How hard is it to adopt a child in texas
Texas Adoption Process – How to Adopt a Child in TX
The state of Texas completes some of the highest numbers of adoptions each year. This is great news for couples hoping to adopt, as it means that there are plenty of adoption professionals out there who can help you understand how to adopt a child in Texas.
There are certain laws and regulations that make the adoption process in Texas a bit different from other states. Though the steps may vary slightly between agencies, the overall process is the same.
For couples who are just starting to look into adoption, the process can be incredibly overwhelming; with all the paperwork and complicated legal jargon, there is a lot to learn. Below, we’ve broken down the Texas domestic adoption process into eight steps to help answer any questions you may have about how to adopt in Texas.
- Moving from Infertility to Adoption
Many couples dream of becoming pregnant and having a child of their own, but 1 in 8 of these couples will face infertility. After struggling with infertility for years, many couples turn to adoption to expand their families. However, the decision to abandon the idea of having a biological child and turn to adoption is a hard one to make.
When deciding to adopt, it is important that couples have completely committed to the adoption before beginning the process. Couples should take time to grieve and move on from their struggles to conceive in order to have a successful adoption.
If you are considering adopting a child in Texas, but you aren’t yet 100 percent committed to adoption, then you probably aren’t ready to adopt. You may, however, contact us to get a better understanding of what adoption is and how it works.
For couples who have committed to adoption and are ready to move forward, there are a few requirements you must meet. In Texas, a prospective adoptive parent can be either single or married, and must:
- Be at least 21 years old
- Be financially stable
- Complete an application to adopt
- Share background and lifestyle information
- Provide references
- Provide proof of marriage and/or divorce (if applicable)
- Have a completed home study
- Submit to a criminal background and child abuse checks on all adults living in the household
If you’ve decided adoption is the right path for you and you are able to meet all of the requirements, you can officially begin the adoption process.
Selecting the Type of Adoption
After making the decision to adopt, the next step is to decide what type of adoption you are interested in pursuing. This decision is based on several factors, including your level of comfort with each situation.
- Are you interested in adopting an older child or an infant?
- Do you want to adopt domestically or internationally?
- Do you want to have communication with the birth parents or not?
Answering these simple questions is a crucial step in the process, as it will help you determine which agency you will work with. Some agencies work only with kids in the foster care system and do not perform private adoptions. Some agencies specialize in domestic adoptions, while others specialize in international adoptions. These questions will help you weed out the agencies that won’t fit your needs.
Adoption Answers specializes in the domestic adoption of infants. However, we’re also able to provide home study and post-placement services for families who are pursuing other types of adoption with other adoption professionals.
Choosing an Adoption Professional
Some adoptive families may believe that each adoption agency provides the same services and has the same success rate; however, this is untrue. Not every adoption agency is the same, so it is essential to research many agencies and examine all of their services and benefits before making a decision.
Factors to consider include:
- Wait times
- Disruption rates
- Average cost
- Hidden fees
- Financial protection
- Amount of support, education and guidance
There are hundreds of national and local adoption agencies and adoption attorneys that can help you adopt a baby in Texas. The list can be overwhelming, but choosing the adoption agency that best fits your needs will ultimately make the process much smoother for you.
Completing an Adoption Home Study
The home study will be required in any adoption, whether domestic, international or through foster care, as it determines whether you and your home are deemed fit to raise a child.
This can be done through the state, through the adoption agency completing the adoption or through a separate home study agency like Adoption Answers.
During this process, your caseworker will visit your home to discuss your personal history, family interests and lifestyle, childcare experiences, and your strengths and skills in meeting the child’s needs. This will include an interview with you (the adoptive parents) and any other resident of your home. It will also include state and federal criminal background checks and financial and medical information.
If you are an out-of-state couple wanting to adopt a child from Texas, the state requires that your criminal background checks be performed in Texas. This is a security measure put into place to ensure that every couple adopting a Texan child has completed the same requirements. Many of these security measures were put into place to eliminate child trafficking across state lines and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children being adopted in the state.
