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Home > About Adoption > FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions About Your Adoption Options What is adoption?
What is adoption? Adoption is a legal and social process whereby a person becomes the parent of a child. Once you adopt a child, he/she is the same as any birth children you may have in terms of the law and your responsibility to him/her. Permanence for a child or youth can only be achieved through a legally secure relationship. The greatest advantage of adoption is the stability it provides for children.Adoption in Canada is provincially regulated. In 1996, the BC Government passed the 1996 Adoption Act providing new legislative guidelines for adoption practice in the province. Click here to read the Adoption Act. What kinds of adoption are there in BC? There are three routes to adoption in BC. You could adopt one of BC's Waiting Children. These are children who currently live in foster care and are usually between the ages of two and eighteen, though most are over the age of six. Many have siblings with whom they will need to be placed. All of these children have some level of special placement need due to their background or prenatal history. BC's Waiting Children are adopted through the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). Intercountry Adoption refers to the adoption of children from countries other than Canada. The most common countries that BC residents adopt from are China, the United States, Russia, Haiti, Thailand, and Korea. Children adopted from other countries have often spent time in orphanages. They are most commonly infants or toddlers when they join their families, but some are older. Intercountry adoptions must be arranged via one of BC's licensed adoption agencies. Local Infant Adoption refers to the adoption of a child — usually newborn, up to a month or two old — born in BC, and considered to be at a low risk for special needs concerns. Another type of adoption, referred to as Direct Placement, is when the birth parents have already chosen a family — someone they know, but not a family member — for their child. When a chosen adoptive family is related to the child, this is called Relative and Step-Parent Adoption (see below). Both Local Infant Adoption and Direct Placements must be arranged through one of BC's licensed adoption agencies. Relative and Step-Parent Adoption refers to two adoption scenarios. The first involves families who are interested in adopting a child related to them by blood. For example, an aunt and her husband might consider adopting their niece. The second scenario involves a partner (of a couple) who may be interested in adopting the child born to the other partner during a previous relationship or through reproductive treatments such as IVF or donor sperm/eggs. Relative and Step-Parent Adoptions are the only types of adoption that do not need to be processed through the MCFD or an agency (unless it is an intercountry relative adoption, in which case immigration and Hague requirements demand a homestudy). Relative and Step-Parent Adoptions can be processed through a lawyer, an adoption agency, or a do-it-yourself package available at the Supreme Court. Ä
What is "openness" in adoption? Here you will find a brief explanation of openness. For more detailed information, please visit the Openness section of our online Resource Centre. Openness in adoption means maintaining some degree of contact between adoptive families and birth families. Openness does not mean shared parenting; adoptive parents are still the parents in all respects regardless of openness. AFABC promotes openness in adoption, and so do increasing numbers of adoptive parents. Some form of openness is considered extremely beneficial for children who have joined their family through adoption. Hundreds of AFABC's members have successful open adoptions. There are different levels of openness: Open Adoption involves ongoing contact between the adoptive family and the birth parents and possibly the extended family. Semi-Open Adoption is neither fully open nor closed. It involves some level of communication between birth and adoptive families, either with or without identifying information. Closed Adoption means there is no contact between the adoptive family and the birth parents. Popular 20 years ago, closed adoptions occur occasionally locally and in some intercountry adoptions. Ä
Who are BC's adoption agencies? There are six licensed agencies in BC, located in Kelowna, Victoria, Abbotsford, and the Lower Mainland. If there isn't an agency in your area, don't worry; most have staff located throughout the province and are able to work with families long-distance. Agencies focus on Infant and Intercountry adoption. Ä
Depending on the type of adoption, costs range from negligible to $30,000 (although costs can sometimes exceed this). If you adopt a child with special placement needs through the Ministry, your costs are minimal. You pick up the tab for the criminal record check(s), which would cost approximately $40 – $60, and your medical report(s), which would be no more than $100 per adult. If you adopt a local infant through an adoption agency, your costs, which include the homestudy, educational component, and birth family counselling, can run from $10,000 to $15,000. Intercountry adoption costs range from $8,000 to $30,000 depending on your country of choice and the associated costs such as consultant fees, travel and hotel costs, orphanage donation, individual country requirements, and lawyer fees. We have heard of adoptions that cost considerably more. In direct placements (which are handled by BC's licensed adoption agencies) in which the birth mother is known to the adopting parents, associated costs can range between $5,000 and $12,000. Please call BC's adoption agencies for more details. Relative and Step-Parent adoptions can be processed through a lawyer, an adoption agency, or a do-it-yourself package available at the Supreme Court. Costs range from $800 to $2,000. For more information relating to the financial side of adoption, please visit the Finances & Adoption section of our online Resource Centre. Am I eligible to adopt? You no longer need to be a homeowner, married, childless, under 40, or university educated to adopt. BC is one of the most progressive provinces in Canada in terms of who can adopt a child. Under the Adoption Act of 1996, any BC resident over the age of 19 is eligible to apply to adopt a child. Traditional families are still the biggest adopters, but many loving homes have been created by people of all ages, some of whom are single, gay, or lesbian, and some of whom have disabilities. Who can arrange an adoption for me? Under BC law, whether you intend to adopt locally or internationally, you must apply to adopt with BC's Ministry of Children and Family Development or one of BC's six licensed adoption agencies, even in the case of direct placement in which the birth mother is known to you. The only exception, locally, is a relative or step-parent adoption, which can be processed through a lawyer. In the case of intercountry adoption, agencies have much experience facilitating adoptions, offering services ranging from completing your homestudy to helping with post-placement reports. There are numerous skilled adoption consultants who specialize with specific countries. However, they must also have a contract with a licensed agency and cannot facilitate adoptions independently. What is the difference between foster care and adoption? Foster care is a temporary arrangement in which a family is financially compensated to care for a child until the biological parents are able to do so, or until an adoptive home is found. That said, in some cases long-term or permanent foster care is part of a child's plan of care. As well, some foster parents adopt the children they have cared for when the child becomes available for adoption. Adoption is a lifelong commitment in which the child becomes a permanent member of your family. Why do people adopt? Infertility is the most common reason for choosing to adopt an infant. Families experiencing difficulties conceiving or carrying a baby to term need to decide whether their goal is to have a child who is biologically related to them or to parent a child. (For information on infertility, contact Jennifer of the Vancouver Infertility Peer Support Group. She can be reached at 604-320-7330.) Not all families who adopt, however, have experienced infertility. Some families choose adoption first, before, or instead of having birth children. Some families choose to adopt after having one or more children by birth. These families may adopt an infant, or they may be ready to consider putting their well-developed parenting skills to work by parenting an older child or a child with special needs. Single men or women or couples in gay or lesbian relationships may choose adoption as a way to form a family. Many agencies and the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) will work with non-traditional families in placing either infants or older children. |
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