Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative John Lewis (D-GA) introduced an
Act in both Houses of Congress to prohibit any adoption or foster care entity which receives federal assistance from discriminating based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. The purpose of prohibiting discrimination was to also make sure that children would be placed in families who have met all of the qualifications for parenting.
Archives for June 2016
Private vs. Agency Adoption—What’s Best for You?
If you’ve been exploring the possibility of adopting a child, you’ve likely discovered that it’s not a simple process. You have lots of choices—domestic vs. international adoption, open vs. closed adoption, and agency vs. private adoption. This blog looks at the differences between private and agency adoptions.
With an agency adoption, you hire and pay an agency to handle all matters related to the adoption. You typically don’t retain your own legal counsel—that’s all handled by the agency. Your agency will ensure that you complete all required paperwork and that a home study is done. Agency personnel will either work to match you with potential birth mothers (in a domestic adoption) or ensure that you get on the waiting list and fulfill all the requirements for an international adoption.
With a private adoption, you have to take responsibility for all the things the agency would do. Most people who opt for a private adoption hire an adoption attorney early in the process. In many instances, that attorney has connections to help the adoptive parents find a potential birth mother. However, the adoptive parents may need to be creative about finding ways to notify potential birth mothers of their desire to adopt. In addition, the adoptive parents will have to hire someone (typically from an agency) to conduct a home study.
So why would you choose a private adoption over an agency adoption? It seems like a lot more work, doesn’t it? Most people who choose to the private adoption track cite two principal reasons for doing so. First, many agencies have fairly strict requirements for adoption, which can exclude some potential parents. For example, an agency may have a policy of not placing a child with a parent over the age of 50 (or even younger). In addition, many adoptive parents find that the agency process can be more cumbersome and that a private adoption can take less time.
Contact Us
To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail. For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.
Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.
Single Parent Adoption
Times have changed dramatically for individuals seeking to adopt a child in the United States. Fifty years ago, if you had sought to adopt a minor child as a single parent, you would have had no success, and not necessarily because adoption agencies looked with disfavor on the idea. In some states, as recently as 25 years ago, there were laws on the books that prohibited single-parent adoptions. Over the last two decades, those limitations have evaporated. Studies now show that one in four special needs adoptions involves a single parent and that about one in 20 of all adoptions are by single men or women.
Experts say that a number of factors have contributed to the shift in thinking and practice. First, as late as the 1960s, most moms were stay-at-home parents, and the concept of daycare was still an exception to the rule. In today’s world, the stay-at-home mom is the exception to the rule and it’s socially acceptable for children to spend much of their formative years in daycare. Fifty years ago, adoption agencies worried that a single parent would either face financial challenges from staying home with the child or not be involved in the child’s upbringing.
The other change, especially with special needs adoptions, is the lessened focus on the personal finances of the parent. Many states offer subsidies or financial assistance to parents adopting special needs children, so families with a single income are better able to meet the material needs of the child.
That’s not to say that single applicants have attained parity with married applicants. Many adoption agencies still choose not to work with single parents. Others may accept your application, but give priority to couples who come into their offices.
Contact Our Office
To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail. For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.
Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.