Waiting for ‘The Call’
Once you have successfully completed the necessary steps to becoming a waiting family through your agency, your profile will be given to prospective birth mothers for them to review before making a decision.
This waiting period can be the most difficult part of the adoption process, so it is important to have the right attitude about the process. During this time it is recommended that you continue your day-to-day activities as normal. It may also be beneficial to take up a new hobby to keep your minds occupied as you wait.
Avoid becoming obsessive over the adoption. At this point, the adoption is completely out of your hands and there is nothing you can do to speed the process up. It is acceptable to begin making some preparations for the child so you are ready when you do find a match. However, adoptive families who distance themselves from their wait tend to have much smoother adoptions. Though it may be difficult, patience will be your greatest tool at this point in the adoption process.
Receiving a Match and Placement of the Child
You will be notified by your adoption professional once a birth mother has chosen you to be her child’s adoptive parents. Once this happens, you (the adoptive parents) and the birth parents will be moving toward the same goal: completing a successful adoption.
Depending on the type of adoption you are completing (open, closed or anywhere in between), there may be some form of communication between you and the birth mother before the adoption. This is an opportunity for her to get to know more about you and feel more comfortable with the life she has chosen for her child. This communication can include conference calls, email exchange, or meetings. In most adoptions, all communication will be mediated through an adoption professional.
Your role in the hospital during the birth of the child will be greatly determined by the desires of the birth mother. Some women may want you nearby during labor, while others may prefer that you don’t arrive at the hospital until after she has given birth.
Regardless, you will soon be able to meet your child!
In Texas, a birth mother must wait at least 48 hours after the birth before terminating her parental rights. However, her consent to the adoption is irrevocable upon signing, meaning she cannot change her mind once she has signed the adoption papers. The birth father’s parental rights will also need to be terminated; your adoption attorney will explain this process to you based on your individual adoption situation.
At this point, the child will be placed in your custody, though he/she will not be a legal member of your family until the adoption is finalized some months later.
Finalizing the Adoption
After a long and exciting journey, the finalization marks the legal completion of the adoption. This is an exciting time for the adoptive family as your child becomes an official member of your family.
Before the adoption can be finalized, there are a few steps adoptive families must take:
- Complete ICPC – if your adoption occurs across state lines, you must remain in the state until Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) paperwork is cleared, which usually takes between 7 to 10 business days.
- Post-Placement Visits – you will have a select number of post placement visits to complete, usually performed by your home study provider, which will show the adoption professional and the court that the child and your family are adjusting well to one another. The state of Texas typically requires five post-placement visits.
- Finalization Hearing – A judge’s final review of the adoption ensures the necessary post-placement visits were completed, ICPC was conducted in applicable adoption situations, and both birth parents’ parental rights were legally terminated. The Texas Family Code states that an adoption cannot be finalized until the child has been in the custody of the adoptive parents for at least six months. In some counties, both adoptive parents must be present for the finalization hearing. However, in certain circumstances where the adoptive parents live out of state, the court may not require the family to travel back to the state to finalize their adoption.
Post-Placement Contact
The amount of post-placement contact that occurs between you and the birth parents is determined by the adoption plan that you agreed to. There are varying degrees of openness with adoptions, which amount to varying degrees of communication.
In most circumstances, this will include letters and pictures sent to the birth parents through the adoption agency. Communication will usually be continued for several years after the child’s birth. If you are adopting through an agency, you and the birth parents may sign an agreement specifying the type and frequency of contact. Though this is a good way to ensure you will always have access to the birth family, these agreements are not legally enforceable in the state of Texas. If the agency loses contact with the birth family, there is no way for the agency to force them to reestablish contact.
For more information on how to adopt a child in Texas, please visit our Texas Adoption Information page or call us now at 1-800-659-7541.
American Adoptions - How to Adopt a Child in Texas [Everything You Need to Know]
No matter what led you to this decision, you are making a beautiful choice, because adopting a baby will forever change your life. You probably have a lot of questions about how to adopt a child in Texas and where to even start.
