Adoption is a wonderful way to build a family and prospective adoptive parents may have questions about the process.
First steps
The first step in the process is to decide what type of adoption to pursue. Domestic infant adoption, foster care adoption, international adoption and stepparent adoption may apply. In North Carolina, prospective adoptive parents must be at least 18 years old, must be financially stable and must pass a background check.
If the prospective adoptive parents plan to use an adoption agency, they will need to decide which one to use. There are many factors that go into this decision, such as whether they plan to adopt from out of state and what the agency charges for adoption fees.
Education and home study
In North Carolina, the prospective adoptive parents will need to complete orientation and pre-adoption training classes, as well as a home study. The home study reviews the physical space the child will live in and the background and lifestyle of the family hoping to adopt. It may also include reference checks from family or friends.
Once this is complete, it is time to wait for a match with a child who is available for adoption. Once the child is placed in the adoptive home, the biological parents’ rights will need to be terminated by the court.
Then, the prospective adoptive parents will go to court to obtain an order that legally establishes them as the child’s parents, with all the rights and responsibilities of a biological parent.
