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 Adoption
Adoption is a way to build a family and create a permanent and loving
bond with a child. Everyone involved in an adoption brings something to
that relationship. Children and their new families bring their
personalities, their genetic makeup, their hopes and dreams, and some
children bring with them a lifetime of rejection experiences. Because of
the profound losses children experience, many adoption veterans state that
any child who grows up separated from the family into which he/she was
born is a child with special needs.
A child who joins a family through adoption has the same rights as any
children born into that family, including the right to inheritance and the
right to bear the family name. In the United States, a child's adoption
into a family must be approved by a court of law. The court issues a birth
certificate for the child with the adoptive parent's name listed as the
child's parent.
Adoptive parents need not have a high income, nor own a home. Adoptive
parents may be single, married, or same sex partners. When adopting older
children, there is generally no upper age limit placed on the adopting
parents. Depending on the type of adoption they are pursuing, families may
work with a public adoption agency or a
private adoption agency. Infant
and international adoption services are usually provided only by
private
adoption agencies.
Infant Adoption
Over the past years, the number of healthy infants waiting for adoption
has decreased. In most cases, there are more than enough prospective
adoptive parents waiting for the limited number of infants available for
adoption. Adopting an infant can involve lengthy waits and hefty
adoption-related fees. For more information on adopting an infant, contact
a
private adoption agency that specializes in such placements.
International Adoption
Adopting children from other countries is an alternative for prospective
parents wishing to adopt an infant or very young children. International
adoption services are provided by numerous private agencies.
International adoption services are costly, and do not include adoption
assistance. For more information about international adoption, contact
a
private adoption agency that specializes in such placements.
Interstate Adoption
Adopting children with special needs from another state involves an
interstate adoption contract. Generally the adoption assistance is
provided through the child's state or county of origin. For more
information about interstate adoption, contact the
Department of Human Services Adoption Interstate Compact Division.
Procedures for interstate adoptions of healthy infants vary depending on
the private agencies involved.
Special Needs Adoption
Many adoption professionals believe that any child who grows up
separated from his or her family of origin has special needs. However, for
the purposes of the Minnesota's Waiting Children program, we define
children with special needs to mean those children who have or are at risk
of having physical, mental, emotional or behavioral disabilities that make
it difficult for them to be adopted. Sibling groups who need to be placed
in an adoptive home together are also considered to have special needs.Many special needs are physical and can result from prenatal exposure
to chemicals, genetic birth defects and early neglect or physical abuse.
Emotional and behavioral special needs often result from neglect, sexual,
or physical abuse, which are all usually accompanied by emotional abuse.
Many behaviors of children with special needs are actually skills for
coping and survival. These behaviors are often reasonable responses to
unreasonable situations.
Individuals who are
interested in adopting Minnesota's Waiting Children must attend
pre-adopt/foster parent training classes offered by one of the 87
Minnesota County Social/Human Service divisions or a private adoption
agency that is part of the
Public Private Adoption Initiative (PPAI). Call the training agency prior to attending to verify time, date, location
and cost.
updated 5/2013 |