If so, you’re not alone. Thousands of families consider adoption each year. And most of these families have a ton of questions about what it’s like to adopt a baby in Texas. You want to do everything correctly so that you can have a successful placement. We’re here to help. Our years of adoption experience have equipped us to make that happen for you.
If you’re an expectant birth parent who has chosen adoption in Texas, you can find answers to your questions here. Or, you can keep reading to learn a bit more about what the process is like for the adoptive family you will choose for your baby.
Adoption is an exciting journey but can be confusing, and gaining a better understanding of the process can help you decide whether or not it’ll be right for you.
If you’d like to learn more about adopting an infant in TX with American Adoptions, you can get free information at any time to get started.
In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about the Texas adoption process.
Step 1: Decide If You’re Ready to Adopt [What Adoption Really Means]
There are many ways to become a family. The Texas child adoption process is one way to become a parent, but it’s not the right way for everyone.
Parenthood in any form is difficult — emotionally, physically, mentally and financially. But the end result is worth the challenges. Adoption comes with its own set of twists and turns. However, the end result is the same: you get to raise and love a child.
“Knowing that this child needed a home and that was something we could provide — not only are you getting the family of your dreams, but you’re providing a home to a child that needed it. All of it is such a great experience. It makes it all worth it,” said Meg about her decision to adopt.
Before you begin the newborn adoption process in Texas — or anywhere else in the U.S. — you first must be fully committed to the dream of adopting a child.
When a couple considers how to adopt a baby, they need to be in sync with their decision before moving forward. If you are coming to adoption after facing the struggles of infertility, the loss of a child or the dream of having a biological child, it’s important to address these things in full before the new dream of adoption can take root and a couple can begin the child adoption process in Texas.
Step 2: Understand Your Options [And Texas Adoption Requirements]
If you’re committed to adoption, the next step in the TX child adoption process is to determine which type you want to pursue. This will determine the Texas adoption requirements you will need to meet and the next steps you will need to take in your process.
The three main ways to adopt Texas children are:
Domestic Infant Adoption in Texas
Domestic infant adoption is the private adoption of a U.
S.-born infant who is voluntarily placed with a new family by his or her birth parents. Private U.S. adoption agencies (also known as domestic infant adoption agencies) like American Adoptions provide all of the services needed when you’re not sure how to adopt a child in Texas. This includes counseling for prospective birth parents, financial protection for adoptive parents and home studies conducted in Texas.
Domestic adoption with a full-service, national agency provides shorter wait times, the ability to work with just one adoption professional, and all the services you need to complete an infant adoption within the United States. This is what you will experience with American Adoptions. These things put together are a source of confidence and peace of mind for many adoptive parents throughout the process.
Foster Care Adoption in Texas
Most children who enter Texas foster care are eventually reunited with their biological family members. But 25 percent of Texas kids in foster care will become eligible for adoption — many of whom are older children, part of a sibling group, or have additional needs.
While American Adoptions only completes private infant adoptions, foster care adoption can also be a wonderful way to add to your family and help a child in need. Our agency is able to provide some services — such as the home study — for Texas foster care adoptions. Learn more about the requirements for foster care adoption in Texas here.
International Adoption Agencies in Texas
A third option for hopeful adoptive parents in Texas is international adoption. American Adoptions is not able to provide international adoption services, and this process is not as common as it once was. Many countries have closed their borders to international parents, and the process can be long, complex and, sometimes, risky.
Still, this process can be possible with the help of an excellent international adoption agency. Children of any age can be adopted internationally, but regulations, restrictions and costs vary based on the country you chose to adopt from and the international adoption agency in Texas you work with.
Be sure to do careful research before choosing international adoption and selecting an agency.
Learn more about international adoption in Texas here.
