoption is a lifelong process, sometimes adoptive families need advice or information many years after adopting a child. It is important for families to know that the Coalition’s support is available at any time, before and after the adoption is finalized.