It's not always possible for a child to stay or be parented by their biological parents. Adoption offers a light to many children by allowing them to be part of a loving family. Adoption gives constrained parents a chance to see their children flourish if they are unable to sustain them. For parents who have tried all means to get a child but to no avail, adoption is an excellent avenue to becoming a parent. Like other states in the U.S, California has a procedure that you must follow if you intend to adopt a child.
Steps to Follow
To complete the adoption process in California, you have to pursue several avenues. There are many ways of adopting a child, you could adopt a child based on your relationship with the child's parent. For instance, you could adopt your spouse's child and become a stepparent to him or her. You could also choose to use an international or domestic child adoption agency. Contacting an attorney can help you go through the adoption process smoothly. Some of the steps that you have to follow while adopting a child are:
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Preparing to Adopt
The adoption laws in California affect every stage of the adoption process. The law regulates all aspects, including who qualifies to adopt, and expenses to pay. While preparing to adopt a child, you should take the time to understand all the legal requirements. This will help you know whether you qualify to adopt. For you to be suitable to adopt a child, you should:
- Be more than ten years older than the child you intend to adopt. However, there are some exceptions to this law if you are the stepparent or relative of the child. You could also qualify to adopt the brother, sister, uncle, aunt, or first cousin of the child. If the court is satisfied with your relationship with the child, you could be exempted from the ten-year age variance requirement.
- You should be willing to treat the adoptive child as if he or she is your child.
- You have to commit to care for the child and provide him or her with all the necessary support.
- Before adopting a child, it's essential to ensure that you can provide a decent residence.
- An adoptive parent must be ready to agree to the adoption and all the terms and requirements that come with it.
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Choose the Adoption Approach
California law recognizes several types of adoption approaches. You should take time to go through the different adoption approaches to choose the one that suits you best. Some of the typical approaches to adopting a child are:
- Independent adoption
- Private/Agency Adoption
- International Adoption
- Domestic Partner/Stepparent Adoption
- Interstate Adoption
In the case of independent adoption, agency adoption, and international adoption, the child's birth parents lose their parental rights. After the completion of the adoption process, the adoptive parents become the child's legal parents.
During an independent adoption, legal rights to the child shift from the birth parents, directly to the adoptive parents. The process involves the birth parents and the adoptive parents without the involvement of a third party. In the past, the IAC (Independent Adoption Center) existed in California. However, IAC closed, but the independent adoption procedure is still operational in California.
Agency adoption entails adopting a child through the CDSS (California Department of Social Services). You could also adopt through a licensed adoption agency in California. You can work with an adoption law center, adoption agency, or any other professional organization to connect you with an expectant mother seeking adoption.
International adoption can occur if you choose to adopt a child who is from another country. If parents from other countries, other than the U.S, choose to adopt a child from California, this would be international adoption. Strict laws regulate international adoption to help prevent the sale of children, abduction, and child trafficking.
Interstate adoption entails adopting a child from another state. For instance, if you're in California, you might choose to adopt a child from Florida. You would need the services of a family lawyer who is familiar with ICPC. ICPC stands from Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. These are laws that outline the procedures to follow when transferring a child from one state to another. ICPC makes it easy to adopt a child from a different state, even if the state has different adoption laws from California.
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Choosing the Source/Adoption Agency
After examining the different ways of adopting a child, you should select the ideal source. If you choose to adopt a child through CDSS, you can go through the CDSS directory. The directory offers a long list of adoption agencies. You can work with multiple organizations and avenues to adopt a child in California. Your family attorney can help you to choose a reliable organization.
You should spend ample time evaluating different adoption agencies before choosing the right one. The agency you choose will play a significant role in the adoption process and determine the result of the process. Do your due diligence and research all the available adoption agencies.
You might start by reviewing the websites of different adoption agencies. However, reviewing an adoption agency's website is not enough. After all, anyone can post fantastic bullet points and photos on a website. Therefore, on top of reviewing sites, you should also visit adoption agencies in person. Speak to representatives from different adoption agencies and, if possible, attend an orientation.
Get as much information as possible from an adoption agency. Don’t fail to ask questions even regarding the seemingly minor issues. Consider the adoption agency’s view of the children, adoptive families, and birth families. Consider the applicable fees and compare them with other adoption agencies.
You could also seek recommendations from other parents who have adopted a child before. Talk to families who have undergone the adoption process or who are planning to undergo the process. Different adoption agencies have different requirements. Therefore, it's crucial to ensure that you do your research well to get the best deal. An attorney could make the process of choosing an adoption agency much easier for you.
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Home Study and Background Check
Any individual irrespective of their marital status can adopt a child in California. However, an adoptive parent must be at least ten years older than the adoptee. If the child being adopted is older than 12 years, he/she must give consent to the adoption process. An adoptive parent must meet several requirements to pass the home study stage, especially while intending to adopt a newborn privately. After adopting a child, a parent will also undergo a post-placement assessment. Both the home study and the post-placement assessment seek to determine the adoptive parents' ability to provide an ideal environment for a child.
What should you expect during a home study in California?
- Submitting fingerprints
- Undergoing a physical examination
- Attending the recommended adoption training classes
- Completing individual reviews with a social worker
- An in-home visit or investigation conducted by a social worker
- Providing proof of your income or employment
- Completion of an in-home visit with all your household members present
- Providing documents like birth certificates, medical records, marriage certificates, or divorce certificates.
Submission of fingerprints and a criminal record by potential adoptive parents help determine the parent's character. Persons with a criminal background or a history of child abuse would have a hard time adopting a child.
Fees payable while adopting a child in California will vary depending on the type of adoption you choose to pursue. The prospective adoptive parent is responsible for the cost of obtaining background records as well as fingerprinting costs.