Step 3: Choose Your Adoption Professional [Know the Types of Agencies Available to You]
Once you know what type of adoption is right for your family, you will be able to start contacting Texas adoption agencies to help you through the process. This is easily the most important step of how to adopt a baby in Texas, because your professional will determine the quality of experience you have. Choosing which agency to adopt Texas kids through is important; doing your research and asking questions will be vital.
Some quick tips to consider:
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Don’t choose your TX adoption professional based on price alone — agencies offer differing levels of safety and services, so working with a less expensive agency that may not provide the same quality of service can put you at risk.
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Pursuing adoption without an agency may put you at risk for adoption fraud and financial loss.
Without the professional services and experience of an adoption professional, your Texas adoption may not be completed to the necessary legal and ethical standards. -
Talk to several other families that the agency has worked with to hear their experiences and advice.
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It’s illegal in Texas for a hopeful parent to advertise to find a child to adopt; only a licensed agency can do that in this state, making independent adoptions challenging.
There are five main types of professionals that can help you learn how to adopt a baby in Texas:
National Adoption Agencies in Texas
National adoption agencies like American Adoptions work with potential birth and adoptive families across the country, creating shorter adoption wait times and less financial risk.
If this is your first time going through the adoption process, you might feel empty-handed in terms of helpful resources. You want to feel informed and supported throughout this process.
We can provide you with answers and valuable services throughout your adoption journey. Many of our staff’s own personal adoption experiences allow us to give you unique insight into the adoption process.
Because American Adoptions is licensed in multiple states, our agency is regularly reviewed by multiple licensing authorities to ensure we’re always providing the best services — creating an added layer of protection and peace of mind for our hopeful adoptive parents. Because of our national scale, we work with a broader range of potential birth and adoptive families, minimizing your wait to find an adoption opportunity. And, because we have a large staff and greater access to resources than many other, smaller professionals, we’re also able to offer many benefits you won’t find anywhere else — like 24/7 support for potential birth parents.
But, there is another unique advantage of choosing our agency to complete your adoption in Texas — we have local offices throughout the state.
This means that our Texas families have access to all of the advantages you can only find with a national agency — but don’t have to sacrifice the friendliness and convenience of working with a local professional. And, because we are a licensed child-placing agency in the state of Texas, we can also complete your home study for you — which means we can truly complete the entire Texas adoption process for you from start to finish.
To learn more about how we can help you adopt a child in Texas, contact us today.
Local/Regional Texas Adoption Agencies
Licensed by the state of Texas, but not on a national scale, local Texas adoption agencies are limited to birth and adoptive parents within the area, potentially leading to longer adoption wait times but more in-person conversations.
Adoption Law Firms
A group of Texas adoption lawyers prepared to handle the legal aspects of your adoption; they often work with licensed Texas adoption agencies for the child placement service aspects and have local connections to other adoption professionals.
Adoption Law Centers
Despite the misleadingly comforting name, Texas adoption law centers are usually not subject to the routine reviews, certifications and regulations that better-supervised adoption professionals in Texas are, putting birth and adoptive families at risk.
Adoption Facilitators
These professionals can legally advertise for adoption in Texas but cannot place children. Adoption facilitators are entirely illegal in some other states for their predatory tactics.
It’s important to learn more about the pros and cons of different Texas adoption professionals, as well as how to adopt a child in Texas with those professionals, to make the best decision for your family.
Step 4: Become a Waiting Adoptive Family [How we can Help]
Once you join an adoption agency, you will be assigned to an adoption specialist to help guide you through the steps to become an active, waiting family. This is where the paperwork begins!
For hopeful adoptive parents with American Adoptions, you’ll fill out an Adoption Planning Questionnaire (APQ) that helps you determine how you envision your dream adoption.
This is used to help your adoption specialist find expectant mothers who have a similar vision for their adoption.
You’ll also create an adoptive family profile for expectant mothers to view, complete your Texas adoption home study, take adoption training courses and more. These steps can take some time and dedication to complete, but each one will bring you closer to becoming an active waiting family. Being an “active waiting family” hoping to adopt a baby in Texas means that you’ve been approved to adopt and are awaiting an adoption opportunity with an expectant mother. This is an exciting milestone for any hopeful parent — you could be chosen by a prospective birth mother at any time!
