adoption process

Adoption: The Process

Adoption is metamorphosing into a radical new process that is both sweeping the nation and changing it. But this process is not an easy one, there are many steps to go through. Through research it is made a lot easier. Adoption is a also a highly visible example of a social institution that has benefits from and been reshaped by both the Internet and the exponential growth of alternative lifestyles, from single to transracial to gay. It is accelerating our transformation into a more multicultural society; even as it helps redefine out understanding of “family.” The process includes three main steps including a type of adoption, the techniques for location a baby for adoption, arranging a successful adoption, the steps at the hospital, and lastly the legal issues in adoption.

There are many types of adoption in California, more then any other in the country. The reasonable amount of time it takes to adopt a child is about a year. “Independent adoption is an alternative to agency adoption and is the means by approximately 85 percent of all newborns are adopted in California. Since that is the most popular that is the type that I am going to concentrate. The reason that it is the most popular is because of four factors. The first is because the independent agency is flexible, secondly it allows the birth mother to personally meet and select adoptive parents, thirdly it allows the adoptive parents to quickly locate the birth mother rather

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then waiting several years for the agency to do it for them, and lastly the child can be placed in the home of the adoptive parents immediately after birth instead of waiting in a foster home. By law the birth mother must personally place the child with the adoptive parents. That does not mean she has to do it physically it just means she must personally select them. The birth mother is permitted to release her child into the adoptive parents custody as soon as the hospital discharges the baby, usually 2-3 days old. Generally when the child is six-eight months old the adoptive parents can go to court to permanently finalize the process. A new birth certificate is prepared after the adoption is granted by the court. Independent adoption fees and costs can vary dramatically. Most adoption attorneys charge between 3,000 to 4,000. The adop...

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...Release is a form that needs to be filled out by the birth mother to release the child directly to the birth parents. The birth mother can also chose to chose a room on or off the maternity ward. The reason that one chooses off the maternity ward is because it is away from the parents who are bringing their baby home. When the baby is born the hospital usually lets the adoptive parents see the baby, visiting hours usually don’t apply. The birth mother is still the legal parent and so only she can authorize any medical procedures regarding the child during the hospitalization. Before the baby is discharged the hospital will examine the baby and authorize the child’s release. Do not worry if the mother has chosen a name for the child different from the one you have chosen. Your Petition for Adoption will state how you wish to change the child’s name, and a new birth certificate will be made by the court.

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Work Cited

Hicks, Randall. Nuenez, Linda. Adopting in California, How to find a Child. WordSlinger Press. 1992.

Melina, Lois Ruskai. Roszia, Sharon Kaplan. The Open Adoption Experience. HarperPerennial. 1993.

Pertman, Adam. Adoption Nation. Basic Books. 2000.