Adoptions Are Still Happening During Quarantine Thanks to Virtual Meetings
Throughout the adoption process, would-be parents have to meet with several people, including lawyers, agency representatives and the child they hope to adopt. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to hold in-person meetings in New Jersey and other parts of the world. For the roughly 2 million American couples currently waiting to adopt, video chat services can help get things back on track and limit delays during this complicated time.
How Virtual Meetings Are Playing a Critical Role in Adoption
Even before the pandemic, adoptive parents were using video chat technology to help them navigate the adoption process. Many were joining online support groups that showed them how to overcome legal hurdles, deal with difficult youth histories, and manage any feelings of frustration. Also, adoptive parents who opted for an international adoption were using video chat technology to meet the child before having to board a plane and cross an ocean. During quarantine, however, virtual meetings have proven even more critical in every aspect of the adoption process.
When prospective parents decide to adopt a newborn child, they can use video chat services to meet with the birth parents. This can be very beneficial for all parties involved. For birth parents, it sets their mind at ease and lets them know their child is going to a good home. For adoptive parents, it lets them have a better idea of where their new family member is coming from. For the child being adopted, a healthy relationship between the birth parents and the adoptive parents means that they will always find love wherever they look. Using video chat is convenient and lets everyone see everyone else without having to go through the hassle of traveling. This could be very helpful if one of the parties has a complicated work or home schedule.
Video chat offers a good “soft” introduction between the parties that’s less intimidating than an in-person meeting. This can be particularly important for a first meeting if the child is older. Before the pandemic, adoptive parents usually met children through an event organized by the foster home or the agency facilitating the adoption. As effective as these events may have been, they might have been distracting to adoptive parents, especially if there was a lot going on. However, thanks to virtual meetings, aspiring parents are now having one-on-one interactions with the children without any distractions. This allows both the expecting parents and the child to get to know each other better.
Today, most court proceedings happen virtually, including hearings to finalize an adoption. For instance, one family watched a judge sign the adoption papers through teleconference. Even better, the happy couple invited their own parents and siblings to watch the hearing and celebrate with them as they welcomed a new member into the family.
However, it isn’t just parents who are benefiting from video chat technology; adoption agencies are using it, too. They have been holding virtual adoption panels to decide on the suitability of would-be parents. This is an important step because without it, the adoption process can be held up for a while.
Even before the adoption process starts, parents can use video chat technology to have virtual meetings with a New Jersey adoption lawyer. Accordingly, parents will know what is expected of them at the outset and be better prepared. So, even though COVID-19 may have temporarily slowed down the adoption process, it hasn’t stopped it altogether. Furthermore, virtual meetings are taking away from the process; they are providing new options.
Virtual Meetings With a New Jersey Adoption Lawyer
If you and your partner are planning to adopt but need help getting started, then don’t hesitate to contact us at Cofsky & Zeidman. You can call our New Jersey offices in Haddonfield at (856) 429-5005 or Woodbury at (856) 845-2555. Reach out to us today so we can set up a virtual meeting with you.
With court hearings being done online due to the pandemic, a solution became available to one adoptive family in Arkansas in April. The parents were fostering a 2-year-old child they knew that they wanted to adopt. However, the date that the parents were terminating their rights was April 16, which was the date planned for the adoption. With courts closed, the adoption hearing took place through a video call on Zoom. It was still special, just celebrated in