Step 5: Find an Adoption Opportunity
After you become an official waiting family, entering into an adoption opportunity with an expectant mother through private domestic adoption can take a few days, a few months, or even a few years, depending on the professional you choose to work with.
Exactly when you are chosen to adopt a baby in Texas depends on a variety of factors, including your own openness to potential birth mothers, but it ultimately comes down to an expectant mother’s individual preferences — no two pregnant women are looking for exactly the same thing in prospective adoptive parents.
However, 75 percent of active waiting families adopting through American Adoptions are placed with a child in 1 to 12 months. When you are chosen for an adoption opportunity, you’ll get “the call” from your adoption specialist congratulating you and explaining your next steps!
Step 6: Get to Know Your Child’s Birth Parents [Open Adoption Benefits]
Depending on the specific circumstances of your adoption situation, you may need to rush to the hospital right away to meet your child — or you may have several weeks or months to develop a relationship with your child’s prospective birth parents. It all depends on the potential birth mother’s unique situation and preferences.
Your adoption specialist will help you prepare for pre-placement contact with the potential birth parents, which usually starts with an initial conference call mediated by American Adoptions. From there, you and the potential birth parents may choose to continue your relationship through email, phone calls, text messages or even in-person visits until it is time for the baby to be born! When that day comes, your adoption specialist will contact you and let you know when it is time to travel to the hospital to support the potential birth mother and meet your baby.
The hospital stay is an emotional time for everyone involved, but your adoption specialist will be there to support you through it and answer any questions you have.
Step 7: Legally Finalize Your Texas Adoption
After the baby is born, the biological mother will need to wait a minimum of 48 hours after the birth before she can offer her consent to the adoption, according to Texas adoption consent laws (if your adoption is taking place under another state’s laws, this time period may vary).
If adoption consent is given, this terminates her parental rights.
If you are a Texas resident adopting a child born outside of Texas, you’ll have to comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) process before you can return to Texas with your child. (The same is true if you are an out-of-state adoptive family traveling to adopt a baby in Texas; you will need to remain in Texas and await ICPC clearance before returning to your home state). However, if you live in Texas and adopt Texas kids, ICPC won’t be a factor in your adoption. It’s simply an additional step for adoptive parents if their infant adoption process occurs across state lines to ensure that all children go to safe homes.
After you’ve returned home with your child after placement, your Texas home study professional will arrange to come back for the mandatory post-placement in-home visits that occur leading up to the adoption finalization several months later. This is to ensure that you and your child are adjusting well to post-placement life.
Your Texas adoption attorney will also be in touch with you to schedule an adoption finalization hearing in your local district or juvenile court, which has jurisdiction for adoption hearings in Texas. Your family, adoption attorney, and sometimes your social worker will attend the hearing. This is when the judge officially grants your parental rights through a final adoption decree, and the Texas adoption process is complete. This is a huge milestone for adoptive parents — your child is now a permanent, legal member of your family. Adoption finalization is a time for adoptive families to celebrate!
Step 8: Adjust to Post-Placement Life
The process of how to adopt a child in Texas never truly ends with finalization; it’s a lifelong journey for your family and your child’s birth family.
Open adoptions are always encouraged whenever possible, as studies show they are greatly beneficial for everyone involved, particularly the adoptee. This allows for some level of contact to remain open between the birth and adoptive families throughout the adoptee’s life.
The amount of contact desired after placement life is discussed in the creation of your adoption plan, so you and your child’s birth parents will be on the same page regarding your expectations for contact going forward.
The regular, frequent, or occasional exchange of photos, letters, emails, calls, and visits may or may not be part of an open adoption. It’s whatever both parties wish it to be! Many adoptive families and birth parents develop very close relationships through the adoption process, and come to think of each other sort of like extended family. This means that, in most cases, both parties exchange contact directly. However, American Adoptions can help to facilitate your open adoption and post-placement contact for up to 18 years and is always available if any challenges in your relationship arise.