Certain factors might prevent home study approval. For instance, a home study might not be approved if you or another adult living in your home has a prior conviction of a felony child neglect or abuse. Convictions for crimes against child pornography, violence, rape, sexual assault, homicide, or spousal abuse might hinder adoption approval.
You might not qualify for adoption if you or another person in your home has a prior conviction for certain crimes in the last five years. The crimes include physical assault, battery, and alcohol or drug-related offenses.
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Creating an Adoptive Parent Profile
Depending on the adoption agency you choose, you might need to create an adoptive parent profile with birth parents. Your profile will be shared with birth parents seeking adoption for their children. In some instances, you may need to follow up to market yourself to birth parents. At times, the adoption agency may handle the process of designing a profile for you.
In your adoptive parent information, you should share your personal information to help birth parents know more about you. You could share about the hopes that you have for the adoption. This will help the birth mother or parents know if you're ideal for their child.
After you get selected by a birth family, you’ll work alongside your adoption professional to develop the ideal adoption plan. At times, the birth mother might be in a different state than you. You will need to meet all the necessary interstate adoption requirements.
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Financing the Adoption
The California adoption laws regulate birth parent expenses. The government guides all fees associated with private and independent adoptions. You might incur more costs when dealing with an agency and international adoption.
The costs incurred when adopting a child may result from several factors, including counseling medical expenses, advertising, and legal services. In some instances, the costs may result from the living expenses during the child's biological mother's pregnancy and recovery.
It's not always easy to determine the adoption costs, especially if you're adopting a child internationally. It's essential to work closely with an attorney and your adoption agency to determine the costs upfront. Other fees associated with international adoptions include documentation and authentication fees. You should also plan for travel costs and legal fees required to finalize the adoption process.
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Filling the Paperwork
During the adoption process in California, you have to fill all the necessary paperwork. Some of the steps that you'll have to follow are:
- Requesting to adopt a child by filling an adoption request Form ADOPT-200
- Filling the applicable adoption agreements (Adoption Agreement –Form ADOPT 210)
- Completing the adoption order (Adoption Order- Form ADOPT -215)
- Submitting applicable expenses
- Filling out specific or local forms
If you plan to adopt a child, you have to start by filling an adoption request form. In this form, you'll fill your necessary contact information and the basic details of the adoption. You should outline the form of adoption involved, information on the child, and the applicable legal conditions.
The adoption agreement outlines the adoptive parents' information as well as their signatures. The agreements will also outline the conditions that the adoptive parents agree to abide by. For instance, the agreement may state that the adoptive parents will accept the child and treat him or her as their child. The agreements might also state that the adopted child will enjoy the same rights as the adoptive parents' own child. The rights include the rights to inherit the property of the adoptive parents.
The adoption order outlines the information regarding the adoption. The adoptive will only fill part of the adoptive order. A judge fills the remaining part of the adoptive order during the adoption hearing. If the adoption involves a native child in America, a clerk might complete the adoption order instead of a judge.
In the case of a stepparent adoption, you'll have to fill an additional form to confirm parentage. Therefore, you'll fill form ADOPT -205 or any other relevant declaration providing the same information as Form ADOPT-205. Both the adopting parent and the birth parent will have to fill individual forms. After completing the forms, you should request your family attorney to review the forms for you. An attorney will ensure that you've filled the forms correctly before moving on with the adoption process.
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Finalizing the Adoption Process
You’ll have to go through the process of finalizing the adoption in court. Your attorney will guide you through the court process, which entails:
- Filling out the court forms
- Filing the forms in court
- Paying the filing fees
- Getting a hearing date
After completing the court forms, it’s important to have a third party review the forms to ensure that you’ve filled them correctly. If you’re adopting a child through an agency domestically or internationally, you can review the forms through the agency. In the case of independent or stepparent adoption, an attorney can help you to review the paperwork.
It’s advisable to have multiple copies of the court papers. This will ensure that you have enough records to file with the court and to give to all other involved parties. You also need to have a copy of every court document for your records.
For the adoption process to go through, you must have the relevant consent from the birth parents. You could also work with a court order that ends the parental rights of the birth parents. If you're adopting a child through an agency, the agency may provide you with the relevant paperwork showing that it's impossible to obtain consent.
In the case of a domestic partner or stepparent adoption, the other birth parent must get copies of the required consent forms. In some instances, the adoptive parent and one birth parent might try to trace the other birth parent to no avail. In this case, the court may give a waiver of the other birth parent’s consent. However, it should be evident that enough effort was put to trace the other parent.
Once you have all the court documents ready, the next step entails filing the documents with the courts. The court clerk can assist you to know the additional requirements of the courts. You'll have to pay court fees while filing the documents through the fees may vary from one case to the other. If an adoptive parent is unable to afford the court fees, he or she can request a waiver.
For adoptions in California, investigations are mandatory. Upon completing the investigation, an investigator files a report with the court. The court will automatically schedule a hearing date after receiving the investigator’s report. In some instances, you may have to communicate with the court to schedule a hearing.
On the hearing date, you’ll appear before the judge. It’s important to ensure that you carry all the relevant documentation while attending court. The child being adopted also attends the court hearing.
The court will only approve the child's adoption if it's evident that the adoption meets all the requirements. It should also be evident that the adoption is for the best interest of the child.
Find a San Diego Family Law Attorney Near Me
Have you always desired to adopt a child, but you don't understand the procedures involved? San Diego Family Law Attorney can assist you. We will advise you regarding the adoption process, determine whether you qualify to adopt and guide you through the paperwork and legal procedures. If you are thinking about adopting, contact us at 619-610-7425 and speak to one of our attorneys.
