Domestic Adoption
Domestic adoption usually involves an infant being given up by the birth parents for socio-economic reasons. The process can take place either through an agency or directly between the birth parents and the adoptive parents. Most states do not require that an agency be involved, but some states do. However, adoption through an agency is easiest for people looking to adopt to find potential children, so many people choose to enlist an agency in their search. If an agency is involved, the agency takes care of all legal aspects of the adoption, and the agency also is responsible for advertising for the birth parents and offering counseling and support groups to new parents.
If the adoptive parents choose not to go through an agency, they will, in most cases, hire a lawyer to take care of all legal aspects. Legal adoption papers, which vary from state to state, must be completed in all cases before the adoption can take place. The legal documents explain the rights of both the birth mother and the adoptive parents, according to whatever agreements they have made prior to the adoption. Once the papers have been signed, the adoptive parents become guardian of the child and begin the process of helping the child adapt to his new life.
International Adoptions
Many parents decide to adopt children from overseas, either because they desire to have a child from another country or because they cannot find a child that meets their needs in their home country. Many of the children adopted internationally are orphaned children, and these types of adoptions are almost always completed with the help of an agency.
According to the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, most international adoptions are between the U.S. and Russia, China, Korea, India, Eastern Europe, Central America and South America. In these cases, an adoption agency would have the necessary experience to deal with all aspects of the adoption process, including finding the child, dealing with the international legal requirements and transportation of the child between its home country and adoptive country. In many cases, these agencies also offer post-adoption services including counseling and support groups.
Another type of adoption involves adoption through a public agency. This kind of adoption usually involves a special-needs child, an older child or a child that is difficult to place. These adoptions take place through the state social services agency, and they are often the least expensive of the three types of adoption. If the parents have decided they would like to adopt a special needs child they will contact the state social services agency who will then provide them with information about available children. These children are usually already in an orphanage or in a foster home, so the legal process does not involve the birth parents. The state social services agency will handle all legal aspects of the process and will often offer post-adoption services and sometimes funding for the care of the child.