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Adopting a baby in Texas won’t always be easy — but the end result will always be worth it. When you are ready to begin the process to adopt Texas kids, or if you’d just like to learn more about how to adopt a baby in TX, you can get more free information here.
Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. America Adoptions, Inc. provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.
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“Children need to live in a family”: how the adoption process works in Russia
On International Children's Day, we talk about the current situation with orphanhood in Russia, as well as how parents prepare for the arrival of a new family member and - even more it is important to prepare the child for it
How many orphans there are in Russia
Children in need of a family placement are counted and included in the statistics at the regional and federal levels. In Russia, this is done by the Ministry of Education - and experts say there are no difficulties with the calculation.
“According to the ministry, 46,831 children were identified and registered in 2021. This number includes those children who remained on the territory of Russia without adult care (these are the so-called "social" orphans), and those - there are almost 14,000 of them - who belong specifically to orphans, that is, children whose one or both died. parent,” says Irina Zinchenko, head of alternative care programs at the SOS Children’s Villages charity. “Not all of these children end up in orphanages. Someone immediately finds himself under the care of relatives, someone is immediately placed in foster families, avoiding the experience of being in an orphanage. But there are children whose fate is much more difficult - a hospital, an orphanage, an orphanage, ”she notes.
According to Zinchenko, by the end of May this year there were 39,126 children in Russia waiting to be taken to foster families. For comparison, in January 2022 there were 41,505 of them.
“There are people who assume that some children do not want to be in a family, they feel good and comfortable in an orphanage. And for some, it may be better there - there is also special care for children with disabilities. In fact, all children simply need to live in a family, regardless of age, gender, health status, ”Irina is sure.
Adoption and guardianship
In the context of taking a child from an orphanage to a foster family, Zinchenko emphasizes, it is important to distinguish between two terms - "adoption" itself and "guardianship". Adoption (or adoption) is a priority form of placement for children left without parental care, according to federal law. Adoption is carried out by the court at the request of persons wishing to adopt a child. At the request of the adoptive parent, the child may be given a new surname, name, patronymic. To ensure the secrecy of adoption, the date and place of birth of the child can be changed in the documents (the date can be shifted by no more than three months).
All persons - the judges who made the decision on the adoption of the child, the authorities responsible for the state registration of the adoption, as well as those who are somehow otherwise aware of this fact - are obliged to keep the secret of the adoption of the child.
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Adoption has its own advantages and peculiarities. “On the one hand, after adoption, children and parents acquire all the rights and obligations of blood relatives. On the other hand, a child is usually deprived of the opportunity to know his history, his roots, to receive state support as a child left without parental care. In terms of numbers, 847 children were adopted or adopted in 2021,” Zinchenko says. However, not all children can be adopted: for example, you cannot adopt a child whose parents are serving sentences in places of deprivation of liberty and have not been deprived of parental rights.
A completely different form is guardianship, in which people appointed by the guardianship and guardianship agency become the legal representatives of the children. The guardian can be either the director of the orphanage, or a person acting as a parent, if it is a family form of placement. Such a family arrangement does not require court decisions, however, it is also possible to remove from guardianship without a court decision.
Irina Zinchenko notes that it is not very correct to compare the systems of placing children in a family in different countries, since the contexts differ too much. “For example, according to American laws, biological parents have huge rights to a child who lives in a foster family - this is how some analogue of a foster family is called in Russia. They have the opportunity to get their child back through the court after some time.
Because of this, it is far from easy to transfer such children for adoption, especially if the parents of the child are not deprived of parental rights, and the child himself is transferred to a foster family for a while, say, if the parents are in prison. According to American statistics, only 20% of children living in foster families can theoretically be adopted,” says Irina.
