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Adoption FAQ's
1. Who Can Adopt?
Anyone caring, nurturing and over the age of 23 years can adopt. You can be married or single, straight or gay. You must have sufficient income to meet the financial responsibilities of the child/ren you are looking to adopt. Additionally you should be in good physical and mental health.
2. Do you accept single parent Adoptions?
Yes, we accept single parent adoption applications. The approved home study is the final criteria for acceptance and certification of an adoptive family.
3. What is Foster/Adopt?
The Fost/Adopt process is the continuation from foster care to permanent adoption if reunification with the birth family is not possible. Once these children are legally freed by the courts, they will make the transition to adoptive children and may join their permanent families with minimal delay.
4. Once the adoption is finalized, can the biological family still get custody?
No, adoption is a legally binding relationship that grants the adoptive parent(s) all legal, financial and medical rights and responsibilities of being a parent of the child.
5. Is financial help available for adoptive parents to care for their children?
The Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) is a federally funded program that provides financial assistance for eligible fost/adopt children who have special needs. Special needs includes children over 8 years old, children of minority or ethnic groups, children with cognitive, emotional or physical disabilities and children with histories that put them at risk for special needs. Children remain eligible for AAP through their 18th birthday. They also are eligible to receive Medi-Cal benefits through the age of 21. AAP is only available for fost/adopt children, ie: children who have been adopted thru social services.
6. What is a Relinquishment?
Relinquishment is the adoptive process in which a birth mother relinquishes her child (born or unborn) directly to an Adoption Agency which will match her child with adoptive parents. This can be an open or closed adoption process.
7. What is an Open Adoption?
An open adoption is the adoptive process in which birth parent and adoptive parent are aware of each other's identity. This may include but is not a rule, visitation between birth parent and child and adoptive family; or simply an exchange of letters and occasional photograph. Such contact is at the sole discretion of both birth parent and adoptive parent.
8. What is an adoption home study?
Families For Children will conduct the home study process in a way that will allow the prospective adoptive parents to go through a phase of self-discovery and self-study rather than an investigative process on the part of the agency. Given enough information and wide enough latitude to explore one's own motivations and desires, most people will make the right decisions as to whether or not adoption is appropriate for them, and if so, what kind of child would be the best match for them. The completed home study is also used to "introduce" you as a potential adoptive family to county social workers that have children available for adoption.
9. What services do you provide that attorneys do not?
We provide the adoptive parents with the adoptive home study required for the adoption process by State of California regulations. We provide the required counseling to birth parents and adoptive parents required by State regulations. We have the required social work personnel with Master's degrees in Social Work, a degree required to perform all adoptive work.
10. Do Adoptive Parents need an attorney?
No, they do not need an attorney but they may retain an attorney at their discretion.
11. How long does the adoption process usually take?
The process can typically take as little as 3 months or as much as 18 months depending on the circumstances of each adoption.
12. What Birth Parent services do you provide?
We provide counseling services to the birth parents; a multitude of services to choose from are available for pregnant birth parents to be agreed upon at the time of relinquishment. Some of the services include assistance with housing by the adoptive parents; paid medical expenses; living costs after birth as agreed upon by adoptive parents.
13. How are you different from an Adoption Facilitator?
We are a "Full Service" Adoption Agency, licensed by the State of California. We do our own home studies for adoptive parents; we are able to finalize all adoptions without the assistance of an attorney unless the adoptive parents specifically request the involvement of an attorney. Adoption facilitators are not licensed to perform adoptions, they must outsource the Home Study and use an attorney to finalize the adoption, which often results in higher fees.