Adoption Requirements

Adoption is not something that can be granted to everyone, but those who are seriously considering the process are likely to be placed with a child eventually. Many adopters can make this process move more efficiently if they familiarize themselves with adoption requirements.

Adoption requirements are restricted by four different parties involved in the process: the law, agency, birth mother and adopter.

The law requires certain paperwork, hearing and a homestudy be completed before an adoption is finalized. The homestudy is the most important step in getting the adoption process started and is the evaluation of an adopter's home, lifestyle and capacity to adopt and raise a child. All adoptions require a homestudy, which cost a few thousand dollars.

Agencies reserve the right to impose more subjective adoption requirements on adopters. These restrictions can involve age, religious affiliation or marital status.

Whether within an agency or independent adoption, a birth mother reserves the right to enforce her own criteria for adoptive parents. Before she signs the paper terminating her parental responsibilities, she has to feel comfortable with the placement. This means she may have highly subjective requirements for adoptive parents to meet.

Adopters should also be judicious about the kind of agency and birth mother they work with. Adopters have the right to be comfortable with their agency and birth mother, if applicable, meaning they should set their own adoption requirements and come into the process with an idea of what they want as well.