Prejudices and prejudices
“There are a lot of myths about children who need foster families. They concern the children themselves, and, most often, the expectations of adoptive parents or adoptive parents: supposedly all children in orphanages have “bad genetics”, nothing good can be expected from them, there will be a lot of problems with them, all children from orphanages in the family will become healthy, “I will make a man out of him,” children will begin to love their parents for taking them out of this hell, and much more, ”says Zinchenko.
According to her, there is a fear that orphans may be prone to alcoholism at the genetic level. However, large foreign studies show that, although a genetic predisposition to alcohol abuse does exist, the very risk of developing addiction is largely associated with social factors and can be stopped by a supportive attitude and an accepting family environment.
Another misconception is that children left without parents necessarily have problems with mental health. But psychological difficulties can also arise in children growing up with biological parents, and orphans are not a separate risk group: some diagnoses can be erroneously made by incompetent doctors, and the consequences of traumatic events, such as violence or loss of loved ones, can be overcome with due care and attention from foster parents. and, if necessary, the help of professional psychologists.
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Adoption step by step
“In order to adopt a child, future parents must first of all be trained at the School of Adoptive Parents and receive a positive opinion from the psychologists of the SPR and guardianship authorities regarding their candidacy.
It is worth remembering that the characteristics of psychologists are a recommended document, but not mandatory, unlike the conclusion of the guardianship authorities, ”says Zinchenko, adding that it usually takes two to five months to complete courses at the School of Adoptive Parents, not counting the collection of necessary papers.
Before you adopt a child into a family, you need to prepare a package of documents. With this mandatory package, potential adoptive parents register with the regional operator of the database on children to be placed in a family, or with the guardianship and guardianship authorities at the place of residence. “But then the most crucial moment begins - the search for a child. Everyone treats him differently. Someone agrees to any child who is identified and offered; someone has been looking for "their" baby for years. Here, everyone has their own deadlines. When parents already know exactly what kind of child they want to adopt, they apply to the court. In addition to parents, specialists from the guardianship authorities and the prosecutor are always heard in court. The opinion of a child over 10 years of age is also mandatory for a court decision. Although, if prior to filing the application for adoption the child lived in the family of the adopter and considers him to be his parent, adoption, as an exception, can be made without obtaining the consent of the adopted child. The rest of the participants in the process are determined on a case-by-case basis,” says Zinchenko. According to her, legal difficulties in the adoption of children rarely arise - the main thing is that all documents for the court be prepared by future parents.
Alternative choice
“There is no selection from the child himself: in all of Russia it comes only from the family, from her desire, what kind of child she wants to adopt,” says Ekaterina Skvortsova, a psychologist and trainer at the Solnechny Gorod educational center. According to her, this practice can lead to situations in which the foster family is not ready for the needs of the child or his characteristics, is forced to transport him to another region, or does not agree to the child's communication with blood relatives, which is important to him. “Children are chosen either on a federal basis or on the advice of specialists in custody - roughly speaking, the family is offered a list from which a child is selected based on age and status,” explains Ekaterina.
To remedy this situation and make the search for a child and foster parents "mutual", "Sunny City" together with the "Change One Life" Foundation launched the "All Ours" charity project in 2021. The idea of the project is an alternative selection, which is based on an individual approach to both foster parents and their future children. “Our selection service has all its participants - the children themselves, and potential parents, and specialists from children's institutions who participate in their communication and diagnose candidates. As a rule, these are employees of the guardianship authorities and the School of foster parents, ”explains Skvortsova.
“Accepting parents enter the service and undergo diagnostics. It takes four stages, each with a separate questionnaire and three separate diagnostics. This is not voluminous - in 30-40 minutes you can go through each stage. The first two are completed during the time of study at the School of Adoptive Parents, the third is the attachment of certificates of completion of training, the fourth is a meeting with specialists. The project is semi-automated, the final decision is made by specialists, based on the parent-child compatibility rating,” says Ekaterina. The selection process also includes an interview - a live meeting of parents and a child.
“We sewed up a number of criteria that indicate the compatibility of the child and the family in order to see how successfully the child will be able to adapt and develop with new parents. The criteria are mainly social and psychological. For example, the region of residence: conditionally, we make sure that a child who lives in Novosibirsk and who can be harmed by moving is found by parents from the same Novosibirsk, ”says Skvortsova.
The All Our Own project is currently operating in five regions — the Novosibirsk Region, the republics of Chuvashia and Bashkortostan, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and the Tomsk Region — and plans to launch in four more. According to Skvortsova, the organizers plan to conduct additional long-term studies to check how successful the adaptation of children is.
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How to prepare for life with a foster child
From the point of view of the family budget, the cost of having a foster child in a family is practically the same as having and raising one's own. “Here everything is like with ordinary children. You need a bed, clothes, toys, you need to be prepared for the fact that the child may have health problems and require additional examination and treatment, the help of various specialists - psychologists and teachers. Sometimes parents need it more than children. But this is the same as in families where the child appeared in the usual way. Parents are always ready to give their children what they need now, as much as they need, sometimes denying themselves for the sake of their children. The main thing that adoptive parents or adoptive parents should be ready for is to give the child a lot of strength, patience, time and love, ”says Zinchenko.
“The key point is preparing the child for living in a new home with foster parents,” says Ekaterina Skvortsova. “Here it is important to pay attention to the stages of acquaintance and transition of a child from an orphanage to a new family. It is necessary to explain to him with whom he will live, where. All this needs to be done gradually and consistently,” she explains. Skvortsova also advises when meeting with a child in an orphanage to tell more about yourself: “You can show photos, even make a video about his future family and home, pets and loved ones. This will prepare him to the maximum for a new place and people, where and with whom he will live. Parents themselves should try to find out about the child’s personality, his interests and possible traumatic experiences in the past, ”she recommends.
“The adoption of a child into a family and its adaptation is a difficult and critical moment for the family system. Parents must have certain competencies: to know about the characteristics of a child left without the care of loved ones, to know the practices that will help him adapt and gain a sense of security, ”explains Ekaterina. In addition, it is important for parents to understand that the child may have blood relatives - grandparents and even biological parents: it is necessary to have resources in order to answer the child's questions about them and, possibly, give contacts of these people so that they can communicate with each other. with a friend.
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The head doctor of the orphanage: it doesn't matter what country the child goes to
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Adopted children who died in the USA Max Shatto (Maxim Kuzmin) and Dima Yakovlev grew up in the same orphanage in the Pskov region - in the regional Children's Home in the city of Pechora. BBC correspondent Daniel Sandford spoke with the head physician of the orphanage, Natalya Aleksandrovna Vishnevskaya.
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According to Natalya Vishneva, what happened to her former pupils is a tragedy, which, however, should not prevent other orphans from finding a family
We experience them as a personal tragedy - both about Dima and about Maxim, we regard this like a tragic death. I don’t even want to comment on our emotions: they are the same as if the family had lost their own child, because our team ... You see, we give the child, in principle, everything, because if we don’t give in our house, no one will. This is not a kindergarten, where a child left the walls, came, but at home they caress him and play . .. Therefore, it is certainly a tragedy, but both I and my team understand that these very tragic events should not block the way for our other children to families , I repeat, in any country.
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Although now our government, both at the federal level and at the regional level, is making big positive changes in supporting such families. But, I repeat, there are practically no absolutely healthy children in our orphanage. You understand what families these children come from, because a normal family, perhaps even without any material super benefits, will still never leave a child in an orphanage in the event of some kind of tragedy.
Therefore, we are talking, of course, about a certain segment of the population whose children are brought up with us. We do not have absolutely healthy children. Those or other deviations that are completely curable, and so on. But, I repeat, there are children who have very serious deviations in their state of health, requiring more than one or two operations, requiring specialist supervision, high-tech assistance and care - such children may not have a chance to find a new family, and will be transferred by us to home- boarding schools for social protection.
